Pitch Black (2000) User Reviews

How to survive in pitch black?

[NightfallRaven · 8/10 · 10 May 2005]

Pitch Black is a survival story. It's about how to survive in an hostile, alien world against even more hostile enemies. The task gets even more difficult when the nearest enemies can be found within your own surviving group.

The plot of Pitch Black is quite usual and has been seen several times before in different variations. But what makes this movie shine above others, is it's well-written characters.

The group consists of very different people with few more interesting than the others: Jack, a boy with a secret; Fry, a pilot having hard time with her own conscience; Johns, a bounty- hunter with a drug-habit; Imam, a holy man facing the fact that God is sometimes cruel and Riddick, a convict and a murderer learning to value others, not only himself. Characters start to live in the movie. They aren't only paper like in many other movies of this genre. You start to care for the characters, especially for Riddick though that feels quite odd. He is supposed to be the bad guy. In this movie, the line between light and pitch black is very thin. All characters are familiar with both.

Other thing that works in this movie is the casting. Rarely do actors fit to their roles this well. Radha Mitchell is suitable for Fry. Cole Hauser brings the right amount of cruelness and sense of responsibility for Johns. But the most impressive work is done by Vin Diesel. He does great job as Riddick. In his hands Riddick is quite creepy, definitely very dangerous and also deep character, just as he is supposed to be.

So, how do you survive in Pitch Black? Keep your friends close and enemies even closer.

Interesting and entertaining with a good cast of mostly unknowns and great special effects.

[trehling · 8/10 · 18 February 2000]

The opening scene of this movie is pretty incredible. I've seen a number of sci-fi movies with great special effects but my roommate and I looked at each other after the opening sequence and he said plainly, "sensory overload." The plot of the movie is pretty simple but the nice thing about this sci-fi movie is that it lets the audience figure out most of the technology for themselves instead of wasting time to "subtly" explain it. The creatures in this movie are also very interesting. You don't get a really good look at them until about two thirds of the way through. Overall, a very entertaining movie.

Relentless and gorgeous sci-fi action film

[mstomaso · 8/10 · 10 September 2006]

Let me waste a moment of your time to explain how I approached this film. 1st I dismissed the trailers out of hand because the film appeared to be an uncredited remake of Aliens, which I consider to be one of the weakest films in the Alien series. Stupidly continuing to dismiss the film after I heard positive things about it from people whose opinions I trust, I missed the theatrical run completely. I then became hooked on Farscape, in its 3rd or 4th season at the time, and found Pitch Black on cable one night around bed time - so I said "oh why not, at least it has Claudia Black in it." Soon, I recognized Keith David, and began to realize that Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell and Cole Hauser could all act (why this should surprise me, I do not know). I was captivated. I have now remained captivated for four years. I just watched the film for the 3rd or 4th time, and I still love it.

This is not an art film, not an independent, and its not entirely original, but where it fails to break a lot of new ground, it utterly succeeds in providing interesting, realistic characters, hard-driving action in the medium of a compelling but simple plot, and non-stop entertainment; an absolutely beautiful environment with tastefully rendered special effects. Sound to good to be true? Don't take my word for it... see it for yourself.

The film also highlighted the charisma of the now somewhat iconoclastic Vin Diesel, introducing the character of Richard Riddick. Diesel would go on to star in the somewhat Riddick-ulous Chronicles thereof (which I also enjoyed, though recognizing its rather huge flaws) and is now something of a legend. Diesel is so charismatic, so big, and so interesting to watch that it is easy to ignore the fact that he is not only a talented actor, but a smart one too. Checking out the DVD version of Pitch Black, with the audio comments on might just blow you away.

The film is about the crew of an inter-system transport ship stranded on an unknown planet after a crash-landing in which their captain was killed. The new commander is inexperienced but bright and heroic (Mitchell), but she is caught between two dominant and dangerous personalities - a bounty hunter with secrets (Hauser) and a dangerous criminal who has been surgically altered to see in the dark (Diesel). Is that all? Of course not - the planet is inhabited, and the inhabitants are hungry.

As unoriginal and improbable as some of this may be, Pitch Black is beautifully filmed, well told, and very nicely performed. Don't expect to learn anything, and don't expect to have to think a whole lot, but do expect to have fun with this modern sci-fi action classic.

This is a great film! If this is your genre', you won't be disappointed . . .

[charles000 · 28 September 2011]

I will admit, I was already a fan of Serenity, Riddick Chronicles and all that, so I did go into this film with a bit of predetermined anticipation. On the flip side, I'm not always that much of a Vin Deisel fan, in that he is somewhat mono-dimensional in his range of characters, but for the embodiment of Riddick, he does fit perfectly. As for the story and how it plays out, the pace is good, not too encumbered with gratuitous special effects and all that, but where it does fit, the CGI is well done and appropriate.

