Dark Star

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Year:	1974
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	John Carpenter
Genre:	Tripped out sci-fi comedy
Starring:	Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dre Pahich, Dan O'Bannon
Rating:	3/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069945/
Tagline:	What would you be like after 20 years aboard DARK STAR the spaced-out spaceship. The ultimate cosmic comedy!
Favourite line:	"And in addition to the darkness there was also me. And I moved upon the face of the darkness. And I saw that I was alone. Let there be light."

John Carpenter's first foray behind the lens sees him far from his more famous territory of maniacal slasher's and murderous mariners, and delving into a pot-fused, hippy-shit space comedy.

Four astronauts have been crewing the deep space vessel Dark Star for more than twenty years and they are, well, let's just say, a bit odd.
Laid back to the point of catatonia, this is the low budget tale of their exploits, as they encounter a bizarre space alien (a big, painted space hopper with the handles removed), a computer system that seems to be developing a life of its own, and a talking bomb which simply refuses to be deactivated after the release mechanism fails.

The special effects are unrealistic, even psychadelic, and the whole tone is just plain weird and, clearly, Carpenter's early days were spent toking on the beautiful sweet leaf, the lucky swine.
The downside unfortunately is the fact that, for the most part, the comedy just falls flat, which is a shame.
Not one I could recommend to any but the most ardent Carpenter fan, or fans of low budget cinema in general, but I for one am glad I gave it a shot.