Dark Star

John Carpenter’s feature debut. A tough film to review. A low-budget sci-fi picture that includes a beach ball alien pet, sentient bombs, and satirical allusions to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The plot concerns the crew of the titular ship, twenty years into a mission to find and destroy unstable planets that threaten interstellar expansion. But it’s really a hangout movie. The crew deal with their aforementioned pet, each other, and obstinate bombs. The film culminates in a series of mishaps that lead to an inane ending that somehow resonates. It made me smirk more than laugh, but sometimes that’s enough.