The one really glaring technical defect in this story is how everyone just gets out and starts walking around, breathing in the air without the slightest concern for differences in the atmosphere, microbes and so on, but this is a common flaw that is often somehow glossed over in many such stories, so I can't harp on that detail too much.

As for Radha Mitchell, she is smokin' hot here, not in a ridiculous or frivolous way, but as her tough, seasoned interplanetary merchant marine ship's captain character "Fry", she nails it perfectly. If anything, she very much reminds me of Andrea Osvart (see her as the Hungarian assassin "Gilda" in the film "Two Tigers").

Now, if these two ladies ever appeared together in a film, I would drop everything and go check that out in a heartbeat . . . but I digress.

In any case, I have no trouble with granting 8 stars to "Pitch Black".

The director just loves Riddick

[justahunch-70549 · 7/10 · 20 March 2023]

I remembered this as a tight, well made and exciting little sci-fi film, but either I've become more judgmental twenty three years ago or this just hasn't aged well. Actually, it's just the first third or that is a problem. The beginning has quite a bit of poor acting and preposterous behavior from the survivors of a crashed space ship on an unknown planet. They adjust to the monstrous crash they've just been through, which is well done, and new surroundings astoundingly rapidly. They barely seem shook up and are not remotely believable. However, it gets better and the last two thirds are still pretty exciting. I kind of remembered the final scenes, but not the actual ending, so I was a little surprised, which is always good. Bottom line, this is a pretty good sorta Grade B type movie that gave the world Vin Diesel for better or worse. There was a terrible sequel to this, with Judi Dench no less, and another that I don't think I saw. The director hasn't made a film since Riddick 13 years ago and is now making two more. This character is this guy's directing career!

A Very Pleasant Surprise; Good Performance By Vin Diesel

[sddavis63 · 7/10 · 9 July 2009]

Exciting and interesting from the start, I have to say that while I approached this movie with at best limited expectations I came away from it pleasantly surprised. Vin Diesel is not really my cup of tea as an actor, but in fact he put on a very good performance in this futuristic sci-fi drama as Richard Riddick, a convicted murderer who's being transported to prison on a spaceship that crashlands on a strange alien world. Once there, the survivors discover that there are terrifying creatures who come out only in the dark, which at first doesn't seem much of a problem since the planet has three suns and is never dark. They then discover, though, that the planet is about to go into an eclipse, plunging it into complete darkness for an unknown length of time, and releasing the creatures to hunt them down.

Diesel's Riddick ends up as the hero of the movie, because he has surgically enhanced eyesight that allows him to see in the dark, and so he takes on the task of leading the others to safety. This movie is at times frightening, and on the odd occasion graphic, but not gratuitously so. A lot of effort was put by director David Twohy into developing the character of Riddick, and into portraying the change as the others slowly learn to trust him with their lives. I thought it slowed down a bit in the last third or so of the movie, and somehow became less interesting once the creatures were actually released by the eclipse. There seemed to be far more suspense as the survivors tried to figure out some of the mysteries of the planet and as they faced the approaching darkness. Once the darkness came, in some ways the movie became a pretty standard sci-fi monster type of movie. Still, it was a lot better than I had expected it to be. 7/10

In Darkness

[sol- · 6/10 · 26 March 2017]

When their spaceship crashes on an outskirts planet, fears mount in regards to an incarcerated convicted murderer who fled captivity in the crash, however, the crew and passengers soon find something far more terrifying on the planet itself in this action thriller with a sci-fi twist. Relatively simple as the premise may be, it is undeniably effective with the film's best moments coming from the crew and passengers scurrying about in fear of Vin Diesel's killer, accidentally shooting one another in the process. The tension is not quite the same once Diesel decides to unite with the group to overcome the vicious alien presence on the planet, but there is still plenty to ponder over as all concerned find it so hard to trust Diesel even in the face of a very real alien threat. As for the alien presence on the planet, it brings up a whole gigantic slate of unanswered, perplexing questions, particularly in relation to their allergy to sunlight. Then there is the amazing coincidence of the characters crash landing just before the planet is about to plunge into several days of complete darkness - but this is a pretty decent film when one focuses on trust/mistrust themes and the portrait of diverse individuals all banded together in the name of a common goal to survive. Diesel is very good too in the role that really kick-started his career; he has an awesome line towards the end about saying good night, and with his blacked-out contact lenses and designer goggles, his character leaves an indelible impression that lasts long after the movie has ended.

