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CineRank

John Carpenter

Actor · 115 credits · 41 in highly-rated films

Best known for The Thing (1982)

Frequent collaborators: Joe Dante, Debra Hill, Wes Craven, Martin Scorsese, Jamie Lee Curtis

Best John Carpenter movies by genre

Movies (90 total, ranked by score)

  1. Network

    1976 · ★ 7.8 (2,085 votes)

    Drama

    1

  2. In Search of Darkness

    2019 · ★ 7.5 (103 votes)

    Documentary, Horror

    2

  3. Nightmare Factory

    2011 · ★ 7.3 (22 votes)

    Documentary

    3

  4. In Search of Darkness: Part II

    2020 · ★ 7.7 (48 votes)

    Documentary, Horror

    4

  5. Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

    2008 · ★ 7.3 (51 votes)

    Documentary

    5

  6. The Thing: Terror Takes Shape

    1998 · ★ 7.4 (28 votes)

    Documentary

    6

  7. Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

    2006 · ★ 6.8 (96 votes)

    Documentary

    7

  8. In Search of Darkness: Part III

    2022 · ★ 7.5 (24 votes)

    Documentary, Horror

    8

  9. Tales from the Script

    2009 · ★ 6.6 (42 votes)

    Documentary

    9

  10. Body Bags

    1993 · ★ 6.2 (398 votes)

    Horror, Comedy, Science Fiction

    10

  11. It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned

    2016

    Documentary

    11

  12. Christine: Ignition

    2004 · ★ 6.0 (2 votes)

    Documentary

    12

  13. In Search of Tomorrow

    2022 · ★ 6.6 (31 votes)

    Documentary, Science Fiction

    13

  14. John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies

    2004 · ★ 5.5 (8 votes)

    Documentary

    14

  15. Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

    2009 · ★ 6.6 (68 votes)

    Documentary, Horror

    15

  16. The Wages of Sin

    2003 · ★ 7.4 (5 votes)

    Documentary

    16

  17. Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film

    2000 · ★ 6.0 (1 votes)

    TV Movie, Documentary

    17

  18. The Thing Expanded

    2026 · ★ 8.5 (4 votes)

    Documentary, Horror

    18

  19. Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters

    2024 · ★ 8.2 (5 votes)

    Documentary

    19

  20. An Opera of Violence

    2003 · ★ 6.0 (3 votes)

    Documentary

    20

  21. Dark Star

    1974 · ★ 6.0 (650 votes)

    Comedy, Science Fiction

    21

  22. The Making of 'They Live'

    1988

    Documentary

    22

  23. Halloween: Unmasked

    1999 · ★ 5.6 (4 votes)

    Documentary

    23

  24. Guys and Dolls: Off the Record

    1992 · ★ 10.0 (1 votes)

    Documentary, Music

    24

  25. In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

    2008 · ★ 7.0 (3 votes)

    Documentary

    25

  26. Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

    1994

    Documentary, TV Movie

    26

  27. The Rise of the Synths

    2019 · ★ 7.6 (23 votes)

    Documentary

    27

  28. Christine: Fast and Furious

    2004 · ★ 5.0 (1 votes)

    Documentary

    28

  29. In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994

    2024 · ★ 7.9 (7 votes)

    Documentary, Horror

    29

  30. Masters of Horror

    2002 · ★ 7.7 (13 votes)

    Documentary

    30

Credits are ranked using the same weighted score as movie collections. Last updated Aug 28, 2026.