Dark Star
Review: In the pantheon of genre film directors, few are as beloved as John Carpenter. In the late 70s and on into the 80s, he was responsible for a run of terrific films including bona fide classics like Hallowe'en, Escape From New York, They Live and arguably his masterpiece, The Thing. But in 1974 he was a film school student, battling to make a zero budget feature with his friends. The result? The 2001/Silent Running-mocking cult flick, Dark Star. Dark Star tells the tale of the crew of the eponymous starship, whose multi-year mission is to destroy unstable planets that threaten to destroy galaxies that might otherwise be inhabitable by humanity. Along the way, they hit problems in that their Commander has been killed by a faulty chair (although he is still in cryogenics and available to dispense advice), their 'smart bombs' are becoming increasingly keen to be deployed and they have picked up a strange beach-ball like alien... "The loneliness pervasive in so many space movies becomes the source of wistful humour in a superbly bittersweet and even philosophical finish." Then can be no denying that this is a flawed film. The acting is all over the map, long sections of the movie drag and the low budget is perhaps a little too apparent. But a terrific final act and finale make up considerable ground and earn the whole at least a pass mark. Aside from Carpenter, there is another significant name in the Dark Star credits. Dan O'Bannon, best known as the writer of Alien and the writer/director of Return of the Living Dead, also is on co-scripting duties here, as well as supervising the special effects and playing one of the lead roles in the form of accidental astronaut Sergeant Pinback. The middle section, where Pinback pursues the resident alien around the bowels of the ship, is a clear precursor to the corresponding, more malevolent segments in Alien. But the plotting is otherwise very rambling and directionless even though components are being aligned for events in the final act. This lack of momentum does harm the movie, particularly in the 'extended cut', which squeezes in an additional ten minutes. "[Dark Star] shows that heart and imagination can outweigh all sorts of barriers of budget." Despite the flaws, the talent involved shines through. When the last third kicks in with an intelligent bomb questioning the nature of existence and a commander wishing just to go surfing again, the loneliness pervasive in so many space movies becomes the source of wistful humour in a superbly bittersweet and even philosophical finish. Solidly funny, with real charm, Dark Star may have problems in script and acting, but the potential of the behind-the-cameras talent is evident in spades. Its influence is clear in so many films that followed it (and TV series - such as Red Dwarf ), and it shows that heart and imagination can outweigh all sorts of barriers of budget. Good stuff.
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