The passenger transport vessel, Hunter-Gratzner, while en route to an unnamed destination, flies through the debris field of a rogue comet. Needless to say the debris and the spacecraft didn't agree with each other. The vessel is slowly being torn to shreds by flaming particles which forces the crew and passengers to awake from cryo-sleep...including convict Richard Riddick. The surviving crew manage to get the ship out of the debris field, but get the ship caught in the gravitational pull of a nearby planetary body. The Hunter-Gratzner is designed to land on planets. As the ships is barreling towards the planet's surface various sections of the ship must be ejected to regain control of the vessel. Moments later the craft (or what is left of it) crashes on the alien desert planet's surface leaving the remaining hand full of people to survive. The mass murderer is missing and something sinister lies in wait in the dark. Will they survive? Stay tuned to find out.

Plot: This film is written by yet another brother team, Ken and Jim Wheat. The brothers' past experience reads like a B-movie film vault. With such classics as; It Came from Outer Space II, The Stepford Husbands, Birds II, The Fly II, and Nightmare on Elm Street 4, it's amazing that they were even given a chance to write again. It's a good thing they did. This sci-fi survival film isn't original, but it is interesting. The story revolves around everyone's mistrust of each other and then a mysterious alien killer from the dark is thrown in the mix. Although it sounds pretty weak it actually works on the silver screen. As expected in this film the characters are pretty thin and they make illogical decisions. For instances the police character is hell-bent on finding the convict while the real problem should be finding water. Somehow in some mystical way the story of this film keeps the audience mildly entertained. ***(out of five)

Acting: Because of the nature of this picture there isn't any academy worthy acting. In fact most of the acting is off the shelf character-study, but one person stands out, Vin Diesel. Vin, best known for his performance as Private Adrian Caparzo, is a relatively new actor in hollywood who has recently become a hot commodity. Diesel plays the over-muscled psychopath Richard Riddick who is the only character who realizes the trouble at hand. Plus Riddick is the only character that the audience wants to know more about when they leave the movie. Diesel actually put a little work towards his character and because of it the audience is treated to someone with a story. He really holds the movie together. ***(out of five)

Directing: David N. Twohy's only other film is 1996's "The Arrival", staring Charlie Sheen, so after four years away from directing he returns with Pitch Black. To put it simply Pitch Black is visually beautiful. Because of the planets three suns it allows for some fantastic sepia tones. The directing in this picture is far ahead of his previous work in "The Arrival", which was already good. The action sequences couldn't have been timed better, the few times that there is a character moment it is dealt with appropriately, and every scene the takes place in space rivals the best sci-fi films. David Twohy makes the most of a mediocre script and turns it into a slightly better than mediocre movie. ****(out of five)

Music: This is the first time that composer Graeme Revell has done a sci-fi survival film(No Escape doesn't count it was a cleverly hidden Swiss family Robinson) and consider this is a first try he does an outstanding job. The biggest problem is the film doesn't have an easily identifiable theme and he overuses the dischord of horror films. ***(out of five)

Special Effects: When researching this film I was very surprised to find that these outstanding effects were done by a company I've never heard of. Double Negative, based in Australia, is relatively new to the Hollywood scene, Their other big credit is NBC's "The 10th Kingdom", but the fact that they are new isn't hurting them at all. The effects in this film are superb. The spacecraft is greatly detailed, the alien solar system is some of the best stellar effects I've ever scene, and the evil alien night creatures are expertly animated. The only problem is that sometimes the lens flare from the three suns looks fake at times. ****1/2(out of five)

Bottom Line: The story of this film isn't much more than a glorified TV movie, but it is directed in a way that makes sit worth more than a channel surf. I won't suggest that you run out and see this picture, but if you are getting anxious for Mission to Mars and need something to calm your nerves this movie will do the job. ***1/2 (out of five)