Pitch Black (2000)

 

A while back, I discovered this science fiction-film by accident. It was before the Riddick-character was turned into a franchise of sorts and I didn't yet really know Vin Diesel. But something about the pitch grabbed my attention.

Boy, am I glad I checked it out. 

See, this is one of those little films that does a lot with fairly little and it has innovative and cool visuals. Oh, and Vin Diesel in probably his signature role. You can forget about Dominic Toretto, Richard B Riddick is a lot more memorable. 

No, I don't really care about the 'Fast & Furious' franchise. Why do you ask?

A deep space hauler is slowly on its way to some planet, when a freak meteorstorm pierces the hull and causes the ship to crash on an uncharted planet. There are only a handful of survivors, amongst them an escaped murderer called Riddick, whose name instills fear and awe in quite a lot of cases. The survivors do not know that the pilot, Carolyn Frye, was about to drop them to their deaths in order to save the ship, but that didn't happen. They soon find an abandoned base, left by some geologists. They also discover that this planet is perpetually bathed in sunlight thanks to three suns alternating. 

Riddick manages to escape, but very soon it transpires that there is something alive on this planet beneath the sand, and when they discover that every 22 years, the planet goes dark thanks to an eclipse, things start to look bleak. Especially considering what lives beneath comes to the surface in the dark... 

Equal parts horror and survival action, 'Pitch Black' oozes atmosphere. The Riddick character, who would later become front and centre, is just an always present threat and insecurity and Diesel plays it cool. The look of Riddick, with those special eyes that shine in the dark is actually remarkably memorable. Our most prominent characters do a good job, as Radha Mitchell and Keith David are no slouches when it comes to acting. Some of the secondary characters are a bit one note or disposable (rather literally) and most of them die anyway. 

You didn't really expect a lot to survive, did you? 

Oh, and this film has no qualms in killing off the kids, just a head's up. Okay, they're teenagers, but still. 

What really sticks with you, is the visual representation. Using various filters and optical effects, the planet gets an eerie vibe, going from oversaturated yellows to bright blues. When the film goes dark, it funnily enough loses a lot of its vibe and personality and becomes more focused on the horror/survival aspect, which is a bit of a shame, but by that time, you'll be rooting for Riddick anyway. But the first half is eyecandy. The creatures are cool and look different, but you needn't bother with thinking about their existence logically, as ecosystemwise, it makes little to no sense. 

'Pitch Black' is just a fun science fictionromp, with a couple of cool characters and an idea that works. The cool visual representation is the icing on the cake, double because of the modest budget. The fact that Vin Diesel would return to the character several times and is having a blast with it, is just a fun bonus. If you like something a little different in sci-fi, this might be your thing.