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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 19.89%
Worth A Look: 35.8%
Just Average: 28.98%
Pretty Crappy: 10.8%
Sucks: 4.55%
12 reviews, 104 user ratings
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| Pitch Black |
by Dust For Eyes
"Better off left in the dark"
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Are you afraid of things that go bump in the night? Are you afraid of things that go YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH sending your spine a-tingling, your blood a-curdling and your pants a-browning in the night? Yes? Then this is the film for you!For those afraid of things that go bump in the night there's no need - especially if the bump is quickly followed by another - Then a series of others in a quick rhythmic fashion. That's just people enjoying themselves and if it's between consenting adults then there's nothing for you, me or anybody else to be concerned about - unless you're married to one of the sources of the bumps.
On the other hand, things that go YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH in the night might just be something to be concerned about.
In Pitch Black, the survivors of a starship crash find themselves with quite a few things to be concerned about including a disturbingly large number of things that go YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH in the night.
The transport starship, The Hunter Gratzner with a compliment of passengers that includes an incarcerated convicted murderer, gets side swiped by a meteor storm. Giving the finger and abusing the storm doesn't help so instead we get the ensuing chaos leading to the craft crashing onto a barren planet that's part of a tri-star system. The climate of the planet - although breathable - is dry and harsh due to the tri-star system seemingly keeping the planet in pretty much permanent daylight.
The survivors of the crash discover that the planet had been colonised some time in the past and find another craft to get the off the planet - no batteries though. So they have to go off to find some Duracells.
First though they have to deal with the convicted murderer who's gone missing. Then there are the tunnels that are discovered that seem to have something in them. Something that goes - you guessed it - YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH in the night. That's not a problem on a planet that has permanent daylight - unless there is a rare eclipse. What do y'know - look what's about to happen.
This film is more near the edge of you seat tension as opposed to right on the edge. It has its tense moments, but you're left not entirely convinced. It has the set up, but it doesn't quite give the final knock out punch. This is for a couple of reasons:
There's the improbable plot. First they crash on a planet that was once colonised. That might seem like terribly good luck until you find out that the survivors' timing is way out with the crucial occurrence of the eclipse. Once they have the improbable planet to crash on, and the improbable eclipse, then there is the rather improbable luck of one of the survivors having night vision. Not impossible granted, but there's some winners coming in here at rather long odds.
A bug/stalker movie has the obligatory dumb character making the obligatory dumb decisions. I don't mean to state the oblivious, but I was rather oblivious to the thinking behind some of the characters' actions. Pitch Black makes you want to go up to the characters, give them a good slappin,' tell them to wake up to them-Goddamn-selves and have a think about it. No, running out by yourself into the dark is not a good idea.
The film also has some misplaced humour that doesn't quite work. Maybe it was the timing - Maybe it was the delivery or maybe it just wasn't funny.
The film was written and directed by David Twohy - the script writer for such failed-to-get-off-the-grounders as GI Jane and Waterworld. Visually this film is excellent - the film has a nice design with the creatures and the planet. It was filmed in Australia with washed out colours that make it barely recognisable, but nicely alien. The creatures (a combination of swarming bees and the attitude of sharks) remind of Hitchcock's The Birds.
It's the story and the performances that let the film down. Mitchell and Diesel are OK, but that's only because Diesel's character is so mean and Mitchell is so cool.Ultimately Pitch Black stumbles half way through. If you are not forgiving and patient you'll be running out of the theatre screaming YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH.
link directly to this review at http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=1801&reviewer=166
originally posted: 05/23/00 08:26:53
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Trilogy Starters: For more in the Trilogy Starters series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2016 Boston SciFi Film Festival For more in the 2016 Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival series, click here.
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USA
18-Feb-2000 (R)
DVD: 01-Jun-2004
UK
N/A
Australia
18-May-2000
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