John Carpenter is know as many matter to many people . To some , Carpenter is a passkey of the horror musical genre ; to others , he is the king of modern cult classics ; and to others , he is the man who take B - film into the mainstream and turned them into outright blockbusters for their fourth dimension . In a career spanning over fifty long time , Carpenter has directed some of the most authoritative movies in advanced cinematic chronicle , most notably 1978’sHalloween , 1980’sThe Fog , 1981’sEscape from New York , and 1984’sStarman .
However , it all start out with a small 1974 indie sci - fi funniness , Dark Star , which premiered in 1974 but was n’t unloosen until January 1975 . Today , Dark Starhas been eclipse by Carpenter ’s succeeding endeavor , most of which are foundational pieces of modern horror . However , Dark Star‘s influence on genre filmmaking should n’t be counted out ; if anything , it should be more widely discussed . In purity of its 50th anniversary , it ’s time to revisit this originative picture and discuss its legacy and importance to contemporary science fable .
A misunderstood gem
Dark Starexplores a very simple premise : infinite travel , for all its groundbreaking and mind - blowing tone , is really quite tedious . The satirical plastic film follows a crew of spaceman aboard the nominal space vessel twenty years into its mission as they kill clip in the great unknown while on a mission to put down rogue major planet . It star a bunch of unknowns and follows a vignette - similar secret plan that takes shape after a now - notable mid - section .
The film actually get as a 45 - minute student movie that Carpenter and co - author Dan O’Bannon put together as part of their graduation from the University of Southern California . When inflate for a theatrical release , the mid - section was added to satiate the runtime , and the film was ready to screen , premier at the 1974 Filmex , the Los Angeles International Film Exposition . Described by Carpenteras “ wait for Godotin outer space ” and with the tagline , “ The space - out odyssey , ” the film went widely in January 1975 to a mixed and confused reception from audiences .
In 1975 , science fabrication was n’t what it is today . The music genre , which spent most of the ’ forty and ’ 50s related to B - movies with cheapjack and quaint special effect , had see a major shift withStanley Kubrick ’s game - change 1968 masterpiece2001 : A Space Odyssey . after , most sci - fi movies did n’t recognise whether to copy2001or go in a dissimilar focus . Similarly , audience did n’t screw what to expect from the music genre , with many relating it to the intellectual and almost phantasmagoric approach of Kubrick ’s seminal effort .
do it to say that any flick key as “ wait for Godotin Space ” did not meet either of those standards . Audiences did not respond to it , with Carpenter and O’Bannon finding empty theaters and little to no response to the film ’s decided humour . Never ones to give up , Carpenter and O’Bannon squeeze onward and found success withHalloweenandAlien , severally . However , it would be age beforeDark Starreceived any realisation . As it twist out , its legacy would be far more than either the director or screenwriter have a bun in the oven .
The eighth passenger
Today , Dark Staris best remembered as a furore classic of the 1970s and a starting detail for Carpenter ’s career . However , it ’s also the aspiration for what is arguably the inventor of the sci - fi / repugnance subgenre : Alien . Indeed , Dan O’Bannon wrote the screenplay , based on the mid - plane section ofDark Starfeaturing Sargeant Pinback , work by O’Bannon himself , interact with a beach ball - like unknown that he finally kill by bulge it like a balloon .
AfterDark Starfailed to make audience express joy with its avowedly absurdist humor and novel premiss , O’Bannon retooled the concept into a horror flick . It was a actual stroke of genius on his part to identify the unwashed ribbon between the story of a lone astronaut attach with an alien and that of a panicky bunch being haunted by one . Yet , the gamble devote off , asAliennot only revolutionizedscience fiction and horror but launched a dealership that remain to this day .
Like Carpenter ’s subsequent body of work , Alienhas eclipsedDark Starin reception and endurance . However , O’Bannon ’s achievements in the former are , in large part , due to the latter . There is noAlienwithoutDark Star , alike to how there is noThe ThingwithoutDark Star . Alienmight be the only one that directly spawn from the 1974 movie , butDark Star‘s influence can be found everywhere in Carpenter ’s movies : the disillusionment and boredom with world touch by the reaching of the hazardously supernatural is a recurring musical theme in his work , fromHalloweento the misunderstoodIn the Mouth of Madness .
The ultimate cult classic
In many elbow room , Dark Staris the stark cult classic . Underappreciated in its clip , it has quietly cower its way into the very fabric of the genres it represents . Yet , it has never seemed or received the aid it deserve for being such a groundbreaking ceremony piece of amusement . Instead , it has been uplifted by a blue-ribbon few who sing its praises to anyone uncoerced to see , becoming a essential part of the 1980s contemporaries . Dark Starhas quietly settled to be the unsung hero of its tarradiddle , whose lingering touch has adorn everything from major motion pictures like Danny Boyle’sSunshineto monolithic ethnical phenomena likeLife on Mars .
Like its protagonist gang , once they ’ve come to terms with their ultimate fate , Dark Starhas also quiet settled into a peaceful yet unacknowledged existence as a Father-God of a genre that seldom commemorate it . Cult classics are seldom take account outside of their delegate infinite , a shame when one considers just how influential most of them are . Yet , like Lieutenant Doolittle , the surfer who uses debris to surf into the atmosphere and break like a falling star , Dark Starunderstands how to make it epic . After all , it became such an institution with minimum resources ; is anyone surprised it restrain make the most with the least ? It will never beAlien , but that ’s for the better ; there are countlessAliens , but there ’s still only oneDark Star .
Dark Staris uncommitted tostream on Tubi .
