In 1982 there came a film that is the very definition of a cult classic. A film that at first glance looks like a family film, with all the puppets and sets; you could almost say it's a darker version of The Muppets, but you would be wrong. This is one of those movies that gets you hooked on science fiction and it's capacity to create incredible stories that transport you to far away lands and yet feel familiar.
"The Dark Crystal" is a movie created, directed and starred by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, they're best known for the Muppets" and 1986's "Labyrinth" starring David Bowie. The premise of the movie is fairly simple, in the planet Thra there are some evil rulers that are wreaking havok and destruction, it is up to two heroes (the last of their kind) to restore balance. At first glance it seems like your typical, run of the mill hero's journey story, but from the first scene you are made to experience what in essence is a crash course in Thra history.
Everything serves to further the story, the sets, the costumes, the creatures, even the atmosphere. Thra is dying, therefore the world is dark, twisted, and dangerous; it's creatures attack at the slightest move, even the small cute ones. The ruling skeksis are tall and imposing, wearing these elaborate garbs and armor that conceal their decaying bodies from their subjects. And finally our heroes, creatures known as gelflings, who are much smaller than the skeksis but what they lack in stature they exceed in courage and sacrifice. Nothing in this movie is without purpose or history, frankly I'm suprised how much lore Jim Henson managed to put into this one movie.
I saw this movie for the first time last year after a friend recommended me this film's prequel series called "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance". By the way, it's on Netflix and I highly suggest you watch it, in fact, I should do a review on it later... Anyways, I knew of this movie because I have seen "Labyrinth" as a kid (it creeped me out a little but it was just so good), but for some reason I had never seen it before. Finally, I gave it a chance and it completely blew my mind. Everything just works, including the 80s effects; everything is just so incredibly detailed, you can see how much care the creators went into everything.
So, if you like cult classics, science fiction, compelling stories, fairy tales, and even puppets, then The Dark Crystal is definitely a movie for you.
Here's the trailer:
Written by Confused_coquí
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