John Carpenter Calls This Free-to-Stream Thriller “A perfect nightmare”

John Carpenter
Director JOHN CARPENTER on set in 1981, Courtesy of Everett Collection

Master of horror, John Carpenter is known to be a major cinephile. He has impeccable taste in movies and demonstrates a profound understanding of the ins and outs of filmmaking.

Several years ago, Carpenter sat down with the Rotten Tomatoes blog to discuss his top five films. And one of his picks just so happens to be the celebrated Hitchcock classic, Vertigo.

Vertigo is a perfect nightmare,” Carpenter tells the Rotten Tomatoes blog. “Perfect. It’s a dream, and it’s stunning. It’s so dark and obsessive, and it came from this director who claimed to only want to entertain the audiences. But that’s not true; it’s a masterpiece.”

If you’re a horror fan, you’ve likely seen Vertigo. Maybe even multiple times. But if by some chance you haven’t yet experienced this cinematic classic (or if you’re in the mood for a revisit), you’re in luck. The flick is streaming for free (with ads) via YouTube.

Also Read: John Carpenter Speaks On Latest Blumhouse Reboot: “I don’t understand how you can screw that up”

Vertigo features an impressive cast that counts James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Tom Helmore as key players.

The picture was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1959. One for best art-set decoration and one for best sound. In retrospect, it’s surprising that this celebrated effort didn’t receive more nominations and that it didn’t win any Oscars. After all, it is considered to be one of the best pictures ever committed to celluloid.

Official plot synopsis via Google Movies: An ex-police officer who suffers from an intense fear of heights is hired to prevent an old friend’s wife from committing suicide, but all is not as it seems. Hitchcock’s haunting, compelling masterpiece is uniquely revelatory about the director’s own predilections and hang-ups and is widely considered to be one of his masterworks.

Stay tuned to the site in the coming days for more recommendations as we discover them.

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