A brilliant exercise in pure suspense - keeps the audience suspended in a state of extreme tension. This film and Halloween are enough to elevate John Carpenter to greatness - even if current Vampires is a depressing far cry from the glory days.

The story is as simple as in the best Western tradition, with siege being the operative key word. Carpenter has our heroes under threat from a marauding gang called Street Thunder who have taken a blood oath to destroy the besieged group. There is intense suspense interspersed with b-movie banter of a very witty kind. Carpenter who went on to score one of the best ever soundtracks for Halloween, did a fantastic job with his electronic tinkering on this one as well. An old police station in one of the worst precints of L.A is closing down, but while the few remaining staff members prepare to clear out, a desperate man, unable to speak due to shock arrives to take refuge.

Moments later, the police station is beseiged by a murderous gang of criminals- wave after wave of them!. Carpenter has turned in a brilliant excercise in pared down suspense film making and this film ranks as one of the truly great edge-of-your-seat thrillers ever. Not to be missed.

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