History Film / PitchBlack

* ThreeDMovie: A partial, rather obscure example, with the Riddick-O-Vision sequences being red-cyan anaglyph 3D.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played with. It's left ambiguous as to whether Riddick refuses to kill the teenage Jack and instead [[spoiler:ghosts Johns]] on moral grounds because he crossed a line, or [[PragmaticVillainy simple opportunism]]. His second option gives Riddick control of the group, revenge, and a target off his back. He later rescues Jack yet again, [[spoiler:but leaves her to die just as quickly until Fry convinces him to go back for them.]]
** The third movie answers this question when Riddick tells Johns' angry father why he did it. [[spoiler:He thought Johns was a [[DirtyCoward coward]] for being willing to sacrifice a child to survive, something he himself finds repulsive, thus confirming the Pitch Black example was ultimately being played fully straight.]]

** [[spoiler:Johns is willing to kill anyone else in the group, even Jack, to distract the creatures so he can escape. Riddick wounds him instead, letting him be the distraction.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Johns didn't kill Riddick when he had the chance. As Riddick told him, before one of the aliens eat him.]]

* BarrierBustingBlow: After the suns go down and the planet is covered in darkness due to the eclipse, the Bioraptors roam free. The protagonists temporarily hide out in a storage compartment of the crashed ship. Imam sits down against a wall, but then an Alien pierces its claws through the hull right next to his head, almost impaling him.

* LoweredMonsterDifficulty: The critters are a prime example of this trope. At the beginning of the film, they are clearly crawling around while there's still sunlight visible. Later on, a dimly luminescent glass jar can send them screaming away.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Required to make the planet dark, as required by the plot. True a giant gas planet blocks the sun, but its rings would scatter the light ([[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Saturn_eclipse.jpg here's the sun eclipsed by Saturn]], see?), putting the planet into a very dark twilight, but not something human eyes couldn't adjust to. True it eventually rains, it could have been cloudy - but that's artistic license, too. Add to that the near impossibility of this particular orbital configuration, and.. well, TropesAreTools!

** Riddick might also count, [[spoiler: as he appears to be ready to turn over a new leaf at the end, saying: "Tell them Riddick's dead. He died somewhere on that planet."]].

* BaitTheDog: So it seems like Riddick, after all this talk about how bad he is, might be an alright guy after all when he prevents Jack from getting killed and used as bait by Johns. [[spoiler: Then Riddick leaving the others to die as soon as it becomes a viable option really drives home the point of what a scumbag he can be.]]
** [[spoiler: But it's {{Averted}} once more as Fry convinces him to go back for them and he does. Further proved by the fact that Riddick is very visibly heartbroken when Fry is killed, and in the sequel where he's been trying keep mercenaries from hunting jack/kyra, and is also later on the verge of tears when Lord Marshall kills her.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Carolyn not only redeems herself by refusing to leave Jack and Imam, but then risks and loses her life saving the injured Riddick.]]

** Paris is a straightforward example. Right from the start he shows himself as a cowardly gentleman. This bites everyone when he panics and [[spoiler: flees the group, with the light cables still wrapped around him. It causes his own death and many subsequent ones as he breaks their best light source.]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler: Riddick, while initially coming off as a morally ambiguous and even somewhat likable character, shows what kind of a person he really is by the end when he rather apathetically decides to abandon the others entirely for his own benefit. When Carolyn confronts him, he seems to enjoy (correctly) pointing out to her that she herself is really no better than he is, as she like him was entirely willing to sacrifice the rest of the passengers to save herself at the beginning of the story, and he almost seems to see her as a kindred spirit of sorts. [[SadisticChoice He even offers to take her with him, thereby knowingly saving her own life at the expense of the others]], and tries to goad her into stooping to his level. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame She chooses to have none of it]] and [[ShutUpHannibal rejects that she is anything like Riddick]] by [[{{Redemption}} refusing to leave Jack and Imam behind]]. Riddick chooses to help her, intrigued by her decision.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Riddick:''' "Would you die for them?"]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Carolyn:''' "I would try for them."]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Riddick:''' "You didn't answer me."]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Carolyn:''' "Yes I would, Riddick. I would. I would die for them."]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Riddick:''' "... ''how interesting.''"]]

