John Carpenteris mostly known for his horror movies such asHalloweenorThe Fog, but one of his best and most optimistic movies is 1984’sStarman. It’s a movie that, even though it was made by thesame guy that created Michael Myers, rocks a super 80s, very Amblin-esque aesthetic and vibe.Starmantakes Carpenter’s trademark wide shots, synth scores, and Americana that he flips on its head, and instead of applying these to a horror movie, lends it to the story of an alien trying to return home. It’s a testament to his range as a filmmaker, and willingness to get outside his comfort zone, something more people should give him credit for. Despite being advertised and most widely known as a sci-fi film,Starmanreally is a love story at its core, one that Carpenter executes masterfully. It’s a fantastic film, and it makes you wish Carpenter tucked his darker side away more often.
Even though John Carpenter is most known for his horror classics, he has a much more diverse bunch of movies to his name than people might realize. When breaking out of horror, he tends to direct hybrid genre pictures. He has made a sci-fi comedy withMemoirs of an Invisible Man, avampire western with (you guessed it)Vampires, as well as the dystopian action thrillerEscape from New York. The man was a prolific filmmaker back in his heyday, releasing movies on an almost annual basis between the mid-’70s and late ’80s. For whatever reason, amidst the many classics that Carpenter directed during this period,Starmanis one of the movies that manages to fall between the cracks.
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Why Did John Carpenter Make ‘Starman’?
Starmanseems like a bit of an odd choice for Carpenter at the time, but once you look alittlecloser, things start to make more sense. He had just come off of a string of movies that all mostly fell into the horror genre.Halloween,The Fog,Escape from New York, andChristinewere all released between 1978 and 1983. Wow, what a run. The movies during this period ranged from being decent hits at the box office to, in the case ofHalloween, industry-changing blockbusters. Thereisone exception to this, though.
In 1982, John Carpenter’s angry and ultra-violent alien filmThe Thingwas released… and bombed at the box office. Not only that,The Thingwas torn apart by critics and audiencesalike. People hated this movie! This seems crazy now, as it’s almost universally understood thatThe Thingis John Carpenter’s best movie. Well, italsohappened to open the same week asSteven Spielberg’smega classic super hitE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Yeah, probably the most sentimental, sweetest alien movie that there is. Your move, Carpenter.
Carpenter would follow upThe Thinga year later with hisChristineadaptation, but the movie hereallyfollows up his sci-fi horror classic with would beStarman, released two years after his box office bomb.Starmanis the anti-TheThingin almost every way, minus an alien from another world coming to Earth. It starsJeff Bridgesas the titular Starman, as well asKaren Allenas Jenny Hayden, the human that helps him along his journey. The film follows an alien that journeys to Earth after hearing a message of peace from the Voyager 2 space probe, but crashes to Earth when the U.S. government shoots his ship down. Instead of behaving defensively like in most alien movies, the alien chooses to clone a woman’s dead husband (weird), befriend her, and get her help to make it to Arizona. He will meet his kind and depart Earth there, but will die if he doesn’t make it in three days. As the two make their way, the US government chases them in an attempt to stop them and take Starman for their own.
‘Starman’ Is John Carpenter’s ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’
So yeah, essentially,Starmanis kind of just John Carpenter’sE.T., right? But honestly, that’s okay. Even though it has double the budget of Spielberg’s film, it feels like a smaller, more intimate story. That’s most likely due to being centered on adults, and having a love story at its core. Even though Starman uses the insanely weird tactic of recreating Jenny Hayden’s dead husband, we have to give the guy a break. He doesn’t know better…he’s an alien! And even though, in the first few minutes of the film, this alien shapeshifts into a perfect replica of Jenny’s husband right in front of her, her guard slowly comes down as the film goes on. Starman’s human facade is what helps soften Hayden’s initial worries, but it’s their connection that really ends up bringing them together. Yeah, it’s weird when you think about what’s actually going on there, but Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen are so good in the movie that you forget about it.
One of the best scenes in the film is one of its least “Carpenter” scenes. Starman and Jenny are at a truck stop where they find the dead body of a deer strapped to the hood of a hunter’s car. He can’t comprehend why anyone would kill a deer, but once Hayden explains hunting to him, he starts rattling off other questions. “Do humans eat the deer that they’ve hunted? Do humans eat other humans?” Jenny is taken aback by the second question,to which Starman simply explainsthat he sees humans as a primitive species. It’s a great moment, albeit a bit ham-fisted, that mirrors Starman’s situation. He came to Earth to find peace and build a connection between humans and his species, only to be hunted in return.
Soon after, Jenny Hayden is seen exiting the truck stop, but she stops when she looks outside and sees Starman examining the dead deer. She watches as he runs his hand up and down the side of the deer’s body.Jack Nitzsche’s airy synths swell, and a moment later, the deer comes back to life. It’s a bit of a cheesy scene, but it’s so patient and emotive in ways that other Carpenter movies aren’t. He obviously knows how to build dread by patiently moving through scenes, but this one in particular takes its time differently. You’re left wondering why the alien is looking over the body of this dead animal and how he’s processing the ideas of hunting other peaceful species and death. Once the deer comes back to life, the film takes on a whole new level of optimism. We could all learn a few lessons from this Starman!
‘Starman’ Deserves a Greater Legacy
The movie especially gives you hope for the human race as it nears its end. Without spoiling much, it’s fascinating seeing John Carpenter make another alien film two years afterThe Thingwhere a scientist choosesnotto torch an alien with a flamethrower! The whole movie feels like it’s actively trying to be the antithesis of Carpenter’s previous alien film, but the final 20 minutes drive this home the most. Shout out toCharles Martin Smithas the scientist Mark Shermin, who really shines in the film’s final act.
Despite Carpenter’s best intentions,Starmanwould also bomb at the box office. He succeeded in making a similarly crowd-pleasing sci-fi film toE.T., but it seems as though the public wasn’t feeling a Spielbergian film from the man who madeHalloween. UnlikeThe Thing, this movie was very well received by those that saw it, with Jeff Bridges' performance even receiving a Best Actor nomination. Surprisingly, in the years since, the movie hasn’t gone on to be regarded by Carpenter’s biggest fans as one of his “best.” Even though it’s one of theleast popular films from John Carpenter’s peak runbetween the mid-70s and late 80s, it deserves more respect and should be considered one of his best movies.Starmanis Carpenter’s most hopeful and optimistic work, and is a testament to his status as one of the greatest, most versatile genre filmmakers of all time.
