Dark Star (1974)

 

You can be pretty sure that John Carpenter never makes a straightforward film. Heck, this one (his debut) already was something else. It would be far-fetched to think that everyone can enjoy this, but if you're up for a dose of low budget, spaced out science fiction, you could do a lot worse. 

'Dark Star' is about a ship that flies across the galaxy, destroying planets that might become unstable and thus endangering colonisation. On board are four astronauts - more akin to truckers, really - who have been out there for 20 years and are not only bored to death with their job, but who are also pretty bored of one another and they all want to get all this over with. Their commander, the fifth member, is dead, stuck in cryo and they are still able to communicate with him. 

No idea how that works, but that doesn't matter, honestly. 

They have brought an alien on board for company, but even that doesn't comfort anyone anymore and when the creature escapes, astronaut Pinback has one hell of a time trying to recapture it. He eventually kills it by accident, which leads him down an even farther hole, as it turns out Pinback isn't the real Pinback, but in fact some lowly engineer who wanted to pull a prank and instead got stuck on the Dark Star for all this time. 

There's also Talby, who is completely spaced out in the observation deck, Doolittle who just wants to go surfing again and Boiler who really just doesn't give a shit. Quite a collection of misfits, all in all. 

Things get even worse when they hit an asteroid storm and their computer systems get glitches, which causes their last smart bomb to start contemplating the meaning of its life. 

Yeah, this film is pretty wacky and 'out there' at times. 

'Dark Star' is surprisingly good, considering the paltry budget and flimsy sets. Carpenter and his crew make the most out of every shot and it often looks a lot more expensive than it actually was. Okay, some things are obviously cheap, but still. And for crafting an alien from an inflatable beach ball this film gets bonus points. It does take a while to get going, though. The first half can be a slog, as things only pick up after Pinback escapes from the elevator, which is a scene that takes far too long. But after that, 'Dark Star' really gets going and becomes funny in a twisted way. Doolittle trying to convince the bomb not to explode is downright hilarious and you'd be hard pressed to forget the final shot of him surfing down the atmosphere of a planet on a piece of debris. 

Yes, you absolutely read that correctly. 

This is not something for everyone. The acting is sometimes a bit off and the story and pacing are slightly wonky at times, but if you like your cult absolutely cult and if you're open to something different, then this might be a film you could enjoy.