I don’t like to lament the changing tides of the cinematic landscape as so many are wont to do on social media. I like to go with the flow – watch what I want, ignore what doesn’t interest me, and that’s it.
But if there is one thing I genuinely miss, it’s the period where decently budgeted, high concept creature-features could be made and given wide theatrical releases. And they were mainstream!
Every once in a while one may slip through the cracks (Alexandre Aja’s Crawl and the 47 Meters Down films being recent examples) but for the most part this type of theatrical experience is dead.
David Twohy’s Pitch Black just recently celebrated its 22nd birthday this year, and I think it’s time to celebrate the unlikely franchise-starter for being a damn good sci-fi/horror film that first introduced the cult favorite anti-hero, Riddick.
By the time Pitch Black dropped David Twohy had already been in the game for quite some time. His first Hollywood writing credit is for Critters 2: The Main Course and from there he went on to write the cult classic Warlock and has credits for everything ranging from The Fugitive to G.I. Jane to Waterworld.
Pitch Black was his third time in the director’s chair after helming Timescape and The Arrival. Working from an initial script given over for him to tinker with, Twohy rewrote the film to amp it up into its own beast. There is a distinctive hard-edge, no-nonsense quality to Pitch Black that makes it very appealing. There is a dose of John Carpenter-esque cynicism to the story and characters here that feel right at home alongside films like Escape from New York and The Thing.
A transport vessel cruising the backwaters of the space lanes is struck by a rogue asteroid, causing it to crash on a desolate planet scorching under perpetual daylight. The ship was transporting dozens of individuals in cryosleep – everything from holy men on a pilgrimage to one hell of a dangerous convict by the name of Richard B. Riddick – Vin Diesel’s breakout, and in my opinion, best role.
In their struggle to figure out a way off the planet, the survivors soon find out that they arrived just in time for the planet’s nightfall 22 years in the making—and with the darkness comes the monsters. Their only hope of getting off the planet relies on the killer they all fear. Riddick can see in the dark. Can a monster save them from other monsters?
High concept premises like this almost always hinge on the characters, and Twohy manages to craft a handful of them that refreshingly break the mold they initially seem to occupy. Our lead, Fry (Radha Mitchell) is hiding a secret from the rest of the survivors – that she almost jettisoned them into space to save her own ass.
The cop transporting Riddick, Johns (Cole Hauser) turns out not to be a cop at all, but a mercenary with a drug addiction who may not be any better than the murderer he’s captured. Even the young boy, Jack, is hiding something from everyone.
The theme of secrets, of hiding who you really are, is a fun one to explore in a film like this and gives the plot added meat to dig into outside of being a fun monster movie. The planet itself is hiding its own secrets just underneath the surface. As the threat rises and the suns set, the tenuous team of survivors begins to unravel.
The only principle character in the film that seems to be honest about who and what they are is, of course, Riddick. He doesn’t put on any airs about who and what he is. What he does do, is expertly get into the heads of everyone he can for his own benefit.
Riddick is a gloriously fun character. Diesel has become something of meme in recent years, so it’s easy to forget he has his own brand of charisma and energy that can make him perfect for certain roles. Riddick is the type of villain you can’t help but love. He’s charismatic and sly. He’s funny and even charming, but Twohy and Diesel keep him unknowable. You can never pin down exactly what he’s planning or what he’s going to do and that makes him scary. Riddick is truly a free agent, playing his cards just right the entire time to keep his ass from being alien chow.
Every time you think the narrative is carrying the characters a certain way, Twohy yanks the rug out from under you. He gets you to root for characters you previously wanted to see dead, and root against characters you wanted to see redeemed. This level of moral ambiguity is rare in creature features. There are no easily digestible character arcs to feel nice about as the credits roll. When the film ends, you’re left wondering if you’d have done the same as the characters, or if what they did was justified given the situation they were in.
Pitch Black is a monster movie, right? All I’ve done is babble about the characters. Never fear, there are indeed monsters in this monster movie – and they’re awesome.
The creatures go unnamed the entire film. They’re completely nocturnal and burn in the light. They fly, only have two legs, and sport wicked hammerhead shark-like noggins. They’re all angles, claws, and teeth. The creature design here is inspired. These things are unlike most any other monsters you can find in the genre. Every single time I re-watch Pitch Black I can’t help but think to myself, “Damn, these things are cool.”
The film was produced when blockbusters were still on the cusp of mixing and matching effects techniques, so Pitch Black is a fun curio to look back on from an effects standpoint. Real sets, models, props, and locations were used to bring the film to life. Many of these aspects would most assuredly be accomplished digitally today. At the same time, the effects primarily used to bring the creatures to life are computer-generated – and the CGI largely still holds up today despite certain shots showing their age.
I’m not one to cast aspersions to the sky about the demise of practical effects and the abundance of CGI in modern film, but it’s still fun to look back to movies of the recent past and see that the old ways were still being used not that long ago. Then again, I guess in movie years 22 years is a long time ago. I just don’t like to think it is. Any film that was released in my lifetime can’t be old. That means that I’m getting old. And I don’t like that. Not one bit!
Pitch Black plays all of its cards right. It’s got an engaging hook, a good cast, morally grey characters, cool as hell monsters, and handsome filmmaking to boot. Today the film would most likely be released directly to one of the myriad streaming services vying for dominance and that’s totally fine. Streaming has opened the doors up for mid-range films of this nature to actually be made again, but the nostalgic part of me will never let go of the unique experience of seeing a film like Pitch Black on the big screen with an audience. We need more like it today.