Pitch Black (2006, HD DVD)

Pitch Black (2000) directed by David Twohy.

Pitch Black is the story of the Hunter-Gratzner, a space transport forced to make a crash landing on an inhospitable planet after passing through the tail of a rogue comet. Space travel is done in cyro-sleep to conserve resources and preserve sanity on the long treks between stars.

Now, the Ship is going down, hard and fast. The Docking Pilot, Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell) realizes they have to lighten the load, and starts ejecting the rear compartments. Think of a space ship as a train, and she cuts loose the caboose, and several other cars. The problem is this is not enough, and she goes to jettison the passenger car. She is stopped by her crewmate, Owens (Simon Burke) who wedges the door open to the flight deck. They go down, hard. Amazingly, 13 survive. One of them is Owens, who is mortally wounded. The sedatives have been lost, and he dies in pain, proving the adage no good deed goes unpunished.

Among the survivors are two very unusual passengers, William J. Johns (Cole Hauser) and his prisoner, Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel). Riddick is an escaped convict and a multiple murderer. Johns takes great pains to see he is secured, because he is a very dangerous man. One of the earliest things you learn about him is his eyes have had a shine job , a surgical procedure to give them night vision, the down side being he is now light sensitive, and has to wear goggles in normal light.

The planet they find them selves on is a barren desolate world. Its blue primary star lends everything an odd cast. When it finally sets, every one breaths a sigh of relief; until two red dwarf stars rise. A trinary system, they will never see sunset. (Actually, they would, at certain times of the year. Summer would be the time when they were between the stars, winter would see three suns, two red and the closer blue on top. Science geek rears his hoary head.) For all practical purposes, they will never see sunset, and the heat will never slack off.

They begin exploring.

Meanwhile, Riddick has been left handcuffed to a support beam. A broken support beam. In a stunt that makes my shoulders ache thinking about it, he rotates his shoulders up and over, passing the cuffs through the break. Riddick is now free. The rest of the survivors are less than happy about that.
Johns: He just escaped from a maximum security prison.
Fry: Should he just stay locked up forever?
Johns: That would be my choice.
Fry: Is he really that dangerous?
Johns: Only around humans.

Survival rules still apply even with a psycho killer on the loose, and the survivors go exploring, and digging for water.

The person digging for water is Zeke (John Moore). Zeke uncovers a tunnel deep underground, and then there is s scream. When the other survivors get there, they find a puzzled Riddick looking in the hole. Assumptions are made, shots are fired, Riddick flees. Fry explores into the hole, and realizes that they are not alone on this planet. Below it, in the dark, there is life, and it is not friendly.

The next expedition is a hike to what looks like trees on the distant horizon. The trees are only bones from some immense sail backed pachyderm but beyond them they find signs of human habitation.

A mining colony once existed on this planet, and their instillation has several things the survivors need, solar powered water pumps, shelter, and most importantly, an escape ship. It needs a few power cells, and every thing looks to be gravy.

Then Fry finds a model of the solar system, and one of the Imam s (Keith David) sons dies, and they discover that the gas giant next to them is rising. In point of fact, there are two gas giants, and this planet will be moving between them, in perfect lock step, in a total eclipse, for god alone knows how long. (Science geek here. No rocky body could pass close enough to a gas giant to be totally eclipsed without being captured by its gravitational field and being turned into a moon. Further, the gravitational forces between the two planets would be ungodly, and they planet would be destroyed. This solar system can not exist. Outside of that flaw, great concept for a situation to motivate characters.)

So with the Planet rising slowly blotting out the sky, the survivors must make it back to the wreck, grab several power rods, get back, prep the ship, and lift off before the subterranean monsters come flocking out to eat them all. And the rover is solar powered.

Night falls upon them back at the wreck, and as Shazza (Claudia Black) proves, these monsters are deadly at any size; if they aren t big enough to kill you, they bring a few hundred litter mates.

So, now the survivors are on a quest, can they protect themselves with enough light to repel the monsters and make it back to the escape ship without being eaten? With Riddick s help they might.

The Analysis
From reading over the plot, you know this is just a basic man against the unknown survival adventure. So what elevates this from a made for Sci-Fi movie of the week?

One, the production values are amazing. Even something as simple as two filters, one for blue sun, and one for red suns turns this desert into an alien landscape. And the CGI on the monsters is excellent. But what ups the story out of adventure schlock?

The psychology. There are wonderful layers of psychological meaning and insight into these characters that make this movie so much more than a creature feature.

