Stars: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser
Taking on the cliched scenario of inter-stellar terror, & with a modest budget of just over $20, 000, 000 no less, ’’Pitch Black’’ is one deceptively original movie.
Filmed in the remote Australian outback of Coober Pedy, Pitch Black, directed by David Twohy, tells the futuristic story of a downed commercial aircraft on an uncharted planet & the accident’s survivors.
The special effects in this film are finely-tuned, belying budget constraints, & the cast are quite established, including the likes of Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan), Radha Mitchell (Love & Other Catastrophies), & Cole Hauser (Higher Learning).
But Pitch Black’s true staying power is in it’s human drama. The classic pitfall in sci-fi adventures is the prevalent penchant to make the latest alien menace the focus. As a result, audiences are left with little or no feeling for under-developed characters in jeopardy.
Pitch Black, however, breaks the mould with a storyline that revolves around human drama set against a background of rapacious, photosensitive predators. There’s no shortage of class performances here, & no dull moments either. Pitch Black serves as a stellar reminder that a deft concept & some respect for character development can often outstrip a mindless big budget production such as, ’’Alien: Resurrection.’’