PITCH BLACK: Revisiting Vin Diesel’s Terrifying Monster Movie

Brought to you by Raycon.

SOURCES:
Escape From Butcher Bay analysis by RagnarRox (2021):

Blunt Magazine's retrospective by Travis Johnson (2020):

John Carpenter antihero comparison by John Kenneth Muir (2010):

ABOUT THE SHOW:
This show celebrates Ryan's love for film, games, art and entertainment through personal retrospective analysis that aims to explore what made them so good.

MUSIC:
Dangerous Toys by SefChol
Dimished Returns by Jeremy Korpas
Meteor by HOVATOFF
Familiar Things by The Whole Other

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introducing Pitch Black & The "Riddick" Franchise
03:28 - Sponsored by RAYCON
04:55 - The Art of Pitch Black's Ambiguity
08:01 - The John Carpenter Effect
10:00 - The Characters
11:32 - Understanding Riddick
13:45 - Carolyn's Tragic Redemption Arc

[RyanHollinger]

*Any obscure sci-fi horrors you think need revisited?!*

Brought to you by Raycon.

[reactmethod]

One detail I always liked about Carolyn's death was after she is dragged into the dark, Riddick yells out that she wasn't meant to die for him. Really felt like that was the one time his mask slipped and for that brief second he showed that he didn't believe he was worth dying for like the others, and her death truly affected him.

[glass.hammer]

This might be ridiculous, but I think this is one of vin’s best roles. I was most compelled by riddick than all of his other films. And yeah I include groot

[Geassguy]

I love the Riddick movies. Yeah they can be cheesy and hokey as hell but they also can be quite unique and fun. Chronicles actually has some cool ideas and good performances too.

[wstine]

Riddick: "I can see clearly in the dark. What power can you do?"
Ryan Hollinger: "HOYEVER."
Riddick: "Impressive."

[EsotericTrash]

I really loved this movie as a kid. Still do. I thought it felt like a whole rich scifi world that wasn't over explained and was allowed to just be. The one thing I didn't love about it was how quickly Claudia Black's character got picked off because she's awesome and I'm a huge Farscape fan.

[celestedivinity]

This gives me the same energy as properties like underworld and resident evil. They should be garbage, but there is something utterly watchable about them

[KayosHybrid]

Pitch Black is such a damn good film and I can’t really fully explain why I love it. I just love it. Everything about it. It’s just good, beginning to end. It isn’t a cinema masterpiece, it isn’t ‘so bad it’s good’. It’s just great. All the characters, the horror, the monsters, the tension, it’s just cool.

[TheMoviesCult]

There's a lot to be said, especially for the sequels which don't get much attention. Kudos for covering Pitch Black, definitely one of the top space creature horror movies for all the reasons you described, but I really want to give props to Diesel, Twohy and Universal for trying (and failing) to take an anti-hero into dark fantasy land with enough lore to applaud for their ambition alone. I don't care what anyone says, Chronicles of Riddick deserve so much respect pushing the boundaries of fantasy into the mainstream, in a time we were used to more heroic depictions. That and Serenity were the two lost bets of Universal to take us into darker scifi setting (and anti-heroes). But I digress. May the Riddick franchise live on and spawn similar attempts!

You're not afraid of the dark, are you?

[thoughtfuldevil]

The character development, distinct style, and excellent score all keep this movie rewatchable twenty years later. Most movies just feed the cast to monsters, but Fry, Johns and Riddick all have distinct, realistic character arcs.

[blaze]

I thought this movie did a great job of not giving heavy exposition but slowly eluding to the fact that there was a very rich history to these people and the worlds they came from.

[schulzbrianr]

“Riddick” is definitely his best movie/series/character . I also really like “Babylon AD”, and I really would like to see the “Directors Cut” that will never exist.

[thehitherto]

I remember being impressed by this one in cinemas half a life ago (time flies). The scene where the planetary eclipse happens is still beautifully terrifying. Also; while Riddick is certainly one of Diesel's best and most memorable characters, I think the movie worked best because of the ensemble cast which you actually gave a fuck about.

[sebastiangreenan]

The thing I love about Riddick as a character and the films around him is how it's all a throwback to pulp Sci-fi. Riddick is similar to Conan The Barbarian as a larger than life figure making their way through slightly outlandish tales, appealing to the part of your brain that enjoys pire escapism.

[athannyx]

I absolutely love Riddick and the sci fi is on point.

Also just want to add... I was absolutely as emotionally devastated by the loss of the Captain.

[deanscordilis]

I just find it buckwild that Pitch Black was essentially a stealth space opera franchise pilot. I distinctly remember the conversation around Chronicles was centered on “hey, isn’t that Vin Diesel’s character from that horror film?”

[clockworkcookie]

It's soooo strange to see these movies I remember from my teenagehood being rediscovered by people on youtube, when I thought they were completely forgotten. This whole channel is such a nostalgia trip!

[TheAustinWoolShow]

The Chronicles of Riddick is one of the most misunderstood throwbacks to sci-fi epics of the 70s and 80s to ever exist. It is without a doubt one of my favorite films ever. Pitch Black is great too. I hope we get another one before Vin Diesel gets too old.

[Chcken]

I can absolutely understand why some people don't like Chronicles of Riddick, but I enjoy it even more than Pitch Black.
Everyone has some of those movies that they almost feel bad for loving. The Riddick movies are like that for me.

[Monius]

Not exactly scifi, but there was an obscure, pretty low budget horror film I watched a long while ago that really became one of my favorite slashers ever. It was called Laid To Rest (even had a sequel called Chromeskull: Laid To Rest 2). It really nailed what it was going for and I feel like it's and underrated hidden gem. Definitely worth a watch!
Thanks for the video, as always <3