The film revolves around the Dark Star crew that appears to have been assigned a 20-year mission to clear a path in space by destroying a group of planets that obstruct the shipping lane. While they wait to reach their destination, they appear to be facing mysterious paths as they confront a damaged weapon system.
Hats off nonetheless to young whippersnapper John Carpenter, whose studenty tale of space tedium, aliens and molasses-black humour remains approximately a thousand times better than the director's last 15 years.
By introducing human eccentricities into the cold structure of SF, Carpenter creates a vision of the technological future that is both disillusioned and oddly affirmative in its insistence on the unscientific survival of emotional frailty.
