Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

The first thing that immediately struck me about ’Assault on Precinct 13’ was how dated it looked. I mean we’ve all seen independent films, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actual indie from the 70’s. This one had it all - very cheap look, superficial dialogues, bad lighting, obvious set peices etc. Ponder over a scene where one of the convicts in the precinct under attack is holding closed the door of a room with just one hand and talking to a cop, while about half a dozen people at the other end of the room try to open it up. The movie doesn’t really make sense to logic and doesn’t even try try to. Clearly fits into the ’so bad its good’ category. Bits of it reminded me of the zombie films of George Romero - especially how a whole gang of baddies try to storm into the station through any available window, door, sewer opening, basement etc available to them and the way a group consisting of a mix of cops and inmates (5 in total) hold them all off by senseless, unfazed, nonstop gunfire.

Its interesting how in the original the main cop is an African American and his prisoner a white guy, a situation conveniently reversed in the recent remake (unseen by me). Takes liberties with the violence especially the scene where a gang member mercilessly shoots dead a young girl. Not really recommended viewing, but widely acknowledged today as cult material. Starts the trend of director Carpenter’s fascination with isolation (here conveyed to us by the use of an abondoned police station) and later also explored in ’The thing’ and its icy, remote settings and alienated individuals.

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