Dark Star
This outrageously unique sci-fi semi-spoof was the first feature from genre film emperor John Carpenter.
The film originally began as a 45-minute University of Southern California student film project by Carpenter and collaborator Dan O'Bannon (Alien; The Return of the Living Dead) that was eventually expanded into a feature length production.
The film takes place on the deep-space cruiser Dark Star, where a crew of laid-back astronauts (including O’Bannon himself) are assigned the task of blowing up planets with unsuitable life forms in order to make the universe safe for the human race. The leader is Commander Powell (Joe Sanders), who’s cryogenically frozen after being killed in a freak accident. Next in line is Doolittle (Brian Narelle) who tries to keep the rest of the crew in check, which — due to the ognset of alien creatures and intergalactic existential hysteria — is a much tougher job than expected.
