people who think that the chronicle of riddick suck hard than the black hole that swallow up event horizon and probably do not see the movie that spawn vin diesel skin head killer to begin with and and probably have no intention of do so . too bad and because pitch black actually do kick major as . direct by genre vet david twohy and ( warlock and the excellent but underrated below ) and write by sibling jim and ken wheat ( lie and silent scream ) and pitch black begin with an alien esque prologue . when a combination cargo freighter or passenger ship be badly damage by a freak meteor shower ( in which the captain be also kill ) and the co pilot and carolyn fry ( silent hill radha mitchell ) have an important decision to make represent ditch the cargo or the passenger . close to pick ore over occupant and the crash landing derail her ultimate course of action . no matter and because the catastrophic landing have be make on a foreboding rock that once hold a mining colony . amongst the survivor be a couple of settler and shazza ( farscape claudia black ) and zeke ( john moore ) while an imam ( keith david ) and his young follower ( can you say red shirt boy and girl . ) while an antique dealer name paris ogilvie ( lewis fitz gerald ) while a young boy name jack ( rhianna griffith ) and and the most controversial member of the group represent a marshall name john ( the excellently slimy cole hauser ) and his prisoner . a dangerous murderer name riddick ( diesel ) . how the group dynamic shake out make for a lot of the dramatic tension and especially with concern about riddick and how many people he might slice and dice if he ever get away . but no one here get out alive and a the saying go and and the big twist have less to do with how they get along and than how they will survive when they discover the unthinkable . they be not alone on the planetoid . thing that be hungry and taloned and quick be slither around just where they can not be see and live in the darkness where they can survive and thrive . they want the flesh of the new arrival to sate their appetite and but they can not come out into the sear daylight to forage for food . do the phrase total eclipse make thing a little more interesting . you betcha . hence the more than fitting title . vin and more monosyllabic than clint eastwood dirty harry on his grumpy day and drip more testosterone than sweat and have a field day here with a character that really do seem worth a sequel or two and and hauser and ooze menace and bile be every bit as good a his dad wing be at on screen villainy . surprisingly and though and mitchell hold her own and manage to be strong and sympathetic a fry . you would expect no less than a strong showing from black and she who once be aeryn sun and and she doesn not disappoint . ( too bad her role wasn not big and but that all i will say about it . ) and david make his usual indelible impression a the holy man whose faith will truly be test in the very pit of hell itself . the pace move fast than riddick slip up behind his prey with a shank in his teeth and and once the darkness descends and the terror and tension never let up and pretty much a in other classic sci fi or horror flick which this imitate . but if imitation truly be the sincere form of flattery and dave twohy and the wheat deserve major backslaps for get this one right with a vengeance and and for give u an end that be anti hollywood to the max . i do not want to spoil the surprise and so i would not say much more and except that if you saw chronicle first and weren not too happy and give pitch black a chance anyway . and if you have see neither and definitely start with this one . i do not know what vin be up to now and but he could certainly do bad than to give these guy a call again . i would love to see what they would dream up next .