It makes a change to see a film where you really don't know who will survive.

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2002)

This is a very underrated movie and worth a look even if your not a fan of the genre.
The plot is rather similar to Aliens, and like that movie the cast are apparently stuck on the planet with the aliens. However, these aliens only come out in darkness and darkness on this world lasts for many years! Despite the plot plagiarism, this movie still stands up on its own. The aliens are different enough to be interesting and the characters are not just "bug-fodder" like the marines in Aliens.
There is a plot hole concerning the ecosystem in which the aliens exist and what they survive on between the periods of darkness, and what they eat when they haven't got nice juicy humans to snack on, but one can simply say "each other" and be reasonably satisfied with the answer. The film is so good that this minor hole is easily ignored.
The cast are all excellent, especially Keith David as the obligatory holy man who puts his faith in God to deliver him. Radha Mitchell is also good as a kind of wannabee Ellen Ripley figure. But its Vin Diesel that steals the movie and rightly so. He has as much charisma as all the others put together and the rest are all pretty good, so that's saying something. This film gave Diesel the status and stardom he now enjoys today, but I still have to say that this is the best of all his films to date.
A great film to watch and for once it makes a change to see an action film where you really aren't sure who is going to survive or not.