Every film director has to start somewhere, but not every successful director ends up having their student film eventually become a beloved, instrumental science fiction classic. However, for John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon, that was very much the case with Dark Star, which has been given the full Ultra HD 4K treatment by Fabulous Films.
Dark Star follows the crew of the titular spacecraft as they travel through deep space searching for undiscovered planets. Their small crew is armed with “Artificial Intelligence Thermostellar Triggering Devices”, a set of sentient bombs that can speak. The Dark Star itself is a wreck, and its failing functions cause a number of accidents including killing the ship's commander. They also have an alien lifeform on board, shaped like a beachball. Naturally, things devolve and soon the crew are faced with challenging circumstances involving their cargo that threatens the lives of everyone and everything on board.
From the opening minutes of Dark Star it becomes obvious how far the film's influence has spread. The immediate comparison point comes from Alien, which writer Dan O'Bannon (who stars as Pinback here) also wrote. Dark Star clearly shares an aesthetic quality with Ridley Scott's masterpiece, but also a sense of the boredom and banality of space travel. The crew finding ways to entertain themselves, and a slow pace between events really drives home the idea that space travel is more akin to the life of the long range truck driver than the marauding adventures of some previous science fiction offerings.
There's a dark comedic undertone to Dark Star that marks it out as something unusual for its time. On paper it's a very serious science fiction film, and it's absolutely played that way by the cast but equally it has an alien shaped like a beachball and a talking bomb. It's patently absurd, and yet works on multiple levels, which is a credit to John Carpenter and something that would be a feature in many of his future movies.
This upscaled version is probably the most visually arresting the film has ever looked, and the work on the sound for this release is a particularly noticeable improvement on previous versions. It is far from perfect, which is to be expected given the time frame and budget for which it was made, but arguably this is the most complete and aesthetically pleasing version of Dark Star ever released. It still maintains a unique appeal, and it holds up far better than expected to eyes in 2025. It may not quite have all the distinctive John Carpenter tropes that would go on to define the director's work in later years, and it moves very slowly at points, but it's still an integral piece of work that inspired a raft of filmmakers and set the course for modern science fiction on celluloid.
4K Ultra HD Special Features
- Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star: A feature-length documentary exploring the making of Dark Star, featuring exclusive interviews with actor Brian Narelle (Lt. Doolittle), cinematographer Doug Knapp, art director Tommy Lee Wallace, visual effects artist Greg Jein, voice artist Cookie Knapp, producer Jack Harris, and USC alumni Jeff Burr. Also includes archival interviews with John Carpenter and the final recorded interview with Dan O'Bannon. (Directed by Daniel Griffith, 2010.)
- Sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster discusses Dark Star's impact.
- Brian Narelle (Lt. Doolittle) shares behind-the-scenes stories.
- Trivia.
- 3D Guide to the Dark Star Ship.
- Full-Length Audio Commentary by Super Fan Andrew Gilchrist.
- Written Introduction by Dan O'Bannon.
- NEW Reproduction of the original press book.
- NEW Mission Log.
- NEW Essay by journalist and author Michael Doyle, from his forthcoming book Bringing Darkness Instead of Light: Conversations with John Carpenter.
- NEW Two reproduction UK quad posters.
- NEW Reprinted set of 8 Publicity Stills.
- A limited edition Dark Star Mission sew-on patch.
- Film Versions Included: Original 72-minute Director's Cut, Expanded Theatrical Release 84-minutes, Restored Original Film Trailer, English 5.1 DTS-HD
Dark Star is available on 4k now
