10 Best Heroes From John Carpenter Movies We’ll Never Forget

Few filmmakers know how to craft a great cinematic hero like John Carpenter, leaving in his legacy many alluring characters throughout his directorial career. Perhaps better known for his horror movie villains, Carpenter’s grim sense of creativity perhaps lends itself more to the darker side of a given narrative, with iconic antagonists like Lo-Pan, The Thing, and the Halloween serial killer Michael Myers all springing from his twisted mind. But as great as John Carpenter’s best villains are, he also deserves recognition for his entertaining cinematic heroes.

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The success of John Carpenter’s characters can be measured in various ways. Some of them are legendary simply for their ability to weather the insidious circumstances of John Carpenter’s best films, surviving slashers and subhuman creatures alike. Others are more watchable than likable, responsible for classic line deliveries and bold maneuvers that keep them worthy of rooting for even decades later.

10 Dr. Loomis

Halloween (1978)

Inarguably one of the greatest slasher movies ever made despite its age and shoestring budget, the original Halloween is still so memorable partly thanks to its standout protagonists. Far from the typical horror movie villain fodder, John Carpenter’s characters all have rich, complex inner lives before they’re unceremoniously dispatched by The Shape. Dr. Loomis is one fascinating physician who actually manages to live to see the Halloween series’ many sequels.

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Like most normal psychiatrists, Dr. Loomis fundamentally believes in the possible rehabilitation of all people, firmly trusting the science of psychology’s ability to understand even the most twisted mind. That makes it all the more interesting when he’s stumped by Michael Myers, coming to the conclusion that the boy is nothing short of pure, distilled evil, impossible to redeem or reason with. As the one character in the franchise with the most firsthand experience with Michael, hearing Loomis’ theories on him is always a spine-chillingly good time.

9 Snake Plissken

Escape From New York (1981)

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The first of Kurt Russell’s many collaborations with John Carpenter, Snake Plissken is an iconic 80s action movie hero that deserves to stand with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch or Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo. An ex-special forces criminal convict, Snake Plissken is pulled out of confinement for one last job when the president of a dystopian future United States becomes held hostage in Manhattan, which has been converted to a massive open-air prison. It’s all Snake and the pensive soundtrack alongside him can do to earn his freedom with the impossible task.

From his steely, squared jaw covered in five o’clock shadow to his mysterious eye patch to his hilariously over-the-top cool name, Snake Plissken is nothing short of an all-time great action hero. Russell plays him with a sense of brooding pensiveness that was unmatched by his peers in the genre at the time of the early 80s, giving rise to the gruff anti-hero. Snake has become an endlessly influential character in pop culture, inspiring other heroes like his namesake protagonist in the Metal Gear Solid video game series.

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8 George Nada

They Live (1988)

In sharp contrast to the cynical, jaded Snake, some of Carpenter’s other action heroes have a far sunnier disposition. Enter George Nada, a lonesome drifter who stumbles across a huge secret in Carpenter’s underrated sci-fi classic They Live. Here, Nada finds a pair of glasses that allows him to see the world for what it really is – A conspiracy of false freedom orchestrated by skull-faced aliens hidden in positions of power. Cutting through the propaganda of the world around him with his glasses, Nada leads a rebellion against the shifty invaders.

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From his invaluable sunglasses to his proficiency with a shotgun, George Nada is a wonderfully fun sight for sore eyes. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper puts in a hall-of-fame professional wrestler movie performance as the character, chewing equal parts scenery and bubblegum with his brilliant one-liners as he slowly builds an army of recruits to stand up to the alien menace. Even if Piper might not be the most technically-gifted actor, Nada is nevertheless a huge part of what makes They Live work so well.

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7 Jack Burton

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Far removed from Snake Plissken personality-wise, Kurt Russell’s character in Big Trouble in Little China is among his more underrated starring roles. Jack Burton is a simple trucker who gets in way over his head while doing a favor for his old friend Wang Chi, becoming embroiled in the ancient machinations of a centuries-old Chinese sorcerer and his bizarre minions in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Though Burton might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, he undoubtedly means well.

Despite getting top billing and a significant focus in promotional materials, Jack Burton is honestly more of a lovable side-kick in the movie, a role he serves dutifully. His odd knack for dumb luck that continuously knocks him on his behind while somehow working out in his favor is almost supernatural, making him an endearing and unique take on the usual grizzled action protagonist. With nothing but a cool tank top, a semi-truck, and a TEC-9 submachine gun, Burton proves to be an invaluable ally despite being out of his element.

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6 R.J. MacReady

The Thing (1982)

Of Kurt Russell’s many characters played for John Carpenter, R.J. MacReady still makes a strong argument for one of the director’s strongest protagonists. Compared to his more scientifically-minded peers in the Antarctic research base, helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady is more of a down-to-Earth blue-collar worker, serving as the audience’s window into the tight-knit, claustrophobic community. His experience becomes invaluable when the base is beset by the titular Thing, an shapeshifting alien life form capable of mimicking human behaviors.

