Be afraid of the dark

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2009)

It is possible to look at this film as a cheap imitation of the Alien franchise, this however would be unfair as it is a decent science fiction monster film in its own right.
The film opens with a spaceship being holed when it flies through a shower of small yet deadly meteors, the surviving crew wake up to find themselves plunging towards a desert planet. Carolyn Fry, the pilot is forced to start jettisoning the cargo and would also jettison the passengers if a fellow crew member hadn't stopped her. Luckily she and a handful of the passengers survive, including Riddick, an escaped convict being transported back to prison. Once safely on the ground the survivors start to explore the surrounding desert hoping to find much needed water. They find an apparently abandoned settlement which has an escape shuttle, they also find that there is something dangerous there which attacks in the dark. This shouldn't be a problem as the planets three suns ensure perpetual daylight apart from a period of eclipse which occurs every twenty two years, one can guess how long it was since the last eclipse. As the escape shuttle is out of fuel they must race back to the crash site to get the required power cells. By the time they are ready to return the eclipse has started so their solar powered vehicle will no longer work meaning they must get back on foot, all the time avoiding the deadly alien creatures while never being totally sure which of their own group can be trusted.
The cast did a good job, I especially liked Radha Mitchell's performance as the Pilot Fry. Vin Diesel's portrayal of Riddick was decent enough too. The special effects worked well, making the creatures genuinely scary. There is also a nice twist involving one of the survivor which I won't spoil here. To get the full effect of this film watch it in the dark.