An Excellent use of Sci-Fi as a story telling medium

[ParanoidAndroidMarvin · 10/10 · 8 April 2002]

While most movies that pit humans against horrendous extra terrestrials end up being cheap imitations of the 'Aliens' series, Pitch Black stands as a fine piece of Sci-Fi, and an excellent movie all around. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the film is the lighting. This movie beautifully employs many different colors, shades and intensities of light which set the mood and lend a unique feeling to the film itself, something different than the 'normal' movie lighting we are generally subjected to. Vin Diesel brings his character to life in an excellent manner, skillfully avoiding the routine portrayal of the hardened criminal. After all, the film is about Riddick's (Diesel's character) personal journey, so thankfully Vin doesn't drop the ball. The remainder of the cast (with the exception of the talented and gorgeous Claudia Black) were unknown to me but all turned in marvelous performances, animating the diverse characters with unique quirks and mannerisms. Pitch Black is a perfect example of making a great film with out the resources of an excessive budget. The special effects are more than adequate, but at the same time they are by no means the sole focus, as in many high budget 'blockbusters'. It's a great movie because it uses Science Fiction as a medium to tell an engaging, provoking story, rather then telling a mediocre story to use the flash of Science Fiction.

Good movie which takes a new approach to the sci-fi genre

[malmroes · 7/10 · 4 July 2008]

Even though this movie starts off with the usual: something goes wrong, spacecraft crashes, people are stranded etc. it still pulls off and introduces the viewer to some new ideas. Riddick is somewhat of a bad-ass convict and has modified his eyes so he is able to see in the dark which is a much sought after ability due to the situation the ship-crew and he gets in. The cutting in the movie is very good and emphasizes the mystique that shrouds around the anti-hero and male protagonist: "Riddick." The story in Pitch Black is, as already mentioned, to some extent very unoriginal and dissatisfied, but the clipping and cutting in the movie blended with some surprising elements which has been added to the story helps it to still support itself very well and one is afterward left behind with a hybrid feeling of satisfaction and hunger for more. Vin Diesel acts really well in the role as Riddick and even though his character is a hardcore, tough survivor he still takes morale decisions almost on the verge of good, but that does not mean his decisions do not turn in his favor at the very end... Why destroy an already perfect reputation? All in all this is a very good movie though not perfect. The story seems very unoriginal at the surface, but underneath it shines with enough originality to entertain. Some scenes has that wow factor while it as a whole is a bit better than average. It could maybe be described as a cult movie and it is definitely a recommendation for people who wants a spiced up sci-fi story blended with some minor psychological moments and an intriguing protagonist, namely Riddick.

Complex, detailed and immensely satisfying film

[atalanta-3 · 10/10 · 6 June 2000]

This is without doubt the most exciting and satisfying film I've seen in years! The plot seen in print is almost banal- a ship crashes on a desert planet with three suns, the survivors have to adjust to the landscape and each other, then darkness falls and the monsters appear. Pilot Fry, after a moment of cowardice during the descent through the atmosphere when she almost jettisoned the passengers, takes charge of the group and enlists the help of convicted murderer Riddick to lead them through the darkness to the escape ship - he's the one with surgically enhanced eyes that can see in the dark. But it's really not that simple - every character is complex, three-dimensional, with conflicting traits so you never quite know who's good and who's bad.

The performances are uniformly superb - Radha Mitchell shows Fry steeling herself for leadership, overcoming her own fears, and trying to prevent further bloodshed, while Cole Hauser, as the man taking Riddick back to custody, shows he has his own agenda and his own idiosyncratic standards. But the film belongs to Vin Diesel as Riddick - he has the most magnetic screen presence I've seen in years. For much of the film his face is in shadow, and he doesn't actually say a great deal, but he draws your attention all the same. Sometimes he draws your attention by not speaking - or by not moving. And Diesel doesn't trivialise the character, as could so easily be done, by giving him a "heart of gold" - Riddick is still one mean and vicious man as they approach the ship - he just lets us glimpse those first tentative steps from caring only for the self to caring for others.

Technically the film is very good. The lighting effects are excellent at both ends of the spectrum - the overbright triple sunlight and the pitch darkness. Special effects showing both Riddick's and the monsters' points of view add to the suspense, as do sound effects of the monsters flying and using ultrasound to "see" (the monsters themselves are anatomically plausible and suitably frightening). Editing is so tight it's almost jarring at times - there is literally no padding in this film, no fades, no time to re-orient yourself.

From the opening shot to the end of the credits you have to keep your wits about you. Every scene, every line of dialogue, every single camera shot is important. See it three times to understand it all.

My only caveat is about the science - the solar system as shown in the model is impossible (planets revolve around suns, not vice versa). However, that doesn't affect the human story, so I haven't taken points off for it.

