When Playing Roulette - Always Bet 'Pitch' Black (Pitch Black (DVD))

Name: samueltyler

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Product:	Pitch Black (DVD)
Date:	01/11/06 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great tension, cool creatures, well directed

Disadvantages: Suffers a very little from limited budget

Budgets on films can have a huge impact on the finished product. On many occasions a films budget will be too small and this may be reflected on the screen by unknown actors or poor sets and CGI. In other cases, a budget may actually be too high giving the director dilutions of grandeur, overcomplicating a story and making it a farce. This happened a couple of years ago to the Vin Diesel vehicle ‘The Chronicles of Riddick’, the screen was full of so much overpowering science fiction nonsense that the story just shrivelled up and died. So why did they make the film in the first place? That would be due to the success of the 2000 prequel ‘Pitch Black’, a film which showed what could be achieved on a limited budget.

In the vastness of space a group of intergalactic travellers are in hypersleep when their ship gets hit by a meteor shower. Before they can fully awaken they have crash landed on a liveable but strange planet with three suns. With only a few survivors they seek out to explore the planet. However, initial problems are caused by one of their own, Riddick (Vin Diesel), a convicted murderer on his way back to the slam. He has escaped and people are going missing. However, is it Riddick who is to blame or the strange noises coming from the dark? Eventually they may have to decide to let Riddick help them escape the planet because an eclipse is coming and flesh eating creatures come out at night.

‘Pitch Black’ has a plot that is pure B movie schlock – a monster of the week, if you will. However, when done correctly this kind of story can be compelling and scary. The monsters on show here, or not as the case may be, are not particular original in that they fear the light but as a special effect they are excellent. Designed by award winning Patrick Tatopoulos (Independence Day) the creatures look really good, even if the budget of the film was lower than average.

Another element that makes this film stand out from the average is the acting. All the supporting actors play their part and several are notable Australian thespians. However, it is the central performance of Riddick by Vin Diesel that makes this film a sci-fi horror classic. Diesel is now a well known actor but before this film he was not. Therefore, to see his character rise out of the ensemble to lead was a real surprise and soon became one of the best anti heroes of recent times. Riddick is portrayed as evil by his jailor but Diesel gives him a humanity that makes you forget the killer he really is. It is the charisma and naked animal charm of Diesel that makes this, potentially loathsome, character a success.

The direction from David Twohy should also be praised. On a limited budget he has managed to stick to the rule – less is more. We are not bombarded with special effects continuously but are instead baited into traps by great direction, lighting and set design. Like ‘Jaws’ and ‘Alien’ before it, ‘Pitch Black’ works because it is more about the characters story than the monsters impact. It is unfortunate that Twohy lost all credit for this film by the bombshell that was ‘The Chronicles of Riddick’. The sequel to ‘Pitch Black’ is everything that it is not – over budget, over produced and over awful. Directors like Twohy and Steven Sommers (The Mummy) work best when their artistic temperaments are curtailed by a limited budget.

The film is a horror and does have some scary moments. The level of gore is relatively high in parts but not on the scale of recent horror pictures. I think that it is watchable by those that do not like ultra violent or scary movies – more ‘Deep Blue Sea’ than ‘Nightmare on Elmstreet’. So would I advise you buy this film? If you love sci fi or horror and collect DVDs then maybe yes. If I where you, I would check your TV listings regularly and next time you see it on, make some popcorn, switch off the lights and enjoy.


Director: David Twohy
Actors: Vin Diesel
Year: 2000

Price: Amazon UK £6.97

Extras:

Two Commentaries from the director and the actors. Ok if you like that kind of thing but nothing of real worth.

Summary: Great horror sci fi for those in the know