Pitch Black poster

Pitch Black (2000)

Film · 1h 48m · Rated R

Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Survivors on a remote planet face a total eclipse and deadly creatures, forcing them to trust an escaped convict.

Suspenseful and pulpy. A full-attention watch at a brisk pace. Emotionally it carries some weight.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 26, 2026.

Pitch Black parents guide

Real scares and several jump scares, about what an R should carry.

Scare
Properly scary
Frightening, not just tense.
Jump scares
Several
More than a couple of sudden jolts.
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Strong violence
Violence is frequent or intense.
Sex and nudity
Mild
Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Pitch Black scary?
Yes, properly. Pitch Black is the real thing without being an endurance test.
How gory is Pitch Black?
Light gore and strong violence.
What is Pitch Black rated, and is it OK for kids?
Real scares, several jump scares and strong violence. The R is earned, so not for kids.

What is Pitch Black about?

When their ship crash-lands on a remote planet, the marooned passengers soon learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear. Deadly creatures lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark, and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclipse. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced to turn to Riddick with his eerie eyes to guide them through the darkness to safety. With time running out, there's only one rule: Stay in the light.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

It leaves things open rather than tying them up.

Cast and crew

Directed byDavid Twohy
StarringVin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black, Keith David

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.