Great

[jaxmk1 · 7/10 · 4 July 2022]

The 2000's great times for movies, the CGI is opening the possibility for new ideas, combine that with some great actors and you get Pitch Black a Great movie for the time.

The Director did a great job I could not find any mistakes so he gets a 10⭐ The actors did a nice job, maybe some improvements here and there but nothing major they get a 8⭐ The story is unique and fresh for the time with allot of focus on the surviving element and the unknown situation, maroon on a random planet with a convict on the lose is a fresh idea for the time and it gets a 9⭐ The effects are in the early stages, the CGI was just starting to make waves so from a modern standard it gets a 4⭐

This is a Sunday night movie with friends and family with some heavy popcorn and juice!!!

ENJOY!!!!

The next Alien...

[HAZEL-5 · 10/10 · 20 February 2000]

From the first 10 seconds of Pitch Black I was hooked. I had walked into this movie thinking that it would be just another cheesy sci-fi movie. Instead I found a highly entertaining, on the edge of your seat, thought provoking action film. The movie goes beyond your basic special effects flick. The actors are amazing, Radah Mitchell (High Art, Love and other..) as Fry is truly a joy to watch on screen, while Vin Diesel as Riddeck is so captivating that you are dying just to hear him speak again.

The look of the movie is breath taking, the contrast of blues, yellows and oranges due to the three different suns is amazing. Followed by the complete darkness of nightfall. I would truly recommend any lover of the ALIEN movies or Radha Mitchell (which is why I went to see it) to check out this film. I'm sure by the end you'll look at the dark in a whole new way.

Good science-fiction adventure

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 17 March 2018]

A crippled spaceship lands on a planet with three suns that only experiences darkness once every 22 years, things come out in the dark, and the crew must fight for survival, or die - that pretty much sums up "Pitch Black". The concept of a planet bathed in (almost) continuous light was the premise of Asimov's classic short story "Nightfall", but rather than being our own worst enemy, the "Pitch Black" planet is home to fierce, flying nocturnal carnivores. As space adventures go, this one is pretty good. The look of the glaringly illuminated desert planet is very well done and the various backgrounds (the bone filled canyon and the hollow towers for example) look great. The acting is what one would expect for this kind of movie, lots of gruff tough-guy posturing, semi-comic relief from the less-heroic characters, and the usual alien-chow that only live long enough to establish the threat. Vin Diesel's 'Riddick' character was so popular that he front-lined a couple of less-than-stellar 'sequels', but I didn't find that he was any more interesting that the rest of the main cast. Of course, the raison d'etre for this kind of film are the aliens, which, although usually only seen briefly, in the shadows, or through Riddick's enhanced eyes, are excellent. The plot does hang on some coincidences such as the crash occurring just hours before one of the rare eclipses and the abandoned geology base having an orrery (a somewhat archaic tool for an interplanetary mission) that conveniently explains the whole three-sun eclipse scenario, but those are minor problems in an otherwise pretty good story.

Make it stop right now ... you're not going to are you?

[rjpurves · 3/10 · 21 June 2001]

Well, that was a waste of £2.75.

Fans of my previous comments will note that i've not really had too much luck with films of late. They've all been complete crud and this is NO exception.

**** POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT ****

Let's start with what's cool in the film. Very little.

1) The concept of the tertiary star system with the planet they're stuck on in the la grange point between the stars. (basically the point of gravitational balance so that the stars and other planets can orbit around it. certainly feasable as far as my knowledge of physics allows).

2) The enhanced seeing ability of the "prisoner" character, which also serves as a plot device later.

3) The aliens themselves. Although I look at this film and then the film "Aliens" and go "rip off, rip off!", at least they seem to act like ordinary unintelligent animals which makes a damn good change. Their POV shots so we see what they see are also pretty cool too.

4) Our "baddie" character who through the magic of role reversal is also a "goodie", has very very cool eyes. Don't believe me? Check out his POV camera shots.

5) The "bleach bypass" used on the film negatives gives a very very interesting look to the film and helps add realism to the tertiary star system concept.

The rest is crap.

Seriously. The rest is total rubbish. The start of the film although with impressive CGI rings hollow and the rest of the film does too. I watched the first 40 mins or so and I was BORED. I just didn't care two hoots about the characters.

They spend 30 minutes or more going on about what a bad character our "hero" is. Great. Now show me. Oh, you're not going to are you? Right, now the suspense behind him is completely shot before you even see him in action. Just because the other characters are afraid doesn't mean we are because we haven't seen what he's supposedly done. Put up or shut up. Preferably shut up.

