I'll freely admit that I went into Dark Star with low expectations. Chalk that up to the fact that its own creative team hasn't spoke fondly on the project since its 1974 debut. Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon even went as far as to label it
"the world's least impressive professional film". With that informing my pre-viewing perception of Dark Star, is it any wonder I was going into my viewing on the dubious side of things? In a happy turn of events, though, it turns out that Dark Star is actually pretty good! John Carpenter's directorial debut has its rough patches, no question. Yet, it impresses in its dark humor and crafty filmmaking as well as in how it indicates certain elements that would be prevalent in Carpenter's filmography going forward.
