Horror master John Carpenter is taking on TV with ‘Suburban Screams’

In 'John Carpenter's Suburban Screams,' the series explores the horrors that exist in our own backyards, the mundane things that we may not think of as scary but actually are.

Master of horror John Carpenter, director of iconic movies Halloween, The Thing, Escape From L.A. and many others, is turning his distinctive gaze toward the small screen.

In John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams, the six-episode anthology series explores the horrors that exist in our own backyards — the little, mundane things that we may not think of as scary but actually are. What goes on behind the closed doors of suburbia, the cookie-cutter homes in identical neighbourhoods locked in labyrinthine mazes of roads?

Suburban Screams, in a sort-of true-crime documentary approach, aims to find out.

As we gear up for Halloween, the series tells six chilling tales, each one allegedly based on a true story. Two are based in Canada. Carpenter executive-produces the series and is the director of one episode, The Phone Stalker, about a Long Island, N.Y., woman who has been incessantly stalked by an anonymous man since 2017.

The 75-year-old Carpenter also created the score for the series; that’s right, he’s not just a cinematic mind, but a musical one as well. (Over the past decade he has released five albums and has gone on world tours for his music.)

Global News got on the phone with Carpenter for a brief chat about the series and composing horror and music.

Global News: First of all, it’s a real honour to speak to you. I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s and watched a ton of horror movies. So thank you for everything.John Carpenter: Absolutely. My pleasure.

I understand you directed that remotely?Yes. I was excited to do it because it was remote directing. We had a hook-up so that the cast and crew were shooting in Prague and I was directing from my living room here in Los Angeles.