Now it should be pointed out that David Twohy obviously doesn't know how or where to point the camera. There are a couple of interesting shots which are great if we were watching a pure suspense film. We are not however. There are scenes where I was left almost dizzy and not knowing what is going on because of the camera blur.

Because of this, the story just doesn't ring true. There seem to be shots and lens effects used simply for the sake of the "oh, doesn't it look cool?" trap i've seen many filmmakers get into. (including myself).

I'd like to have known what the original script was like. David Twohy is on record as stating he took the original script and re-wrote it in his own image. This to me is arrogance of the highest order. Didn't anyone else get to read it first? There was probably nothing wrong with it in the first place. As a result, some of th ... no, most of the damn dialogue is incredibly stilted and unbelievable.

There were good moments, but not many. This film tried to be too many concepts at once and failed miserably at every one of them.

So, to sum up. Don't pay money to see this. Ever. If a friend has made the mistake of renting it then watch it if only so you can laugh behind his/her back later. Cruel, but true. I wasted £2.75 on this rental.

Stop David Twohy before he ruins another script and/or film.

Forget the first half hour, then it's great!

[PlanecrazyIkarus · 27 February 2002]

This film gets off to a bad start. An incredibly corny monologue is followed immediately by a brilliantly-done, truly amazing spaceship crash. Then things go downhill again, as you realize that the survivors are all a) bad actors (apart from the docking pilot and the psychopath) and b) almost all of them fit too nicely into the role of monster-fodder. Hell, half of them don't even speak English, preventing the audience from getting to know the characters at all. You feel as if you were watching "Deep Blue Sea" meets "Silence of the Lambs", minus the good bits. And unfortunately, the entire thing tries to hard to be "Crashed on a desert planet with Hannibal Lecter" during the daylight scenes. Vin Diesel is a great actor - but he is no Anthony Hopkins, and he frankly annoys as the smart hyper-cool psycho. There is at least one very good scene involving an unexpected survivor - but apart from that you could just as well have cut out the first thirty minutes or so...

But then things take a turn. I can't exactly pinpoint the moment, but soon the movie gets a lot better. It also feels less chopped - the scenes actually begin to follow each other with a consistent narrative, and Vin Diesel becomes much less annoying and soon he is a show-stealer. By the time the first monsters appear, the film is actually quite enjoyable. By the time night falls, it is great. Thrilling, horrifying and exciting. And even the character development of most main characters is well-done. If you can just sit through the poor bits at the start you're in for some GREAT entertainment.

Besides, the visuals are eye-candy, and I honestly admit: I love the colour and the tone of this movie.

7/10 (could have been 9/10, if only....)

Believe it or not, this is a good movie

[michaeljharvey · 7/10 · 1 June 2008]

Yes, this is a B-movie, but that doesn't mean it can't be good. The plot is nothing remarkable, but still works. A spaceship carrying a mixed bag of characters crash lands on a desert planet. Of course, the survivors are not alone and are soon in a battle for their lives against strange bat-like aliens.

What works here is the writing and character development. Vin Diesel is surprisingly good as the clever and philosophical Riddick. He's a dangerous convict turned reluctant savior. The supporting cast does a great job of bringing dimension to characters that could easily have been overly simplistic. What drives the movie is the constant uncertainty about the main characters' true motivations. Riddick is particularly hard to figure out and in the end it's hard to say he's really a "good" guy. His character is far more complex than that.

The special effects are strictly mediocre, but the director seemed to understand this. So the creatures are mostly kept in shadows, helping to avoid those, "That looks so fake!" moments. The actual design of the bat-like creatures is clearly "inspired" by Giger's design for the movie Alien. They certainly could have been more original, but they get the job done. At least the special effects people decided to rip-off an all-time classic movie monster design.

The story moves along at a good pace, never feeling too rushed or too slow and keeps the viewer on edge. It's usually pretty obvious who the survivors will be in this type of movie (where characters are being picked off one by one), but this one surprised me a little at the end. Overall, this is a good effort and far better than a lot of big budget sci-fi action movies.

Slow first half hour, amazing special effects and cinematography, decent acting, gory second half, complex plot, some corny dialogue- you have Pitch Black

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 22 January 2010]

What were my concluding thoughts on seeing this film? Impressive, uneven perhaps but well worth the look.

First things first, technically it is mind blowing, the special effects and the cinematography were brilliant, and the crash was spectacularly staged.

The plot is quite complex, people complained it was illogical, but I didn't find that, it was an original concept I give you that.

The creature attacks are also well done, though I will say the second half is so gory, I admit I lost my lunch.

The first half hour of the film is a little slow, but the rest of the film manages to redeem itself in terms of pace and was quite compelling.

Some of the dialogue was a little on the corny side, especially the monologue after the crash.