Carolyn Fry is a docking pilot. Though the grace of G*d and not being hit by a meteor she is in charge of this expedition. She tried very hard to kill everyone else to save her own life when she was trying to jettison the passenger pods. Now she is having to step up into a leadership role, and to face what she was willing to do.

Spoiler Alert!
William J. Johns looks like a hero from the get go. He is tall, blond, handsome, even sexy. But as time goes on we realize more about his character. He is not a lawman, he is a bounty hunter. He is not particularly brave, and when Greg Owen was dieing a painful agonizing death, bleeding out, he had the sedatives that could have given him a peaceful overdose. He had them because he is a junkie who shoot his junk into his tear ducts so they won t leave marks.
End Spoiler Alert!

The Imam we take to be a religious fanatic, and perhaps rightly, but he is a man of true faith, and that faith and the strength it gives him does not desert him, not even after the death of all of his sons.

Spoiler Alert!
Jack, the little hero worshiping kid who shaves his head and wears goggles to emulate Riddick, (Paris: It s the winner of the look alike contest. ) who uses charming phrases such as, Yeah, thanks for saving our dicks back there. has a secret.
As the group contemplates the trip through the canon crowded with the creatures
Riddick: That s death row up there, especially with the girl bleeding.
Johns: (looking at Fry) The f*ck you talking about? She s not cut.
Riddick: Not her . (Looks back at Jack.) Her.
Suddenly, Jack is cast in a whole new light. No longer is he the hyperactive boy who just doesn t get the danger, she is a clever and cunning girl, attaching herself to the alpha male seeking protection.
End Spoiler Alert!

And that brings us to Riddick. Riddick is an escaped convict and a confessed murderer. So why do we like him? Why is he the hero, or at least lead, of this movie?

Part of it is he is honest. He tells it like it is. He doesn t lie, he doesn t make excuses, he doesn t blame his problems on society; he says I am a killer.
Paris: Paris B. Olgive. Antiques dealer, entrepreneur.
Riddick: Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict. Murderer.

You also wonder after watching Riddick play with the survivors wonder if he really is a murderer. You know he is a killer, but he would kill everyone, and no one could really stop him. So they are alive at his sufferance. So all the people he killed, what were the circumstances?
Johns: Battlefield doctors decide who lives and who dies. It s called triage.
Riddick: They kept calling it Murder when I did it.

It makes one wonder what the extenuating circumstances might be.

Finally, Riddick is just plain old dang cool. He is sharp, lethal, and does not take a lot of things too seriously.
Johns: How s it look?
Riddick: Looks clear.
(Monster flies out of the hole, forcing them to duck, and flies off.)
Johns: You said it was clear!
Riddick: I said it looked clear.
Johns: Well, how does it look now?
Riddick: (peeks in, looks back) Looks clear.

That also goes back to what I was saying about saying what you mean.

Riddick is aware. I don t just mean alert; he pays attention to everything all the time. He is strong, he is able to handle himself. He never hesitates, doesn t worry or fret. When he needs time to think, he keeps everyone moving, even if it is in a circle. He never shows anxiety. How we all want to be like that

Riddick is an alpha male. Most men want in their secret heart of hearts to be like that. Most women (and a certain percentage of men) want to be with someone like that. We respond to natural leaders.

And he has a human side. It can be appealed to. You see it when Fry forces him to go back for Jack and the Imam. And you see it in a conversation he has with the Imam.
Imam: Because you do not believe in G*d does not mean does not mean G*d does not believe in ..
Riddick: Think someone could live half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? Think he could start out in some liquor store trash bin with an umbilical cord around his neck and not believe? Got it all wrong, holy man. I absolutely believe in G*d .And I absolutely hate the f*cker.

How can anyone not feel compassion for a soul so ridden with pain?

All these things allow us to give in to the dark side just a little, and like this monster.

Just never loose sight of the fact he is a monster.

The whole movie plays well; it is a mix of exterior action. (first the yelling, then the running, then the screaming) and interior development. We care about these characters (of cease to, in Johns case) In fact, I think this may be the best creature feature ever. (Don t throw up Alien to me, they are not in the same category. They are not competing for the same prize.)

Other people thought so too. Pitch Black won the Australian Cinematographers award (2) , and was nominated for the Bram Stoker, and Saturn awards. Not bad for a little sci-fi movie?

And it makes my criteria for a really good film. It s one you can watch over and over again.

So, sit back, pop in the DVD, and turn all the lights out. I dare you.