Its Carpenter's first film, made on a very low budget. Its not horror, its sci fi (does have an alien in it but not one that would cause you to hide behind the sofa!). I loved it when I saw it years ago- its inventive, funny and it has some very fast paced thrilling bits. I would recommend it, but don't expect a super glossy film - as I said it was made on a very low budget.
carpenters never been one for a budget tho has he, and when he's got one u've ended up with 'ghosts of mars' lol. though that was quite a good film in its own way.
with dark star you see an intelligent film maker trying out ideas. it's not carpenter's best by a long way, but worth watching to see how he developed some of these ideas in later movies