The movie starts out showing off some of those special effects with the spectacular crash of a transport ship on a very dry desert planet. A ragtag band of a dozen or so survivors are lead by the ships pilot Fry (Radha Mitchell). Fry struggles to keep the group of survivors together. The other 2 main figures who survived the crash, mercenary Johns (Cole Hauser) and his prisoner Riddick (Vin Diesel) have their own plans. The convicted murderer Riddick's only goal is to escape at any chance he gets. Johns on the other hand wants to do whatever it takes to keep Riddick under control, ignoring Fry's authority. The survivors have their work cut out for them on this desert planet. The beautiful landscape of the planet (filmed in the desert of Australia) and the 3 different colored suns makes the planet itself an ominous character in the film.  Because of the 3 suns there is never any nightfall on this unnamed planet. In the survivors search for water they stumble upon an abandoned geological station. They later discover that all the inhabitants of the station were devoured by creatures that live below the planets surface. The creatures are purely nocturnal and exposure to light is harmful to them. This would seem like no problem on a planet where the sun never sets but there is a one little hitch. The former inhabitants were slaughtered 22 years ago when there was a solar eclipse. And wouldn't you know it....another eclipse is about to happen within hours. The survivors are now threatened by the hordes of subterranean creatures as the planet becomes pitch black.

   This is where the movie gets interesting. The "shoot the monsters and run for you life" scenes are all in place here. However, they have as much action, suspense and wit in them as any scenes directed by the heavyweights of action-suspense films. What's different about this version of a familiar plot is how the characters interact with each other. As the pressure builds you see sides of the characters come out that you couldn't predict. Is the mercenary Johns really as brave and righteous as he first appears? Is the heartless killer Riddick really so heartless? Survivors start plotting against each other. It becomes more interesting to watch how the characters adjust to the stress of having their lives at risk then to watch who gets picked off next by the creatures.

   Vin Diesel does a great job playing the prisoner Riddick who may or may not have a change of heart over his concern for the other survivors. He is a very enigmatic character. A pumped up skinhead who's eye's were surgically enhanced to make him see better in the dark (and anything creeping in the dark). Because of the work done on his eyes they have a slick shiny metallic look to them (This could start a whole new trend in contact lenses). Other then his striking physical characteristics, Riddick is hard to pin down. From one moment seeming very withdrawn to the next seeming like a psycho killer to the next being compassionate or having a sense of humor. Diesel tries his best to equal Eastwood or Schwartzenegger at catchy phrases. Some of them work, some don't. I would really like to see Diesel playing similar characters in other movies. He is good here at playing the ruthless killer with a dry sense of humor.     

    Considering the material David Twohy had to work with he did a great job of turning it into a film that keeps your attention from start to finish. If you are looking for a movie that explores new territory in the realm of SciFi, Pitch Black is not for you. Pitch Black is an entertaining film that is visually stunning with a few twists to some familiar ground.

RATING 1/2

Reviewed by Eugene Accardo