Escape from New York
Escape from New York
7.186%77%
In the future, crime is out of control and New York City's Manhattan is a maximum security prison. Grabbing a bargaining chip right out of the air, convicts bring down the President's plane in bad old Gotham. Gruff Snake Plissken, a one-eyed lone warrior new to prison life, is coerced into bringing the President, and his cargo, out of this land of undesirables.
RichyE reviewedAugust 31, 2025
It’s always a shame that when John Carpenter makes a movie, it rarely gets the recognition it deserves right away.
His films are slow burns and misunderstood at first, then rediscovered and rewatched.
Escape from New York is no exception.
The atmosphere, the synth score, the bleak satire all adds up to a film that’s now considered a cult classic.
Escape from New York is gritty, stylish, and unapologetically strange.
It’s a film that dared to be different and like so many of Carpenter’s works, it found its audience not in the moment, but in the years that followed.
I loved it when I saw it for the first time and still do, a true cult gem.