Better than average ALIEN variation

Rating: Null/10 (27 April 2004)

PITCH BLACK (2000) ** Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black, Rhiana Griffith.
Umpteenth variation of the 'Alien' flicks with a twist: a solar eclipse adding fuel to the fire. When a spacecraft of straight-of-casting misfits crashes onto a desert planet seemingly devoid of life with a serial killer on board (Diesel) the odds of surviving are neatly stacked when they discover they are not alone: a horde of flying nasties (think bats merged with the HR Giger creation of Â…'Alien') that attack at night (cue aforementioned eclipse). Mitchell and Diesel make a fine combination of feist and freak (the latter has super night vision and superhuman strength) as the combatants against their nocturnal foe. The sepia toned cinematography by David Eggby adds a surreal otherworldliness that succeeds in the sun drenched first half and the startling purple/blue-ink black in the second adds a cool intensity of What the Hell IS Out There-ness.
But the familiarity of the scenario is too by the numbers and the body count predictable. (Dir: David Twohy)