Currently On: Dark Star (1974)

This is often referred to as "John Carpenter's first film," while it may well be more properly referred to as his debut film; it is most certainly his first full length film, it is not his first.  He made a series of shorts in the 1960's, that if they survive, I would dearly love to view....jeez, one of them is a Godzilla short! I chose the above poster because Stanley Kubrick reportedly had affection for this film, besides it is hilarious.  I chose to view it because Dan O'Bannon penned this with Carpenter when they were in college together.  They re-worked it several times and it's plot is often cited as something along the lines of "a group of deep space travelers gets gremlins on board."  That "gremlin" is an alien that resembles a beach ball and refuses to stay in a storage containment unit that one of the astronauts has secretly put there (you know, it's boring in space!) which gets loose on the ship; AND a smart bomb that is a little too smart for it's own good...it things it's God! There is a story that claims O'Bannon, who plays Sgt. Pinback in the film, said that since it was re-worked by him and Carpenter as horror comedy, and he noticed audiences weren't laughing at the parts that he clearly meant to be funny, he thought about it and then said something to the effect of "well if I can't make them laugh, maybe I can make them scream."  So if that something getting loose on a ship scenario sounds familiar to you, I give you the writer (with some assistance from Ronald Shusett) of Alien!  Of course, O'Bannon, went through an ordeal shortly after this that resulted in a homeless period that surely also influenced his ideas for the Alien story.  For more on his life, see Wikipedia.  Clearly this was a much more influence film than anyone I knew gave it credit for in the "VHS days!" But then again, Carpenter's "remake" (and it sort of is) of The Thing was hated in the beginning, and it's stock has risen significantly since--even amongst some noted (well one) film historians that shall remain nameless.. Again Happy Birthday Sigourney Weaver!

Dark Star alien

No introduction necessary!!