"You're not afraid of the dark are you?"

Rating: Null/10 (10 March 2003)

~Spoiler~
Pitch Black is essentially an Aliens rip-off done the right way, with style and flare and balls. I say hell yeah. Director David Twohy (writer of Warlock and Critters 2) has created a sci-fi/horror film with more than a few tricks up its sleeve. In the first ten minutes it sinks its teeth into you. By the end of the film, you're left wanting more. Twohy manages to surprise me on a number of occasions. The characters are the main surprise. They are unusual for a sci-fi flick, and they change throughout the movie. Our hero is, in fact, an evil man. Who we think at first is our hero is also an evil man. And our heroine almost killed everyone at the beginning of the movie. Everyone is non-traditional and the actors are integral in making it all believable. A pre-action stardom Vin Diesel is amazing in this role. If they make a sequel to this (and make it right) Richard Riddick could be his Mad Max. Cole Hauser is also good as his equal (if you could say he has an equal). Hauser pulls off a great flip-flop in the duration of the movie and you end up really hating his character. Radha Mitchell is also fine as our heroine. She's not overly-beautiful and you can believe she is a pilot. And the always great Keith David plays a unique part: he's a Muslim. How often do you see a Muslim character in an outer space flick? The plot is asking a bit much out of the audience but just go with it. There's a desert planet inhabited by aliens who are light-sensitive that's surrounded by three suns and every 22 years an eclipse occurs allowing the aliens full reign. Our players have crash landed just in time for said eclipse (yeah, it's reaching a bit). Take that for granted and watch the characters, and for "Riddick Vision." How cool is that? The aliens are not bad, but it's the cinematography that makes the film a bit creepy. The colors and tones of the picture are absolutely beautiful. Twohy definitely has his own style and I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work. Perhaps the best reason for watching this movie is that it meets an old Joe Bob Briggs' standard: "Anyone can die at any time." If you loved Alien/Aliens and want to see a different spin on an old formula, check out Pitch Black.