Pitch Black

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Pitch Black

R

2000

1h 48m

Sci-Fi

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

108 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

When their ship crashes on an unexplored planet, the survivors of the crash soon discover that this planet that is normally always day is going to soon be in a state of eclipse that will bring out deadly nocturnal creatures. Will a prison convict (Vin Diesel) being transported on the ship end up being the one man who can lead the survivors off the planet?

Critics Consensus

Despite an interesting premise (and a starmaking turn from Vin Diesel), Pitch Black is too derivative and formulaic to fully recommend to sci-fi or action fans.

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Nathan Rabin

AV Club

10/17/2018

Pitch Black falters a bit in its last half-hour-the film's darkest moment reduces Diesel to delivering a pithy one-liner-but for the most part, it's terrific.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

10/17/2018

David Twohy's film undoubtedly has something interesting about it, and that something can be summarised in two words: Vin Diesel.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

06/24/2006

A smart, suspenseful sci-fi movie from director Twohy, whose underrated 1996 film, The Arrival, also brought visual imagination and intelligence to the genre.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

02/25/2025

4/5

A small creature feature with a pair of great lead performances from Mitchell and Diesel. The visual effects are dodgy at times, but the concept and Twohy's execution, as well as plus unexpected narrative subversions, make this an underrated classic.

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

03/16/2024

4/5

With its first half sporting a brilliant desert surrealism and the second loaded with stylised gore, director David Twohy's futuristic frightener is a vivid, pulse-pounding achievement.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

09/02/2022

C-

Yet another insecure hissy fit of a movie — a thriller without enough confidence in itself or its characters to calm down for two seconds and let the actors speak to each other like human beings.

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Frans B

@FransB 4d

Brilliant. David Twohy did good here. Very well written and directed. Good, solid story. Not at all derivative, imo. Great premise and very fast paced. This surely put Vin Diesel on the map, well the whole cast convinces in character. Lots of action, drama, suspense, emotion, intrigue and twists. Amazing cinematography and visually stunning. Epic, gripping and very entertaining

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Alex B

@Aeizalt Apr 26

This is a masterpiece I keep coming back to. I see people citing a mishandled ending but that feels like a misunderstanding to me. Set Design: 8/10 Character Development: 8/10 Storyline: 10/10 World Building: 10/10 Lighting: 8/10 Cinematography: 9/10 CGI: 9/10 Dialogue: 9/10 This movie delivers. It will have you on the edge of your seat, then serve up some big surprise that keeps you wanting more. Seemingly chaotic, yet neatly packaged into a world written, designed, and filmed by a masterful team. As terrifying as the concepts are, you almost want to become the anti-hero and live through the experiences for the novelty. This movie explores the philosophical depths of what "survival" means, pitting people against each other and testing the limits of empathy and selfishness. No one is perfect, leading to all sorts of moral questions and dilemmas. The detail in set design and world building is astounding to me. This movie yields up something new every time I watch it. Amazing!

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Blue T

@NK2011 Mar 17

Not a bad movie, simply entertaining that is, though some of its scenes managed to make me cringe and get second hand embarassment.

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Ian R

@RT23899272 Mar 13

Extremely derivative. One star for Keith David and I'm Australian so one star for Radha Mitchell. Must just be me, this put me way off Vin Diesel. Very poor ending to this movie.

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Dave L

@RT29131586 Feb 6

This was a good film well scripted and had a bit of everything.

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Emmanuel R.

@supeM Jan 30

What a weird movie but its the first of the Riddick franchise and it has the almighty Keith flippin David. Give it a watch for him at least

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David Twohy

Director

Radha Mitchell

Fry

Vin Diesel

Riddick

Cole Hauser

Johns

Keith David

Imam

Lewis Fitz-Gerald

Paris

Pitch Black: Official Clip - Found Something Worse Than Me?

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - They're All Dead

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - Don't Stray From the Light

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - Monster Meets Monster

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - Rescuing Riddick

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - How Do I Get Eyes Like That?

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - Would You Die for Them?

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - Murderer vs. Merc

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - Dislocated Escape

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Pitch Black: Official Clip - The Dark Brings Devils

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Synopsis

When their ship crashes on an unexplored planet, the survivors of the crash soon discover that this planet that is normally always day is going to soon be in a state of eclipse that will bring out deadly nocturnal creatures. Will a prison convict (Vin Diesel) being transported on the ship end up being the one man who can lead the survivors off the planet?

Director: David Twohy
Producer: Tom Engelman
Screenwriter: Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy
Distributor: USA Films
Production Co: Gramercy Pictures, Interscope Communications, Intrepid Pictures
Rating: R (Language|Gore|Sci-Fi Violence)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 18, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 22, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $39.2M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround, DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1