Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American independent action-thriller film written, directed, scored, and edited by John Carpenter. It features Austin Stoker as a police officer who defends a defunct precinct against a relentless criminal gang, and Darwin Joston as a death row–bound convict who assists him. Laurie Zimmer, Tony Burton, Martin West, Charles Cyphers, and Nancy Kyes co-star as other defenders of the precinct, as well as victims of the ensuing siege. Carpenter was approached by producer J. Stein Kaplan to make a low-budget exploitation film for under $100,000, on the condition that Carpenter would have total creative control.