“Dark Star” is an odd science fiction movie from 1974 that features a ship manned by four miserable spacemen, an alien that looks like a beachball, and an argumentative bomb.
It’s a terrible movie, really, especially since sci-fi has been built, since then, on the shoulders of giants. Why, would Umbrella Entertainment release the movie this month in Australia?
The truth is that “Dark Star” has a massive cult following, as it was John Carpenter’s film school project, picked up by a producer and given a theatrical release. Carpenters friend Dan O’Bannon, helped write the script and starred as one of the doomed astronauts.
The beauty of “Dark Star”, is in the sheer originality of the production. It seems to parody Kubrick’s “2001: Space Odyssey”, but Carpenter and O’Bannon pumped so much work and love into this project that the final product is astounding.
Carpenter would go on to be one of the modern masters of horror; his sci-fi horror film, “The Thing”, draws heavily from similar themes in “Dark Star”, the isolation, the desperation and the will to survive.
Dan O’Bannon would later repackage the idea of an alien wreaking havoc on a spaceship as horror and write the screenplay for the seminal sci-fi film, “Alien”. He would go on to work on “Star Wars”, “Lifeforce”, “The Return of the Living Dead” and “Total Recall”.
In effect, “Dark Star” serves the creative forces of Carpenter and O’Bannon sprung forth. It’s a testament to the power of hard work and vision; though the special effects are clumsy, it’s evident how many films would draw on a similar style later on.
Despite all the history attached to the film, and despite the fact that the movie borders on awful, there’s still a lot to enjoy in “Dark Star”, from the complete sense of alienation that the crew members experience, to the stubborn bomb that wants to explode, forcing the captain to spacewalk and engage in a quick philosophical debate, to convince it to shut itself off.
“Dark Star” is an absolute must have for sci-fi/horror fans, who owe a debt of tribute to this insane production, made on shoestrings and banana peels, and it’s a resounding, fascinating film. Give me a camera and a crew, and let me take a shot at science fiction…
I say: An incredible, momentous film for the sci-fi/horror genres, with “Dark Star” giving us our modern American masters.
See it for: Though it crawls at times, the sequence where Pinback is trapped in the elevator shaft mesmerizing!
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