365 Days- Day 1

movie: The Dark Crystal
starring: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
genre: Family
year: 1982
format: DVD

plot: Jen is the last of his kind after his village is destroyed. Raised by the Mystics, a tribe of healers, he is told that he alone holds the key to repairing the worlds, which he must do with the missing piece of the crystal. Along the way, he meets Kira, a female who was also told she was the last of their kind. Together, they face the Skeksis, the current keepers of the crystal.

Right off, you're thinking what the hell?

The Dark Crystal is indeed a vampire movie.  The Skeksis live by draining and drinking the lifeforce of other creatures.  Just because there are no fangs or coffins does not mean it doesn't come into the category of vampire. And I thought it was the perfect way to kick this whole thing off.
Showing that vampires are truly everywhere.  Even when you don't think they are.

I've actually mentioned this theme before on other blogs in the past, but still, The Dark Crystal is such a classic that it gets lost in the shuffle of "kids movies that are creepy".
There is also the factor that the character of Kira is brought back from death by the now whole creatures.

The entire story deals with duel natures. Negative and positive, male and female, light and dark etc. Focusing on the idea that you can't have one without the other.  You can not have life without death, as it will start to loose it's focus.  Immortality is the main goal for the characters of the Skeksis, to cheat death at all costs throwing the balance of life off. Meanwhile, the Mystics have the knowledge that in order to truly live, you need to know both sides of the situation.  And once they understand and accept this, when they become "one" with their darker sides, then they actually get the immortality that they are looking for. 

what do i think i learned from this film?
Death is not a permanent thing. Energy flows from one form to the other and keeps on regenerating itself. There is no real need to be greedy with the life you are given, or to throw things off balance.