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John Carpenter ‘can’t believe’ he watched Greta Gerwig’s Barbie

The horror maestro also commented on the lacklustre response to The Exorcist: Believer.

John Carpenter has shared his thoughts on Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking Barbie movie.

Speaking with The Los Angeles Times this week, the Halloween director confessed Greta’s film “went right over my head.”

“I watched Barbie. I can’t believe I watched Barbie,” the 75-year-old told the publication. “It’s just not my generation. I had nothing to do with Barbie dolls. I didn’t know who Allan was. I mean, I can sum it up. She says, ‘I don’t have a vagina,’ and then at the end, ‘I’m going to go to a gynaecologist!’ That’s the movie to me.”

Carpenter added: “I mean, there’s a patriarchy business in there, but I missed that whole thing. Right over my head. But I think she’s fabulous, Margot Robbie.”

Barbie has become the highest-grossing movie of the year so far and the highest-grossing film ever by a female director, earning over $1 billion (£813 million) worldwide.

Elsewhere in the interview, the horror maestro also commented on the lacklustre response to The Exorcist reboot, The Exorcist: Believer.

Directed by David Gordon Green – who worked with Carpenter on the most recent Halloween reboot trilogy – the film opened to under $30 million (£24.4 million) at the US box office, despite Universal forking out $400 million (£325 million) on the rights to the franchise.

It also currently has a critics rating of 23% on Rotten Tomatoes.

“I like what David did when he made the three Halloweens,” Carpenter said. “I loved No. 2 Halloween Kills. Thought that was fabulous. I heard The Exorcist really didn’t cut it. That could be a kick-ass movie. I don’t understand how you can screw that up.”

The Exorcist: Believer is currently screening in cinemas.

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