REVIEW – Dark Star

Published on: 21st December, 2009

REVIEW - Dark Star  | read this item

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With filmmaker Dan O’Bannon having passed away a few days ago, now would be a suitable time to look back on his career and review some of the highlights. First on the list is Dark Star, a bizarre science fiction comedy that parodied Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and, of course, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Devised with fellow student John Carpenter whilst studying at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, Dark Star was initially intended to have been a forty-minute piece that, with additional funding from producer Jack H. Harris, was extended to feature length, taking several years to complete. Due to the limited budget, the principals were forced to undertake several duties: with O’Bannon also working on production design and editing, as well as taking one of the lead roles, whilst Carpenter produced, directed and composed the score (this would prepare him for the multitasking that he would do throughout his career).

Dark Star is a deep space vessel that travels through uncharted areas of the galaxy and destroys unstable planets to allow mankind to colonise other solar systems. Having been away from Earth from many years, the crew consist of four young astronauts: Sgt. Pinback (O’Bannon), who spends his time attempting to tame an alien that they have decided to keep as a pet; Lt. Doolittle (Brian Narelle), a surfer who has been forced to take over the ship after the accidental death of their commander; Talby (Dre Pahich), who has become distant from the others and prefers to remain alone, looking out at the stars; and Boiler (Cal Kuniholm). But after an asteroid storm causes the systems to malfunction, Bomb No. 20 (which has been designed with artificial intelligence) becomes convinced that it should explode and so Doolittle heads out of the ship to attempt to reason with it. Meanwhile, Pinback tries to keep the mischievous alien under control before it causes havoc on the ship.

It is immediately apparent when watching Dark Star just how limited the budget must have been. The sets are basic, the special effects (those of the space ship) are amateur at best and the alien is obviously a beach ball with hands attached. Yet somehow these all work in its favour and make the movie all the more enjoyable. After all, this was clearly intended to be a comedy, even if moments do touch upon themes such as philosophy. Although the movie may lack the visual style of Carpenter’s later work, it was evident even in 1974 that he was a talented filmmaker. The screenplay, written by both Carpenter and O’Bannon, is filled with inspired moments and humorous dialogue (‘Don’t give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me something I can blow up’) and the performances are entertaining enough for the viewer to forgive any of its shortcomings.

In the role of Pinback, O’Bannon showed his talent for comedy, particularly during the sequence in which he attempts to catch the alien, only to almost fall down an elevator shaft. As he tries to climb to safety, the alien taunts him, eventually causing him to fall. Whilst in a horror movie this scene may have been rather tense, here it is played purely for laughs, as O’Bannon is forced to look terrified as he acts against a large ball. Another memorable sequence is the climax, in which Doolittle attempts to reason with the bomb by convincing it that the data it has received instructing it to detonate is false, prompting the bomb to state that what he is saying could also be false. Philosophy between a human and a bomb must be a first and this is an interesting pun on the Bowman and HAL 9000 conflict in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Dark Star would begin the professional relationship between Carpenter and many of his regular collaborators, including Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle (who had in fact previously worked with Carpenter on the Academy Award-winning short The Resurrection of Broncho Billy in 1970), whilst the movie would also pave the way for O’Bannon’s subsequent success, Alien. There are several aspects to Dark Star which would reappear in his more successful venture; including an alien loose on board a spaceship, the crew consisting of working class or ‘ordinary’ civil servants and even a computer called Mother. An additional link between this and Alien is Ron Cobb, who would create the special effects on both movies. O’Bannon would also work on Dark Star’s effects, which would later lead to similar duties on the 1977 blockbuster Star Wars.

Although primitive and perhaps a little too long, Dark Star is a hilarious and enjoyable romp that demonstrated both Carpenter and O’Bannon’s sense of humour, something they would both become renowned for with Escape from New York and The Return of the Living Dead, respectively. Narelle and O’Bannon are given the best roles, with each character having some kind of purpose to the plot, whilst Kuniholm in particular is given little to do. Those who hate science fiction movies that boast crude special effects may not be impressed, but fans of Red Dwarf and any other space-orientated comedies will find plenty to enjoy. Thirty-five years on and Dark Star is still a fun and quotable movie that more than deserves it cult status.

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