Pitch Black review

In space, no one can hear you scream, which is a shame because humans might fare rather better against the wily, blood-thirsty xenomorphs which seem to populate every uncharted planet in the Hollywood universe.

Dispensable crew members might not wander down poorly lit corridors on their own to almost certain death; and ballsy babes, with enough firepower to raze empires, might not have to save the day, all guns a-blazin'.

On the downside, there would be no need for enjoyable schlocky horror like Pitch Black.

Date line: the near future; location: deep space. During a routine flight, a starfreighter accidentally strays into the path of a meteor shower, waking pilot Fry (Radha Mitchell) and crew from hypersleep.

Despite her best efforts, Fry is forced to crashland the ship on a remote and desolate planet orbited by two suns.

The captain is killed, but several passengers survive the ordeal including Muslim pilgrim Imam (Keith David), self-interested antique dealer Paris (Lewis Fitz-Gerald), geologist Shazza (Claudia Black), lawman Johns (Cole Hauser) and his dangerous prisoner Riddick (Cin Diesel).

The planet is arid and eerily lifeless. But as a lunar eclipse plunges the entire surface into darkness, the planet's real inhabitants emerge from their underground lairs: pterodactyl-like killing machines with an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

Stalked by predators they cannot see, the group's only hope rests with Riddick who has the ability to see in the dark. But dare they trust their lives to a convicted psychopath, who might abandon them at any moment to make his own escape?

Pitch Black opens well with the spectacular crash sequence, replete with shaky camera, overzealous use of the smoke machine and plenty of computer generated eye candy. Once the dust settles and the group begins scouting the planet for help, writer-director David Twohy expertly builds the tension, creating an underlying sense of foreboding.

Light from the twin suns saturates the screen with haunting blue and gold hues, making the barren locations seem that much more alien, and contrasting spectacularly with the second half of the film which takes place in almost total darkness, lit by the odd UV light and or hand-held flare.

Twohy sensibly keeps the creatures hidden for the first half hour, but once the light fades and darkness descends, the special effects guys go into overdrive, unleashing the full power of their hard drives in an orgy of bloodshed and in-your-face gore.

Diesel consolidates his position as a star of the future, looking almost as imposing as the aliens with his shaved head and iridescent silver eyes. He essays a refreshingly amoral hero whose natural instincts - kill to survive - serve him in good stead in his current predicament.

Radha is an appealingly feisty Sigourney Weaver-lite heroine, looking mean and sweaty in the face of danger, and Hauser makes an impact as the cop forced, against his better judgement, to trust the man he must put behind bars.

The finale is rather muddled, notable only for a throwaway Crying Game-esque plot twist, leaving the spacelock open for the inevitable sequel.