Dark Crystal Review (1982)

The Dark Crystal (1982) is nightmare fuel for children. That’s how most people remember this interesting fantasy film from Jim Henson and Frank Oz. I can’t argue with that description. It’s incredibly accurate. The Skeksis, the film’s vulture-esque villains are disgusting, repulsive, and vile on a level most horror movie creatures can only dream of reaching. Dark Crystal was made by the same man who created Sesame Street and the Muppets, but it is no children’s film.

The film’s hero is Jen, a Gelfling. Think a cross between hobbits and elves. The Skeksis wiped the Gelflings from the face of Thra, leaving only Jen as the sole survivor. Raised in secret by the Mystics, Jen is sent out on a mission to defeat the Skeksis and restore balance to Thra. Along his journey he’ll meet strange new allies, discover the secret to stopping the Skeksis, doubt his journey and himself, and finally overcome the odds and succeed in his quest.

Dark Crystal’s plot is far from original. It’s a basic hero’s journey, following the Joseph Campbell narrative quite closely. Jen isn’t a particularly exciting character to follow. It’s strange to recommend a film where the plot is a rote and the main character is cardboard, but the film’s strengths make up for its short comings.

The world of Thra and the creatures that inhabit it are a wonderful creation.  Brian Froud’s designs are unlike anything else in film. In the 80s, when dark fantasy films exploded, Dark Crystal stood out from the pack. Every creature was unique, but felt a part of the same world. Utilizing Froud’s unique designs gives Thra cohesion that many fantasy film’s lack, while also being different from the standard tropes. Even today, in a post-Jackson’s LOTR world, Dark Crystal remains strange and wondrous to behold.

Froud’s designs are brought to full three dimensional life by the amazing puppetry of the Jim Henson Company. Thirty years after its release their work remains a high point of the medium. The new Netflix prequel series, Age of Resistance, certainly looks better, but considering the time that’s past it’s not nearly as large a leap as seen in CGI development. Perhaps an unfair comparison considering the popularity of one medium over the other, but my point remains valid. Dark Crystal’s puppetry is exemplary.

One scene that best demonstrates the power of the Dark Crystal as a film is when the Skeksis battle to determine the new emperor. The Chamberlain and the Garthim Master compete in a test of strength. Defeated, Chamberlain is striped of all its clothes and exiled. Watching the assault on the Chamberlain, it’s hard to imagine the coordination it must have taken. Eight massive puppets tearing into a ninth, while the camera gets in close to provide a sense of fear and dread in the audience. It’s an incredible technical and artistic achievement.

After the Skeksis, Aughra is the second best character in the film. A wise old woman of the land, she provides Jen with the item he needs to complete his quest and helps him better understand his task. She’s hardly in the film, but her design and sarcastic but caring attitude are memorable. She has perhaps the best line in the whole film. She asks Jen where the leader of the Mystics is, and he replies dead.  Her response is “Could be anywhere then.”

“Question, questions, too many questions. You want shard? Here!” Aughra throws the quest item Jen seeks at him, rather than engaging in a lengthy and convoluted dialogue that typifies fantasy storytelling. When talking about the catalyst for change that Jen must time his actions with she says “the great conjunction is the end of the world! Or the beginning. End of Aughra hmm. End, beginning, all the same. Big change…” Her dialogue is snappy. Memorable. You want to see more of her, but perhaps wisely don’t get it. Like many secondary characters she lingers in your mind long after the film is over…but this one won’t haunt your dreams.

The story told in the Dark Crystal isn’t bad, it’s unoriginal. Jen isn’t a terrible hero, but he’s not particularly exciting. The worst aspects of the Dark Crystal are average and acceptable.  The best aspect, the Skeksis, Augra, the puppetry, their designs and the world they inhabit are so incredible they make the film worth investing 90 minutes into.