Pitch Black

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. “Pitch Black” is a pretty solid blend of action and horror as well as a perfect example of an anti-hero done right. The film is set sometime in the distant future and follows the crew of the ship Hunter-Gratzner on a long voyage through space. The ship’s course is so long that the whole crew, as well as the passengers, has been put into cryo-stasis. When the ship runs into some space debris, the captain is killed and the ship’s position goes from bad to worse. Docking pilot Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell) assumes command and when it becomes clear the ship is nearly about to crash, she makes the difficult decision to dump all of the passengers, which would kill them all but save the ship. A member of the crew, stops her but the decision has been made and the trust factor is already gone. The ship crashes and she's the only navigator left with the small handful of survivors. These include the dangerous captured murderer Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) Stranded, the people will have to band together to get off the planet on which they have landed. To make things worse, there are far more dangerous elements to this world than just the heat, lack of resources and the untrustworthy survivors; the planet harbors a dark secret, which is about to be exposed.

While the plot of the film isn't really reinventing the genre of science fiction, the characters are what have given “Pitch Black” it’s cult following. You can separate the characters into 3 categories: the cannon fodder, who get very little screen time, almost no character development (some of them don’t even speak English so you get even less defining characteristics) and are just set up to have more revelations of the dangers of this world our characters have been marooned on. These guys you don’t really care about them, but they serve a purpose to the plot. The second category is likeable, but not super developed characters. These people get a decent amount of screen time, some memorable moments and whether or not they make it out alive, well you really don’t know. Included in this category are Rhiana Griffith as Jack, Keith David as Imam and Lewis Fitz-Geral as Paris. Each of these characters spends enough time on the screen for you to start to really care about whether or not they are going to make it and fulfill different roles in the story. Paris is the comic relief, bringing some much-needed humor into the film and also being not very bright, sets up a couple of situations that show us that these people are in serious trouble if they stay on this barren world. Jack is an avatar for the audience, admiring Riddick and confirming to everyone watching that “it isn’t just you, this guy really is awesome”. Imam brings a nice bridge between everyone else. He’s a mature adult so he’s taken seriously, compassionate so he ensures no one gets left behind, and a pacifist, meaning he doesn’t bring any fighting power to the team, meaning he is just as vulnerable as the other secondary and tertiary characters.

The three principal characters are really what make the movie stand out. You’ve got Riddick, who has a kind of superhuman ability that gives him a very stylish look and makes him a very valuable asset later in the film. He’s a killer so you never quite know who’s side he’s on and he’s desperate so he’s got a reason to stick around with the other humans. Vin Diesel gives the character real personality and while he isn’t actually the main character, he’s the most memorable part of the film (if you hadn’t already guessed that) Opposite to Riddick is Johns (played by Cole Hauser) This is the man that’s responsible for Riddick’s capture, so the two are opposed from the very beginning. The tricky thing is, both of these guys are valuable assets to the team, but neither can tolerate the other so you know it’s just a matter of time before they start going toe-to-toe with each other. On top of that, you get the feeling that there’s more to Johns than his “I’m a cop” backstory so there’s that additional element of distrust going on. Finally, there’s the main character of Fry. At the beginning of the movie, well you don’t really care for her to be honest. Sure, you can understand the decision about dumping the passengers… theoretically, but dumping all of those people to die, even when the other members of your crew oppose the decision? That’s just cold. She knows this too so the whole film she’s trying to redeem herself. As you follow her character you do see her evolve into a more compassionate person that genuinely gets to care about the survivors and when she’s in peril, you really get worried.

On top of all these guys, you’ve got a pretty decent, if not familiar premise that’s fun to follow, some interesting settings, some cool creatures and some decent action, scares and tension too. This could have easily been a forgettable film but somehow all of the crew involved in the filmmaking process and particularly the actors just managed to hit that sweet spot and make it click. Sometimes the low budget does show, particularly when it comes to the computer-generated images, which haven’t really aged that well and as I mentioned, the movie is reminiscent of many others. If you get into the movie those will feel like minor quips though so the movie is more than worth a shot, it earns itself a 4 out of 5 stars. (Unrated version on Dvd, August 22, 2013)