Terror Transmission

Rest in peace, Dan O’Bannon.

The great (and wonderfully bow-tied) writer/director Dan O’Bannon has left the building. Our sincere condolences are extended to his wife and son and our sincere gratitude goes out to the man who gave us some of the most memorable moments in the genre for our generation. Sgt. Pinback, I hope you have finally corralled that damnably elusive beach ball and found your peace.

Dan-O attended USC with his esteemed compadre John Carpenter and the two slaved over their student-film-become-feature Dark Star, which was released theatrically in 1974. Having grown up in adoration of EC Comics (like so many other notable genre filmmakers and scribes of his generation) and influenced by some of the great ’50s sci-fi of his childhood (most prominently It: The Terror From Beyond Space), Dan embarked on the immense challenge of producing a film version of Charles Herbert’s Dune in the mid-’70s only to have the uber-project dissolve before his eyes. From its ashes he dusted himself off and wrote the sci-fi horror hybrid classic of all time, Alien, which was released in 1979 and is widely recognized as one of the finest pictures ever made, regardless of genre.

Solidifying his industry reputation as a talented screenwriter, O’Bannon went on to write Dead and Buried (1981) and write/direct The Return of the Living Dead (1985), two of the better zombie films to come out of the over-saturated genre in the ’80s (and two of this writer’s personal favorites). The underrated Lifeforce followed (screenplay, 1985) and he again worked alongside Tobe Hooper with 1986′s (also underrated) remake, Invaders From Mars, for which he delivered an updated and effective script.

O’Bannon never again achieved the critical and commercial success he found with Alien, but soldiered on by adapting Philip K. Dick’s well-nigh un-filmable They Can Remember It For You Wholesale (as Total Recall, which ended up a bloated, albeit successful, mess) and directed a fine H.P. Lovecraft film with 1992′s The Resurrected (a decently faithful adaptation and one of the better non-Stuart Gordon realizations).

Screamers (1995) and Bleeders (1997) regrettably followed and he entered a non-reclusive retirement from which he never failed to deliver interviews and commentaries for some of his more successful projects. His works will be remembered as psychological, well-crafted, fun and marked by a grandiose and black as pitch sense of humor. Frequently ill throughout his lifetime, O’Bannon finally answered the trumpets call on the 17th of December, 2009 at age 63.

Mr. O’Bannon, thanks for all the fine memories. Know that you helped to shape my (and so many others’) childhood and that you will NEVER be forgotten. Rest in peace, my friend.