Pitch Black (2000)

When the transport ship "Hunter-Gratzner" is hit by a meteor shower, the pilot Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell) is awaken from the cryogenic sleep and tries to control the vessel with forty passengers. She is forced to release a module and only Carolyn; the bounty hunter William J. Johns (Cole Hauser); the religious Abu "Imam" al-Walid Lewis (Keith David); the dealer Paris P. Ogilvie (Lewis Fitz- Gerald); Sharon 'Shazza' Montgomery (Claudia Black); the runaway teenager Jack (Rhiana Griffith); John 'Zeke' Ezekiel (John Moore); Suleiman (Les Chantery); Hassan (Sam Sari); Ali (Firass Dirani); and the dangerous criminal Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) survive. Riddick escapes and Johns scares the survivors telling how dangerous he is. The group is stranded in the desert and find that place is heated by three suns and they team-up to seek for water and supplies. Soon they discover that there are under siege of flesh eating aliens that attack in the darkness; further, the planet will be pitch black with a total eclipse. They conclude that it is not with Riddick that they have to be worried about.

After sixteen years, "Pitch Black" is still a great B-movie that may be considered a new-classic in the present days. The story is engaging with good special effects. But the most amazing is the direction and the perfect casting of unknown actors and actresses. "Pitch Black" brought the attention of the audiences to Vin Diesel in his first success; Radha Mitchell, from "Everything Put Together" of the same year, is perfect in the role of Carolyn Fry; and the always efficient Cole Hauser and Keith David have also great performances. The noncommercial conclusion is also a plus of "Pitch Black". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil) "Eclipse Mortal" ("Mortal Eclipse")