* Birgit Munsch-Klein, Editing
Last week I visited a seminar in Berlin. When a woman attending the seminar asked me what I do, I told her about how I edited DARK STAR. She had never heard of HR Giger, so I started out with a short, vivid description. Meanwhile, a Swiss woman had joined us, and when I was finished she added, “Yeah, but you have to tell her what kind of images they are.” I was at a loss, so I asked her what she meant. “You know, the violence.” It took me a while to set aside everything I had learned about HR Giger while working on the film, and to remember what I used to think of his work. That helped, and I asked her, “Do you mean that it's sadomasochistic in a way?”
Well, I don’t think that’s the case. Violence from the real world, on the other hand, is definitely a theme in his work. There is violence arising from outer and inner realities, yes, but it’s not the kind that is celebrated or self-perpetuated.
While editing the film I sought out the images that fit those stereotypes. I looked for violent images, but also images with the type of sexuality that either excites or disgusts people. And there are several images that are not only powerful, but those that challenge you as well. But they’re not the images people have as part of their fantasies.
While doing my research, I found more and more HR Giger images that fascinated me. Every time I looked at his work, with every new insight from the protagonists, I thought: “That’s so powerful! That has to go in the film!” And in the end, I found room for more images in the film than I thought possible.
That even managed to spark the curiosity of the woman at the seminar.