brokehorrorfan:

While cinephiles reflect on John Carpenter’s output from the ‘70s and ‘80s with great reverence - some might argue that it’s an unparalleled run of genre classics - many of his films were considered failures upon initial release due to a lack of commercial success. The Thing is the most well-documented example, but Big Trouble in Little China suffered a similar fate. Produced by 20th Century Fox, the film’s domestic gross of $11.1 million only covered about half of its budget, and the critical reception was mixed.

Disillusioned by the Hollywood system, the production influenced Carpenter to return to his independent roots, where he would stay for much of the remainder of his career. But, like many of the master of horror’s works, Big Trouble found a cult audience through television and home video. Difficult to classify, the genre-bending adventure combines elements of action (martial arts, no less), comedy, fantasy, horror, western, and even a dash of romance.

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