The Dark Crystal (1982) May 7th, 2024

I’ve recently reignited my interest in 80s practical effects-driven high-fantasy films. Realistic puppets, miniature effects, and giant sets were cutting edge special effects for a few decades until Jurassic Park’s earthshaking CGI changed everything. Jurassic Park’s success in seamlessly blending practical and computer-generated effects brought dinosaurs to life on-screen and ironically drove professional puppeteers to the brink of extinction. I treat the finite number of these special effects masterpieces I haven’t seen like bottles of champagne in a dusty trailer refrigerator, saved for special occasions. Such was the case with a film I’d kept corked in my mind for years, The Dark Crystal.

The Dark Crystal is an epic dystopian fantasy tale co-directed by Jim Henson and Mrs. Piggy himself, Frank Oz. In the film the last surviving Gelflings restore the mysterious and powerful Dark Crystal, saving the people of Thra from the Skeksies’ cruel rule. Gelflings are elflike humanoids whose population was decimated by the Skesis, vulturelike creatures who drain life-force from captive creatures to maintain eternal youth. There’s another race of long-necked dinosaur-looking creatures that represent the good in the world where the Skeksies represent evil, but I don’t remember what they’re called.

The Dark Crystal is a visual masterpiece whose singular style sets a high bar for the medium but that accomplishment is counterbalanced by a tonally inconsistent script. The Dark Crystal is written at a first or second-grade reading level but includes frightening scenes of torture and violence more appropriate for the young adult audience. In one scene the Skesis violently strip one of their own naked before banishing them into the wastes. In another, a Skesis uses the magic of the Dark Crystal to drain the life force from one of their slaves which depicts a terrified cherubic puppet shuddering in pain as it is strapped into a torture device and drained until it resembles a beige California Raisin. While these graphic depictions of terror and torture alarmed me with the savagery of a more adult story I had to ask, is this any more violent or gruesome than a Brothers Grimm fairy tale?

The Dark Crystal glimpses a beautiful fantasy world born of a brilliant and unbridled once-in-an-epoch artist collective that should be appreciated and widely shared. They simply don’t make ’em like this anymore and while we should shed tears for this nearly lost art form, I’ll look forward to the day I can experience Labyrinth and Legend for the first time. In the meantime, I’m grateful for the weird puppet movies we do have, and maybe I’ll watch the Gelflings defeat the Skesis again.