Starman

The Movie Itself is directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13)

Responding to the open invitation via the Voyager 2 space probe, a lone alien travels across space to study and experience Earth. However, upon entering our atmosphere, his craft is seen as a threat and is fired upon. Crashing into a remote area of Wisconsin, hundreds of miles off course, he assumes the identity of a widow’s deceased husband, and urges the confused and frightened woman to aid him in his journey to safety. Along the way, the strained relationship between the two of them slowly evolves into one of understanding, mutual curiosity and compassion. Unfortunately for both of them, their time together is ticking down. With law enforcement nipping at their heels, and an expiration date on the alien’s earthly body there’s precious little time to get to the starman back home before it’s too late.

In the pantheon of exceptional science fiction films, Starman barely makes the cut, but that doesn’t mean its not a great movie. It may not be as visually stunning as its bretheren, nor as heartfelt as some, but there is an undeniable charm and uniqueness that emanates from John Carpenter’s sci-fi love story. I hardly think that it’s a coincidence that John Carpenter’s followup to The Thing would sport a more mainstream and lovable alien narrative. After all, the 1982 remake/masterpiece The Thing was steamrolled by Spielberg’s blockbuster, E.T., upon release so it seems fitting that Carpenter would change up his game and try his hand at an alien love story.

To Carpenter’s credit, the film is bares little resemblance to Spielberg’s film, which is a good thing. Had it been too closely related, it would have been seen as a cheap knockoff. Instead, it weaves an entirely different story about love and benevolent extraterrestrial life. In truth though, this was ground that was covered by Tarkovsky’s Solaris — specifically, an alien reanimation/clone of a loved of that brings comforts to a widow — but Starman does so in a different context, and in a wholly John Carpenter fashion.

Starman may well be Carpenter’s most mainstream and decidedly accessible film in his cannon of work, but it is far from his most commercially viable — that credit goes to Halloween. Nonetheless, all of the usual Carpenter quirks are there, from the bizarre sound effects, to the simple, effective and memorable score — composed by Carpenter of course — all the way to his independent cinematographic styling.

While it’s been nearly twenty-five years since its initial release, the film still remains as a refreshing alternative to the in-your-face sci-fi of today, and the perfect supplement to the cheery, warm-and-fuzzy alien films of yesteryear. If you’re a Carpenter fan, you owe it to yourself to give this one a look.