Riddick
Dir: David Twohy
2013
***
After the odd and unpopular side-step that was The Chronicles of Riddick, David Twohy decided to give the people what they want and that is more of the same that made Pitch Black so popular. When I say more of the same I mean exactly the same. Instead of the beasties coming out when it is dark, they now come out when it's wet and guess what, there's a rain coming. It's silly and mindless, fun and entertaining. The beginning of the film shows Riddick in solitude, he tames a Dog and lives a simple life of survival. This part of the story is strong and gives David Twohy's vision of the character some weight. He then gets on with what we want, a silly horror with Aliens that have sharp tails. It's Pitch Black 2, forget that The Chronicles of Riddick ever happened and enjoy.

The Chronicles of Riddick
Dir: David Twohy
2004
**
The problem with The Chronicles of Riddick is that unlike Pitch Black, the character, story and concept is taken far too seriously. Pitch Black was an above average action fantasy horror, not a guilty pleasure because it was quite clever but not something that necessarily warranted a franchise either. The fantasy element of the story comes on a bit too strong, Pitch Black lead us down a horror path, we didn't expect or indeed want an Edgar Rice Burroughs film, we wanted a watered down cheap horror version of an Edgar Rice Burroughs film. Some would argue that that is exactly what we got but without the horror. I'm sure David Twohy has a great vision of what Riddick can be but I just can't see it myself.

Pitch Black
Dir: David Twohy
2000
***
The premise is simple. Darkness brings beasties out that want to kill you and 'would you believe it' just as our rag-tag crew land on a Planet without darkness, they experience as eclipse. It's the film version of Sod's law, the age old tale of solitude and being surrounded and very much like countless Vampire films that have come before. To its credit, this is an original and entertaining take on the classic situation. The characters are fairly well written for an action horror and it wasn't as predictable as it first seemed. It's rather good fun and a nice surprise back in 2000.