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Rating: 2.75 out of 5
I wanted to go back in time to the year 2000 and watch a film that I hadn’t seen in a long time. As I searched through the depths of Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, PlutoTv, YouTube, and my own movie collection, I landed on Pitch Black. I can’t remember why the movie caught my attention, but I remember it being an okay movie, with the sequel being awful and the third installment being a little better. I also remember it being one of Vin Diesel’s earlier roles before all the Fast and Furious films. I hit play on whatever streaming service I had and strapped in. Pitch Black is one of those films where you look and go, really? Or this was the advancement of CGI and special effects in the new millennium. Welcome to the year 2000!
Set in the distant future, the space transport vessel “Hunter-Gratzner” is carrying 40 people in cryostasis. The ship is cruising when it is hit by a meteor storm. Things go to hell as the ship begins to crash land. The docking pilot, Carolyn Fry (Mitchell), quickly decides to drop some of the ship to save herself and others. Only 11 survivors in total make it: bounty hunter William J. Johns, religious man Abu Al-Walid (David), antique dealer Paris P. Ogilvie, runaway teenager Jack, settlers John ‘Zeke’ Ezekiel and his lover Sharon ‘Shazza’ Montgomery, and Richard B. Riddick (Diesel). Riddick is the most dangerous, as he is an infamous killer. The survivors notice they are stranded on a barren desert-like planet with three suns. As a total eclipse happens, the survivors soon learn that the planet is inhabited by flesh-eating, flying-like creatures. Fry and the survivors now must find a way through the darkness and an escape shuttle.
Here we go with this review because I debated where to start. Pitch Black is like a horror film but not really a horror film. You have to watch it to get what I am saying. The story is okay. It didn’t leap out at you, but the concept was good. First, the film’s start was really appealing as it drew you into the situation. A ship flying through space only for it to go through an asteroid field that causes hull pressure. With the ship about to crash, I must give it to Fry because she said fuck everyone, I’m not dying and dropped most of the ship to save a few people. The survivors find they are on a planet with two or three suns. What is the worst that could happen?
Throughout the film’s first half, we are introduced to one threat in the name of Richard B. Riddick. Riddick is a former mercenary, soldier, and infamous criminal and murderer. His eyes were surgically altered, allowing him to see in the dark. How cool is that? Well, he has to wear goggles because light causes him immense pain. Well, the film plays on the fact that Riddick is the villain. It shows him playing with the survivors by drinking their wine when looking for him or taking small items. You are just waiting for him to attack and start killing people, only to see that maybe he is not the villain. As the movie progresses, people start getting killed when they go into a cave or in dark places.
One of the scenes that shows irony is when Fry is messing with some type of planet device. As she moves planets around, the timer counts down to a total eclipse with all the planets in line with each other. The group notices the impending blackout and races to get fuel cells, with Riddick offering his help. This is where the shit hits the fan. Strange ass, birdlike, reptile creatures emerge from the underground and start attacking. One woman thinks she is safe and gets ripped in half. People die, and the film goes into full survival mode. We learn that the creatures have a sonic radar to detect things as they are entirely blind.
Through it, Riddick kills Johns, a morphine addict bounty hunter who was bringing in Riddick. The fight was meh as Johns breaks Riddick’s arm, only for him to reattach it like the beast he is. Throughout the whole run through the world, we get scenes of Riddick abandoning people only to come back and save them. Even though Riddick is the coolest person, he is not the actual “hero” of the film. That would go to Fry as she wants to save everyone and make it out. The film makes sure to have her at the forefront until the very end, when she dies. Was her death unexpected? Yes, I thought she would make it to the end. I guess it wouldn’t be a horror movie if someone expected didn’t get killed.
The CGI or special effects were beyond bad and haven’t aged well at all. It looked like something a ten-year-old could make now with their computer and a simple camera. The planet with three suns wasn’t that bad, but the creatures were an all-time worse to look at. They looked so out of place, and it really didn’t look appealing to the eyes. The one scene where one of the creature’s hand slowly creeps towards the characters with something coming out of its hand was laughable and looked so bad. Yup, the CGI took a backseat on this film and wasn’t a highlight.
As far as the acting goes, it was meh. Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick was interesting as he was mysterious and a badass. Dude was an intimidating force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed Diesel’s performance as all eyes were on him, and he made sure to keep the attention on himself. Love must also be given to Radha Mitchell as Carolyn Fry. She was a flawed character as she wanted to help everyone, but homegirl did also kill people by dropping some of the ship. She was fierce and told Riddick off even in the heart of the deadly situation. Freakin Keith David is also in the film playing a holy man. If you need someone to appear in your movie, call on David because he will show up and give a suitable performance.
Pitch Black is a decent film. It probably won’t give you any frights or scares. It’s more of a survival film on a distant planet. Vin Diesel showed he could be a lead actor by starring as the mysterious Riddick. The supporting cast also did an okay job making this film go. While watching the movie, you should skip the CGI because it is terrible. That might be the horror in this film. Watch Pitch Black when you need some background noise or during Halloween.
