Review of Escape from New York (1981) by Blake P — 01 Sep 2016

You don't get much more 80s than Escape from New York. You've got Kurt Russell as hardened ex-soldier and convict (with the appropriately badass name) Snake Plissken, channeling his inner Clint Eastwood from behind that eyepatch.

Behind the camera, you've got John Carpenter, who crafts a gritty and grimy version of dystopian New York, now serving as a maximum-security prison in 1997. The sets look and feel real, and the darkly light streets evoke a sense of horror that you expect from, well, one of the masters of horror.

It's not without it's 80s cheese though: the prisoners that populate this city of a prison are wildly anarchistic, decked out in crazy costumes and participating in barbaric fights in wrestling rings hidden within the city's confines.

The craziest of them is the main antagonist, the Duke of New York City, who cruises around in a car decked out with chandeliers for headlights (you can't make these things up). It's all backed by a pulsating synth soundtrack composed by Carpenter himself.

Don't let the dark setting mislead you: it's not a particularly deep or complex film, but the action is tight in that charming 80s style, and the result is a ton of fun.