They lurk in the pitch black. Most people experience some fear of the dark, even if it emerges as a subtle discomfort over facing the unknown. Often, this discomfort with the unseen and the unknown magnifies benign reality into a consuming terror.
Many people still carry memories of their childhood frights.
Some cannot shake their fears of the dark even in adulthood. Pitch Black uses the human proclivity towards fearing darkness to create a dazzling and consuming blend of SCI-FI, action, and horror. The plot seems conventional enough. A ship in distress makes an emergency landing on an unknown planet. The near black and white visual effects transform the Australian desert into the hostile landscape of the unknown planet, and the contrasts between light and dark, especially when reflected on the faces of characters suggest the battle that is to come.