The acting was decent, Vin Diesel the standout of the bunch with a brooding charisma that is quite rewarding,and Radha Mitchell is good as Pilot Fry.

The music is excellent, and the direction was good.

There, you have Pitch Black. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Not as good as it could have been, but a very good movie at that

[lopcar1993 · 7/10 · 28 May 2009]

When I first saw "Pitch Black" about seven years ago I didn't know what to think of it, I thought it was a very good Sci-Fi horror flick and that was pretty much it, But now seeing it again I has a whole new meaning. Pitch Black is the first movie in the chronicles of Riddick series and it introduces the world to Riddick.

This film is not perfect, nor does it pretend to be, there's allot of bad dialog and sometimes the movie just seems to trail off in some places and doesn't follow a steady pace. But if you can over look that this Vin Diesel vehicle is pretty good.

Pitch Black offers you a new insight to the creature feature genre. Instead of dinosaurs , croc's and giant bugs it gives you a whole new species to fear and loath, with that this film delivers only good creature violence and some awesome CGI but besides that it's not much more that a loud clunking action film nothing more nothing less. But all in all Pitch Black is an enjoyable, if not at times absurd, action film.

Surprisingly fun!

[MovieAddict2016 · 8/10 · 27 September 2003]

I must say that I didn't expect much sitting down to watch "Pitch Black," but I got a lot back, in terms of excitement and pure fun. It's the type of flick where you can just lean back, relax, and have a great time just being entertained. This isn't a deep film by any means. Everything that it offers is either recycled or ripped off of other movies such as "Alien," "Predator" or such. But when I watch a rip-off, I want it to be good, and this rip-off is great.

It opens with a galaxy of stars. Some of the greatest films of all time open with this type of scene - "2001," "Star Wars," "Alien," "Predator." A ship is cruising through space when inside the entire cryogenically frozen crew is awoken. The ship has been hit by something. They crash land on a nasty little planet with three suns. Everyone flocks out of the ship when they find that their prisoner transport, Richard Riddick (Vin Diesel), has escaped confinement. They scan the desert planet in search of him and eventually find him, but they have no way of getting their ship to fly again. They search the planet for water and civilization but it seems that everyone suddenly disappeared from the planet not too long ago.

Then they find out that every 22 years the planets line up in a solar eclipse and the entire planet turns pitch black. There also happen to be hoards of aliens that thrive in darkness living on the planet - what are the chances? They happen to be on the planet right as the eclipse happens - what are the chances? And Riddick has a rare talent - he can see in the dark - again, what are the chances?

There seems to be a lot of coincedence in this movie, but a film like this isn't out to get Oscars for originality or believability. It's there to entertain the audience - it does so with ease. Vin Diesel is a big gorilla of a man with no acting talent whatsoever. But I've got to say if there's anyone who can fit the part of a trashy, homicidal felon it is Diesel. Listen to him mutter, "He did not know who he was fu**ing with." Great stuff.

The aliens in this movie are a mix between hammerhead sharks, those from "Alien" and Predators. They've got long, horizontal heads like a hammerhead, the quick-moving agility of the aliens, and the stealth of a Predator. I assume David Twohy (director and writer of the movie) didn't expect audiences to believe his creatures were truly something never seen before. At least I hope not.

"Aliens Redux" might be a better name for this movie, but then again, it is better than both the second and third "Alien" films put together. In a time when apparently ended series are getting revived - "Terminator 3," "Alien 5," "Predator 3," "Alien vs. Predator" - "Pitch Black" stands out as a new series altogether. Two more sequels are planned. Let's just hope they don't get carried away. I can just picture it twenty-five years from now: "Aliens vs. Predator vs. Pitch Black Aliens: *The Fight of the Year."

*Fight of the Year title may be shared with the upcoming film "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Michael vs. Leatherface vs. Norman Bates vs. Alien vs. Predator vs. Terminator vs. James Cameron vs. Barny the Dinosaur."

4/5.

A great ride!

[allegra-sloman · 7/10 · 29 July 2009]

From the opening crash scene - a classic, even if it does mess around with the laws of inertia - to the closing scene, this is pulse pounding sci-fi horror with a bravura performance from Vin Diesel. The CGI and effects serve the plot, and not the other way around.

The critters are fantastic (although I have to wonder what they eat when there are no hoomins around).

As with all films like this, there are a couple of troubling plot holes, but far fewer per running foot of celluloid than the average George Lucas movie, and far, far fewer than average. The direction is taut.

Quibbles. Soundtrack is very derivative in spots. To keep the George Lucas comparison going, it's partly dumbed down John Williams. That said, the score has some great creepy parts too. Science quibble.. Low oxygen results in non existent flames and complete inability to run. Character quibble... Vin Diesel's character Riddick's unusual skillset is not explained enough for my satisfaction.

