Feels like Carpenter

This movie has its faults, no doubt (some dull action scenes set to annoying heavy metal were my biggest complaint) but it's also the first JC movie in a quite a while that felt like a Carpenter movie from the get go. The synth music combined with some minimalist but effective SE shots create a mood of foreboding that is instantly unsettling. Add in plenty of other Carpenter trademarks - siege situations, foreground and background suspense, tough lead characters - and you've got a solid, if lesser, John Carpenter movie. Certainly fits in better with his style than Escape from LA or Village of the Damned. Even Vampires, though entertaining, didn't feel like JC to me. This does.