Really? This poster?
When space-pilot Carolyn is instantly promoted mid-mission it’s largely – alright entirely – thanks to the untimely in-flight death of her former boss.
Her first instinct as Captain is to jettison the human cargo and protect her own arse. There are extenuating circumstances sure, like the fact that the ship’s hull has been breached and a violent crash is inevitable, but as a passenger I would prefer that my captain run some numbers and formulate some Plan B’s before cutting me loose. Hell at least look like you wanted to do something different!
In any case it didn’t work, so the ship crash lands on a harsh inhospitable sun drenched planet where the heat and exposure are potentially life threatening, but evidence exists that the planet was recently inhabited by humankind.
The few survivors huddle together to brainstorm their options – see Carolyn it isn’t that hard! Numbering less than ten and mostly stunned civilians, the early discussions run the gamut of bickering, paranoia, panic and blame.
Carolyn is reluctant to take the lead fresh off attempting to murder all the people now looking at her for guidance, and the muscle bound, tank top rocking killer with ‘shaved eyeballs’ called Riddick (Vin Diesel) is making people a mite uncomfortable. His armed escort Johns (Cole Hauser) isn’t much of a calming influence either, what with his baiting and obnoxiousness practically demanding that Riddick top him. But it is agreed that standing around to either let Riddick chew on you or dehydrate until crumbling away to dust aren’t viable long term choices, so they head off on foot toward an abandoned settlement where a possible solution is found.
But potential salvation is served with a side order of sobering reality. A once in many years eclipse is imminent which will unleash something that will make a touch of sunburn seem inconsequential by comparison…
Pitch Black is a solid low budget sci-fi effort with not too much depth beyond the initial premise. The washed out backgrounds and bright film look effectively other-worldly, and the film wisely waits until the second half before unleashing the computer generated threats that unite the remaining survivors in paralysing fear.
The cast is the usual B movie grab bag of no names and nobodies, mostly Australians as the film was made in alienesque outback South Australia.
Rahda Mitchell proves that saying yes to the cast off roles of Hollywood’s A list can lead to a credible, albeit under the radar, resume, which already includes Man on Fire, The Crazies and Finding Neverland. Cole Hauser is as forgettable as always, which is why he continues to reappear in low budget films – usually not as good as this one. Vin Diesel finds his niche as the quietly spoken, no-necked Riddick, whose main task is to lurk menacingly on the periphery. I’d rather him in roles like this, it’s when he insists on talking in stuff like XXX when his many acting and personality deficiencies bubble to the surface.
Final Rating – 7 / 10. Pitch Black comes across like an amalgam of The Grey, 30 Days of Night and Alien. It never rises to great heights but any film with those ingredients can’t be all that bad – even if it does have Vin Diesel in it…
