The Last Outpost (Assault On Precinct 13 [1976] (DVD))

Member Name: Jake Speed

Product:	Assault On Precinct 13 [1976] (DVD)
Date:	22/09/09 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gripping

Disadvantages: A few rough edges

Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 film written and directed by John Carpenter. The film is set in the violent ghetto of "Anderson", Los Angeles, and based on the classic Howard Hawks western Rio Bravo. When several important members belonging to the notorious "Street Thunder" gang are killed by police snipers who are seeking to reclaim some stolen heavy weapons, the gang's warlords swear a "Cholo", or blood oath vendetta, against the police. Meanwhile, at the dilapidated Anderson police station, Lieutenant Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker), a newly promoted California Highway Patrol officer, is in charge for its last ever night of service with only a skeleton staff of three on duty, including secretaries Leigh (Laurie Zimmer) and Julie (Nancy Loomis). When a terrified man runs into the station too shocked to speak, he quickly seems to attract the unwelcome attention of the Street Thunder gang members surreptitiously and ominously lurking around and gathering outside. To make matters worse, a bus transporting three dangerous prisoners decides to head for Lieutenant Bishop's station too when one of their passengers becomes ill passing through Anderson. With the prisoners, including convicted killer Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston), duly locked in the holding cells, things go from bad to worse when the Street Thunder gang open fire on the station with heavy weapons and cut the electricity. A blood-filled bowl, symbolizing the Cholo, is then placed outside the station to indicate a siege has begun.

John Carpenter's second feature film is a gripping and atmospheric early offering from the cult director made on a budget of just $100,000. Although the western influences are very obvious here, especially Rio Bravo, the film is also very reminiscent of George A Romero's seminal horror classic Night of the Living Dead with its familiar but always absorbing device of throwing together a disparate group of characters who are trapped in a confined space and under increasing threat from dark forces outside. Carpenter has unsurprisingly stated that Night of the Living Dead was a major influence on Assault on Precinct 13, not just because of the claustrophobic environment and building under siege elements but also in the depiction of the gang members - who , like zombies, are largely faceless and unrelenting, an eerie and shadowy threat that comes out of the night. The fusion of horror and western influences makes Assault on Precinct 13 an interesting and inventive film rather than a run of the mill police actioner. The decent, everyman, black central hero of Carpenter's film, Austin Stoker's Lieutenant Bishop, also seems like a nod to Duane Jones in Romero's film, although, happily, there is no real racial subtext here. Bishop is just a decent ordinary man doing his best in a difficult situation, like a Sheriff in the wild west. Despite the gritty nature of the location and action, this is not trying to be a terribly realistic or logical film. Once the premise is put in place, Assault on Precinct 13 is taut and efficient and eager simply to give the viewer an exciting ride.

The attacks on the station are always suitably tense and nicely staged in Assault on Precinct 13. We are never quite sure of what is going on outside, just like the characters trapped in the station, and the desperate attempts of the gang to break in as bullets ricochet off the walls and ammunition runs down, make the film very exciting at times. Carpenter takes a little break before each new assault with the wonderful music score changing tact to touchingly fit the more subdued moments. The distinctive and immediately recognisable synthesized music by John Carpenter really adds to the overall mood and tension of the film, creating a sleek air of dread and menace as Carpenter's camera roams these abandoned streets. He also goes to great pains to avoid making each attack on the station exactly the same, which makes us anticipate the next assault with a little more dread and also helps to prevent the film from becoming too repetitive. Perhaps the film takes a tad longer to get to the siege portion than it should but once there our attention is always held as, chiefly, Bishop, Napoleon and Leigh must defend the station from the hordes of gang members outside attempting to break in. The deliberate pacing in the first third of the film does help generate anticipation though with the film always capturing a feeling of imminent threat or danger.

The fact that the police station seems to be in an area of Los Angeles that everyone, including the police, has practically abandoned and forgotten, also gives Assault on Precinct 13 an obvious latent element of social commentary and criticism. John Carpenter has always been very fond of anti-heroes and unlikely characters having to save the day or work together and Darwin Joston's sardonic Napoleon Wilson fulfills this function fairly admirably here, coming across a sort of blueprint for Carpenter's later, much more iconic and famous anti-hero Snake Plissken. "In my situation," says the death row bound Napoleon. "Days are like women - each one's so damn precious, but they all end up leaving you." The device of Wilson being in the midst of this crisis but incarcerated and then being pressed into action and eventually relied upon is also reminiscent of a similar set-up revolving around Vin Diesel's Riddick character in the cult sci-fi film Pitch Black. Tony Burton adds some humour to the film as another convict called Wells caught up in the siege. "I always lose," complains Wells when Napoleon suggests they flip a coin to see who undertakes a dangerous trip outside the station. "Had bad luck all my life. How do you think I ended up in here?" Carpenter regular Charles Cyphers also makes a welcome appearance as Starker, an officer transporting the prisoners.

The chemistry between Stoker and Joston is quite good too as they slowly develop a respect for one another despite their starkly contrasted situations before the crisis enveloped them. Carpenter introduces some nice little moments of drama and tension into this action orientated film when the characters begin to argue about what course of action to take and whether or not to turf out the man who seems to be attracting the violent and dangerous attentions of the Street Thunder gang. These touches of group/human conflict are very George A Romero and make the film more compelling. One thing that does perhaps date the film though are the fashions with Laurie Zimmer and Nancy Loomis seeming to be both wearing the same unflattering jumper.

Although not perfect, the acting is nothing amazing and the film has some understandable rough edges with its modest budget, Assault on Precinct 13 is a taut and exciting action film that always holds your attention once it has it. Well worth watching if you've never seen it before.

Summary: Early Carpenter classic