In a 10.11 interview with A.V. Club‘s William Hughes, legendary horror helmer John Carpenter allows readers see the proverbial man behind the curtain, and that man, it turns out, is a lot more into video games than keeping up with must-see films.

And therefore — here’s a real forehead-smacker — Carpenter doesn’t even know what elevated horror is, for heaven’s sake.

C’mon, bruh…being 74 (which is oldish but not that old) doesn’t give you license to just live in your own little world and ignore the here-and-now. You have to watch what other directors are doing, and maybe let some of what they’re doing and saying…maybe let a little bit of that in.

Hughes: Shifting gears slightly: Are you familiar with the phrase ‘elevated horror’?

Carpenter: I don’t know what that means. I mean, I can guess what it means, but I don’t really know.

Hughes: People usually use it to refer to A24’s movies…horror that’s very heavy on the metaphorical. Hereditary, Midsommar, movies like that.

Carpenter: I have no idea what you’re talking about.