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It’s hard not to identify with MacReady’s salt-of-the-Earth sensibilities and practical solutions to the problems posed by the research base’s slippery invader. His ability to stay calm despite the worsening odds is an inspiring display of the indomnitable human spirit, regardless of The Thing‘s ambiguous downer ending. Stoic, but not heartless, R.J. MacReady is an archetypically-perfection action-horror commando, clad in a bulky parka and a flamethrower.

5 Wang Chi

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

While Kurt Russell’s Jack Burton might initially seem to be the main hero of Big Trouble in Little China, in truth he was more of a studio-mandated white sidekick to absorb the marketing in favor of Dennis Dun’s Wang Chi. A friend of Burton’s and a successful restaurateur, Wang Chi’s life is turned upside down when his fiancée is kidnapped by the sorcerer Lo-Pan to fulfill an ancient prophecy. In an effort to save her, Wang Chi risks life and limb, delving into the strange supernatural underbelly of San Francisco’s Chinatown.

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No matter the martial arts skill, it takes a brave man to face down superpowered foes like Rain and Thunder, but Wang Chi happily does so with no backup. Certainly a courageous martial artist, Wang Chi is far from being a typical bland hero, with a flair for showing off and gambling that might get him in more trouble than he’d like to admit. Dennis Dun is criminally underrated as this cheeky, lovable action hero that represented a huge step in Asian representation for Western action movies.

4 Laurie Strode

Halloween (1978)

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Perhaps the original horror movie “final girl”, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode is one of the most iconic horror movie protagonists of all time. Only a simple teen girl in the first Halloween, the titular holiday soon becomes a nightmare for the unsuspecting Laurie when the serial killer Michael Myers escapes and ravages her neighborhood, picking off her friends one by one. By the end of the film, Laurie has become a rattled, calloused survivor whose later paranoia is justified in the reboot Halloween movies.

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Compared to her friends, Laurie takes life a little more seriously, taking her responsibilities as a babysitter seriously. This outlook proves to be invaluable as Myers attacks, with Laurie putting her life on the line to ensure the kids in her charge remain safe. Though she may seem unassuming at first, Laurie’s ability to rise to the occasion of her crisis and demonstrate courage in the face of pure, unmitigated evil proves her mettle over and over again.

3 Stevie Wayne

The Fog (1980)

An early, underrated gem in John Carpenter’s filmography, The Fog is a horror movie with an ensemble cast that presents many characters for audiences to acquaint themselves with. By far the most enduring is Stevie Wayne, a single mom and local radio host who finds herself in a spooky predicament as the titular fog rolls into her small coastal town, bringing the ghosts of long-dead sailors along with it to terrorize the townsfolk. It’s up to Stevie to make it back to town to ensure her son’s safety.

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Like with Laurie, Stevie Wayne demonstrates John Carpenter’s skill with writing determined female characters in his horror movies. As the one character with the most to lose to the profane undead roaming the shores of Antonio Bay, Stevie is the most determined, doing everything she can to keep her son alive. Her empathy also extends to the entire town, utilizing her entertaining DJ skills to direct her fellow citizens to safety in the wake of the supernatural disaster.

2 John Trent

In The Mouth Of Madness (1994)

John Carpenter may be fond of writing admirable action heroes who display courage in the most bizarre and dangerous of scenarios, but some of his more interesting protagonists are also his most flawed. Enter John Trent, the star of Carpenter’s 90s film In The Mouth of Madness, a brilliant film dripping with Lovecraftian horror. A simple insurance adjuster, Trent is bid to look into some outlandish claims that a horror writer’s novels are driving their readers to the brink of insanity.

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Before long, John Trent uncovers that the story behind the claims is no less that a living scary story, finding himself at the center of it. Sam Niell of Jurassic Park fame plays Trent with a holier-than-thou arrogance, refusing to believe in the supernatural until it is undoubtedly bearing down upon him. Even if it’s more fun to root against him at times, John Trent deserves props for his ability to drive the engagement of a particularly horrifying story from Carpenter.

1 Jenny Hayden

Starman (1984)

Carpenter’s films are usually more concept-based than character-based, not relying on emotional storytelling or delicate character arcs to sell a given narrative. However, 1984’s Starman proves he write intriguing characters that work as a focal point all their own, doing more than surviving (or not surviving) a depraved, supernatural scenario. Jenny Hayden is the leading protagonist, a widowed woman who sets out on a road trip alongside an alien taking the form of her late husband in order to help him get back to his home planet safely.

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Admittedly, Jenny does show-off some courage and proficiency in the face of the hostile government agents on her tail. But her more impressive journey is the internal one she undergoes with the face of her dead husband looking back at her, finally allowing herself to process the trauma of losing him. Not just a capable action heroine, Jenny Hayden is also one of John Carpenter’s best-written characters by a country mile.

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