But heck, none of this was enough for my willing suspension of disbelief to get more than a few spare cables cut. If you don't normally watch SF movies this is definitely one to consider, and if you like SF horror this is a must see - in fact true horror buffs might find it tame.

I am variable in how squeamish I am. Some days I can handle pretty disgusting stuff and other days I can't. This movie has a couple of pretty scary scenes, but I didn't find any of it particularly disturbing, and Vin Diesel made the whole trip worthwhile, in this, his breakout role.

Pitch Black (2000)

[jonahstewartvaughan · 9/10 · 27 January 2023]

Cult Cuts Volume 7

#2/4: Pitch Black (2000)

(9/10):Seriously underrated sci-fi horror!

As his first major live action film,Vin Diesel fronts the first entry into the cult film series, Riddick.

It's got an obvious lower budget that it does utilize quite well. Everything has a dingy lo-fi feel with minimal usage of lighting and various filters to add a grungy visual flair.

As for Vin Diesel himself,this is probably his best character that he played. Riddick is his most compelling and complex character as for one,he's not truly evil,more of an anti hero but I find that there's more to him than that.

He's not just brooding for the sake of it,because it was cool at the time,it still is low key kinda cool for me but still that's not my point. He has an air of mystery to him as we know so little about his past,we know he's a killer that is extremely dangerous but he is also not a killer because he enjoys it,he has a moral compass.

Riddick is a more intriguing character than he what he lets on but it's the fact that his character is also much better than others because it feels like it was built for Vin Diesel;his body type and voice just have that kind of feel. Less is more with Riddick and that's the kind of actor Vin Diesel is,the kind that is not good for heavy dialogue or intelligence even, but simplicity is the key to creativity.

The effects are sometimes poorly aged sometimes actually surprising decently aged. The Bioraptors are still such well designed creatures.

I find that if Vin Diesel was less focused on the success of Hollywood action films,this could've been a much more interesting series for him to become known for,however it's unfortunate that he doesn't go back to it often,Riddick is the right amount of action,simplicity,creativity,style and unique storytelling to make it such a more memorable franchise.

It goes without saying,I recommend that if you either haven't seen it or weren't too high on it at first,give it another go,it's no Aliens or Starship Troopers but it does what it does exceptionally well.

I'm really excited for first watch of The Chronicles of Riddick & my Rewatch of Riddick.

Intriguing as well as intelligent Sci-fi movie , being compellingly directed by a good filmmaker , David Twohy

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 15 July 2015]

This is a science fiction thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat . Exciting film packs intrigue , intense scenes , noisy action and astonishing suspense . Freak meteor storm cause a a commercial transport airship to make landing on an unknown planet . Then the spaceship and its survivors are marooned on a planet with three suns and apparently no life and where mysterious events spread across the land . The greatest danger facing our crew has been the planet's best kept secret...until now . Later on , the crew to be aware the planet is full of bloodthirsty creatures that only come out to feast at night . But then , they learn that a month-long eclipse is about to occur .

Creepy and gory Sci-Fi with thrills , chills , suspense and some familiar elements . This is a pretty good as well as scary movie with violent events , intriguing incidents , starked outdoors , and chilling scenes . This is a peculiar rendition of ¨The only come out at night¨ in which some passengers , pilots , bounty hunters and prisoner discover that very nasty hunting creatures attack after dark and the planet is in for a total eclipse . Interesting screenplay from Jim Wheat , Ken Wheat and David Twohy . The film developed from David Twohy's unused idea for Alien³ (1992) , involving a space prison . The fantastic alien creatures are perfectly designed by Patrick Tatopoulos, they have three phases of evolution: 1) embryonic - little harmless Bioluminescent beings 2) youngish - which fly in flock to hunt and finally 3) adult - big gray creatures who are able to kill other members of the species to eat . Vin Diesel gives a hard-ass acting , as usual , as a convicted killer who has nothing to lose . Nice support cast such as Radha Mitchell , Cole Hauser , Claudia Black , Lewis Fitzgerald , Simon Burke , John Moore and Keith David . Thrilling and stirring musical score by Graeme Revell . Colorful cinematography by David Eggby who shows splendidly the desert landscapes from Queensland , Australia . In fact , the hot desert where they filmed was actually about 50F, they were misting water on the actors to make it appear as if they were sweating . As desert scenes filmed in the same location used for Mad Max , beyond Thunderdome (1985) .

