Pitch black

Year of release : 2000

 

Run time : 1h52min

 

Genre : Sci Fi / Horror

 

Cast : Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser

 

 

A deep space transporter encounters problems while the passengers are in deep sleep, and crash lands on an unknown planet. The space ship has on board an escaped convict,Riddick, which is transported for punishment.

Once on solid ground, the docking pilot, Carolyn Fry, realizes the planet they are on has three suns,and the sun might never set.

At first,the few survivors of the crash fear the escape of the convict,whom the marshal tells them is very dangerous. Then, they find out there are some creatures in the tunnels of the planet which eat people.

Looking for human life, they find an abandoned base with a space ship and engines, and they decide to take them and leave the planet.

 

Then they find out every 22 years there's a solar eclipse, as the planets align in such a way the planet is in complete darkness for quite some time.

As they run out of time, and the eclipse settles in, the creatures hiding underground emerge, as they fly across the sky, as big as a human being, hungry and hunting the survivors.

 

I personally enjoyed the movie, this used to be one of my favorites, I have it on original video tape.

The first part of the movie is filmed with too much sun exposure, as if it's burnt by the sun, as if to show how bright it is on the planet. After, it's pitch black dark. We spend one hour in too much sun, the other in complete darkness.

The characters grow with the plot, as for example, Fry, who wanted to eject the cargo with the passengers in order to save herself and the first officer, ends up doing the opposite, growing a conscience and a heart,once she gets to know them,being willing to die for them.

Even Riddick, the convict, described in such dark colors, proves to have a heart.

 

The actors were all good,especially Radha Mitchell.

The soundtrack was good. I liked the Middle Eastern inspired drumming.

The visual effects,at first didn't seem that good, but they got better.

 

The movie received mixed reviews, and grossed 53.2 million dollars against a budget of 23 million.

The movie was nominated for quite a few awards, and won 2 Australian Cinematographers Society Awards.

The movie has 2 sequels, "The chronicles of Riddick"(2004), and Riddick (2013), while a 3d one is in the works.

The movie also has a short animation,released in 2004, "The chronicles of Riddick:Dark fury", and a few video games "The chronicles of Riddick:Escape from Butcher Bay" released in 2004, which has its own remake, and "The chronicles of Riddick:Assault on Dark Athena"released in 2009.

Rating : Worth a watch !