But back to the film, its a tense fight for survival as a man sees his daughter shot dead by a gang faction. He follows the gang and shoots dead the gang leader. The film hots up as he runs into a shutting down police station an the gang lay seige to it all night.

Its a film of survival and does have a couple of bits of humor as well. John Carpenter is one of my favorite directors of all time and this well thought out and created film is one of his best.


Disappointed   May 5, 2004
 1 out of 10 found this review helpful

After reading so many positive reviews about this one in the end I found it a pretty run of the mill, forgettable film. The scene with the ice cream van is very tense but it just goes down hill from there. I found the biggest letdown was the fact that the bad guys are just anonymous people running around in the dark, we don't get to meet them or hear them speak at all.

If it's real edge of your seat stuff you want then leave this well alone. So many better movies out there.


Get the popcorn out and enjoy!   December 22, 2002
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Assault on Precinct 13 is a straightforward, no-nonsense action packed thriller, and as such, it can't be faulted. Police Station Precinct 13 is going to be closed down, leaving a new Lieutenant in charge on the last day. The cells are empty. A skeleton crew is on duty. Things are winding down pretty nicely as the slack has been taken up by the new police station. However,events begin to gather apace. A man wanders in. He is traumatized. He cannot speak. Suddenly a huge armed gang who are after the man besiege the station. The phone and power lines go down. The precinct is isolated. They are on their own. The tension builds up nicely and never relents.

For a film like this, you don't expect too much in-depth characterization, and you don't get it; but the script and the actors flush out the characters with enough personality to make you care about them. Carpenter should be given credit for making the central character black. In 1976, this was not common. Carpenter also does a good job at hinting at the suppressed racism in the police force. Nothing needs to be said as the body language of the white police officers says it all. It's done with subtlety and is spot on. However, this is not allowed to get in the way of the action. The film's protagonists are in a tight spot. We watch as they hold out against the besiegers to the bitter end. Along with Dark Star, this is Carpenter's best film and far superior to the rubbish he churned out in the 80s. Get the popcorn out and enjoy.