A gritty thriller is hailed by fans as a “masterpiece” and is streaming free in the UK. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is set in Los Angeles, California, and follows police officer Lieutenant Ethan Bishop (played by Austin Stoker) as he seeks to protect a police station from a blood-thirsty gang called Street Thunder.
The precinct is being decomissioned, leaving them largely cut off from the outside world amid the attack, and the small crew of prisoners and law enforcement staff are forced to dig in to try and hold off the vicious killers. The film is brutally violent and continues to shock audiences some five decades after its release.
The low-budget project was the second feature film by iconic director John Carptenter, who wrote, directed, scored, and edited it. He later went on to make pyschological horror classics like Halloween and The Thing, becoming a legend in the genre.
A remake of the film directed by Jean-François Richet and starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne was released in 2005.
One fan on Rotten Tomatoes wrote: “Awesome action thriller from master John Carpenter, a director who should have his own temple somewhere so I can worship him, this being part of an impeccable 14 year run of really great cult classics and outright masterpieces.
A second added: “Assault On Precinct 13 is one of the man’s best, a gritty, hard slice of genre cinema at it’s most lean, brutal and unpretentious.
“It’s a violent, shocking (just wait for the “vanilla ice-cream scene”) to the point and free of filler, has a truly incredible, evocative, cool synth score by Carpenter himself of course, great characters and a refreshingly tough, unsentimental tone.”
Another said it “doesn’t waste a single scene”, adding: “Great characters and suspenseful action make this completely awesome!”
A third said: “I always enjoy rewatching this one,” while a fourth held it up as a “hard-boiled masterpiece”.
The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes where it has a 96% on its Tomatometer from 51 reviews, reflecting the percentage of approved critics who have given it a positive review.
It’s also got a strong 80% Popcornmeter reflecting the high esteem its held in by general audiences.
The film has a 15 certificate, strong violence and language, and scenes some viewers may find upsetting.
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – streaming on free on ITVX.