The motion picture was well written and directed by David Twohy , it had a 60 days shooting schedule. David is an expert writer and director of splendid Sci-Fi movies . As his first picture was the acceptable ¨Timescape¨ . He also wrote ¨Warlock¨, ¨Waterworld ¨, a script for ¨Alien 3¨ in 1988, but it was rejected . Back in May of 2000 , Fox Studios once inquired for his availability to write and direct "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" , but turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts . David subsequently directed ¨Below¨, the successful ¨Pich Black¨ and its sequel ¨ The chronicles of Riddick¨ (2004) in which the wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans, to convert or kill all humans in the universe , it stars : Colm Feore , Thandie Newton , Judi Dench , Alexa Davalos , Karl Urban , Linus Roache and again Keith David . Furthermore , a third installment : ¨Riddick¨ (2013) in which left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick finds himself up against an alien race of predators , it stars : Jordi Mollà , Katee Sackhoff , Dave Bautista , Matt Nable , Bokeem Woodbine , Raoul Trujillo , Conrad Pla , and , of course , Vin Diesel .

great sci-fi horror

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 26 October 2015]

The spaceship Hunter-Gratzner crashes on a desert planet. Pilot Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell) tries to take control after the captain is killed. Bounty hunter William J. Johns (Cole Hauser) is transporting prisoner Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel). There are also holy man Abu 'Imam' al-Walid (Keith David) and his young charges, antiquities dealer Paris P. Ogilvie, runaway Jack (Rhiana Griffith), John Zeke Ezekiel and Sharon 'Shazza' Montgomery (Claudia Black). They discover that the planet's 3 suns align to have a nightfall every 22 years and creatures from below rise up to massacre every creature on the surface. They are forced to rely on the killer Riddick and his night vision.

This is great smallish sci-fi horror. Radha Mitchell does a nice Ripley. This reminds me a lot of Alien which I consider one of the greatest movies ever. It's got good desolate settings. Vin Diesel is the Man. This starts as an interesting character that turns into something great. The creature feature plus the darkness make this even better.

A Low Budget, But High Effort, 90s Sci-Fi / Horror Combo Pack

[drqshadow-reviews · 6/10 · 16 July 2021]

Shipwrecked on a desert planet, the survivors of a doomed commercial spacecraft explore the sharp sand dunes and bleached alien skeletons of a foreign landscape, seeking water and, with luck, the means to escape or send an intergalactic SOS. They aren't many in number, and even that sum soon begins to dwindle as untimely seasons shift and the sky falls into a months-long eclipse, instantly unleashing flocks of wild, hungry native night-hunters from their subterranean lairs.

Fortunately, one of the survivors is well-equipped for precisely this situation. Riddick, a violent prisoner headed for the high-security slammer, boasts extensive combat experience and a set of augmented eyes that work best in the dark. Vin Diesel is effortlessly cool in that part, one which clearly evolved during the writing process to grow from a simple, gimmicky tough guy stereotype into a well-rounded, wonderfully unpredictable instigator who throws the plot over one shoulder and almost single-handedly hikes it down the home stretch. We don't always like him, but we're constantly intrigued by him, and Diesel (in his breakthrough role) really makes the most of that duality. He's not just grunting and grinding; he's assessing and scheming, too, with the physical performance just as essential as the strong, fluid character writing.

The rest of the show is a little more mixed. It's an obviously over-performing low-budget science fiction / horror film, so some slips can be expected. Much of the egregious stuff is masked with low-grade film techniques or by abusing quick jump cuts and extreme close-ups. What serious special effects there are vary from shockingly effective (Riddick's tense, quiet staredown with one of the monsters) to downright bad (all exterior shots of the ship). It's efficient, though, visually ambitious and thematically novel. Those virtues, plus one star-grade acting performance, add up to a bit better than average in my book.

What were they thinking?

[WilsonLau · 1/10 · 27 October 2000]

This was quite possibly the worst movie I've seen this year and this is not exactly the best year for movies. The story line was interesting but the characters were one dimensional and boring. The ways the characters reacted to their spaceship crashing on an unknown planet was like they just woke up and were like, hey were on a strange freaky planet we're not suppose to be on, and oh yeah theres some booze. Like they didn't really care, like its something that occurs to them every day. That certainly was really unrealistic. I think anyone would be in shock. And they just happen to have a guy who can see very well in the dark. How convienent! Yeah I know a whole bunch of those people. And I know someone who can breathe underwater to save me just in case I'm drowning. Another part of the movie that displayed how poor the directing was handled was in one scene they are walking towards this abandoned station, theres a few buildings there and a spaceship, then they're coming back to their own spaceship and suddenly out of nowhere they have this space car that their driving around. What is this some kind of magical movie? Where we're supppose to fill in all the holes in the plot ourselves? The sad thing is that there are people who actual liked this movie. What kind of world are we living in?