Pitch Black (2000)

It seems as if for as long as sci-fi movies have been around there’s always been a regular supply of sci-fi movies where a group of people in some remote place come up against some nasty-but elusive murderous aliens. Often this leads to a poor quality film, this being a favourite concept among b-movie makers, but there are occasional gems such as Alien/Aliens, The Thing and now this surprisingly good effort from David Twohy (director of the surprisingly good alien conspiracy movie 'The Arrival').

The film starts when an interstellar transport ship malfunctions and crashes on a desert planet - in possibly the most spectacular spaceship crash sequence seen on film. Once on the planet the survivors - including a crew-member who tried to jettison the passengers to save the ship, a group of religious pilgrims, a bounty hunter and his prisoner, convicted murderer Riddick (Vin Diesel). Since they have crash-landed in an inhospitable desert they must work together to survive but they find it difficult to cooperate, even after a hostile alien life form is discovered. The life-form, a rather nasty flying creature, fortunately only lives in the dark and since there are two suns they don’t seem to be too much of a problem. However an astronomically improbable eclipse means they have to make a long journey through the desert, carrying power cells through hordes of the aliens, to get to a broken down shuttle that is their only hope of escape.

So far it sounds like a typical Aliens-style sci-fi monster movie, and it is. The reason the concept works so well here is partly due to some good direction and effects - the action scenes are impressive and the creatures are genuinely menacing - and some good acting, particularly from the impressive (and then unknown) Vin Diesel. The enigmatic murderer Riddick is possibly even more menacing than the aliens themselves, and although he must cooperate with the others he never seems particularly trustworthy and always on the verge of violence. The cast of largely unknown actors and actresses who back him up also perform quite competently but it’s Diesel who steals the show here. The darkness that shrouds most of the film may be a bit dubious plot-wise, but it’s still makes an effective setting for some satisfyingly tense alien combat scenes. Although the plot may be cliched, it is still reasonably plausible – ignoring the astronomy – and the dialogue and characterisation are well-written, with a couple of humorous moments to lighten the oppressive atmosphere for a short time.

Although this film was low-budget and without any big names attached this is one of the best sci-fi thrillers of recent years. The plot may be silly but this an effective and entertaining film and it’s no surprise that a sequel is in the works.

Rating : 8 / 10

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All content ©2003 William Marnoch.

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