While John Carpenter has become synonymous with fictional horror storytelling, the 75-year-old director and composer is dipping his toe into true-life terrors with his new show, “John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams.”

The legendary director, known for genre-defining classics including “Halloween” and “The Thing,” sat down for a wide-ranging interview ahead of the release of the unscripted anthology series, which is now streaming on Peacock.

This interview with Carpenter has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: I have noticed that a lot of recent academic literature has been written about horror movies, even outside of film studies. For so long it was thought of as kind of low brow. Now, scholars are writing about it. And we’re seeing this interest in elevated horror, directors like Jordan Peele.

A: His movies are pretty (darn)good. The UFO movie is great. I loved it. I see horror as a genre that gets reinvented by every generation to fit their generation. You know, I did it with mine. Tobe Hooper and George Romero reinvented it for theirs. It always happens.

Q: But some people still turn their nose up at it.

A: They still look down on it, don’t they? We’ve always been looked down on. We’re close to being pornographers. Just a little above, you know?

Q: So now you are pivoting to real scary stories — things that actually happened. Can you talk a little bit about what prompted you to make this sort of shift in your storytelling?

A: Well, I’ve never done this before — true stories that involve frightening things. True stories of killers are a staple of television. But what we’re concentrating on in this series are the survivors. You know, we don’t care so much about the perpetrators. The thing about “Dahmer,” the character that I remember the most is Niecy Nash — the character from the survivor’s point of view. And that’s something I haven’t done. I also haven’t done a true-life deal, except for Elvis, which — that doesn’t count. But I also remote directed this series and that’s fantastic. The cast and crew were in Prague, and I’m sitting in my living room. I have a full cup of coffee in my hand saying, “Do this, do that.” That’s fabulous. I cannot wait to do it again that way.

Q: And how did the stories come to you? Were they pitched to you and then you vetted them?

A: Yeah, that’s it. We have researchers who find the stories out there, and we pick the ones that are the most interesting. I picked the phone stalker because I couldn’t believe that this woman was being stalked for six years, and they couldn’t catch this guy. What the hell is that? It’s crazy.

Q: It’s been a tumultuous time in the industry with the writers and actors strikes. I’m curious what your thinking is on the state of the industry.

A: Oh, wow. Well parts of it are thriving, parts aren’t. I mean, look, “Barbie” is the biggest movie of the year and it made like $1 billion worldwide, made by a woman. That’s incredible. That’s progress. I can’t promise you that I understood the (darn) movie or cared about it that much. It’s just so, you know, it’s just different. However, I appreciate what she did. Appreciate everybody involved in that film.

So, I mean, come on. The movie business has always been cooking along. We all love to go to movies. We still love to go to movies. We’re watching a lot on our TVs, though. And I guess on our computers too. I’m not sure about that. That doesn’t make sense to me. Why that? I gotta see it big. Anyway, what do I think of the business? Well, I love cinema. I love movies. The art of motion pictures. So, wherever the business goes, I’ll follow along and still love it. But I fell in love when I was really young. And it hasn’t gone away.