** [[spoiler: "Where's Johns?" "Which half?"]]

** Happens ''again'' [[spoiler: right at the end of the climactic fight between the two]]. Doubles as a really black BrickJoke.
--> '''Riddick:''' [[spoiler: Remember that moment?]]

** Later becomes a double-example [[spoiler: during the climactic fight with Johns.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Riddick (to Johns):''']] [[spoiler: "Remember that moment?"]]

* NoPeriodsPeriod: [[spoiler: Jack is actually a teen girl, and well, you put the rest together...]]

* PassThePopcorn: A more sadistic example, where Riddick is seen [[spoiler: casually drinking some liquor while watching another man get gunned down by a Zeke, who thought the innocent man was Riddick]].

** This almost happened to [[spoiler: Riddick. In the original script, Riddick was supposed to die instead of Fry]]. ExecutiveMeddling put a stop to that, since [[spoiler: ''The Chronicles of Carolyn Fry'' would not have made for a decent sequel.]]
** Keep in mind, it ''was'' redemption for [[spoiler: Carolyn, since she almost sacrificed her passengers to save herself at the start of the film]].

* TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath: The death of [[spoiler: the female lead at the end after she and Riddick survive a confrontation with two of the monsters when another lunges out of the dark and snatches her up.]]

* TooDumbToLive: Paris, in a fit of blind panic after a creature swoops on the group, [[spoiler: screws over ''everybody'' by scrambling away, pulling out the battery powering the glow-stick type lights... including the ONLY source of light around his own torso. KarmicDeath ensues.]]

* WouldntHurtAChild: Riddick likes children quite a lot, and they in turn seem fascinated by him - not just Jack, but Imam's younger acolyte as well. In fact he likes them enough that he refuses to kill Jack [[spoiler: even though she's actually a girl on her period and attracting the monsters. He doesn't have any qualms about leaving them to save himself, though.]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Riddick cooperates with most of the group's plan until they reach the canyon and he can't protect the group as well as himself any longer. However, he does end up overriding this notion after offering to save only Fry when she reaches the skiff alone but convinces him to return with her.]]

** (Riddick disembowels an alien) "Did not know what he was fucking with."

** Johns pretends to be a brave, upstanding man of the law at first, but is eventually revealed as a cowardly, self-serving junkie mercenary. He steals all the morphine so Owens has to die in agony. He's so convinced that Riddick is going to kill them all, or hell, he just wants to deliver him for the bounty, that he makes Fry and the others wait until the last second to bring up the cells and then the eclipse hits, so they all get trapped in the dark. After the aliens come out during the eclipse, he stays back and lets the others investigate even though he's the only one with a gun, uses Jack as an excuse to hide his own fear, and [[spoiler:is prepared to kill Jack and use her as bait to distract the creatures, causing Riddick to kill him.]]

* JustDesserts: [[spoiler:Johns let a man die an agonizing death by stealing all the morphine for himself and was ready to murder Jack to distract the bioraptors. Riddick ultimately leaves him alone in the dark and Johns is killed and eaten by the monsters.]]

** [[spoiler: But it's {{Averted}} once more as Fry convinces him to go back for them and he does.]]

** [[spoiler:Zeke murders a survivor who he mistook for Riddick, and than is killed by the creatures when hiding away the body.]]

In the year 2678, the Hunter-Gratzner, with its crew and passengers in stasis pods, passes through the debris of a comet. The resulting damage badly cripples the ship, kills some of its crew and eventually causes it to crash land on a nearby planet. The remaining survivors find themselves in a harsh, barren landscape with constant daylight due to its three suns. A bounty hunter, William J. Johns, informs them that one of the passengers was a dangerous criminal named Richard B. Riddick, and worse still, he's managed to escape during the crash.

* CorruptTheCutie: Subverted. [[spoiler:Riddick pulls a magnificent attempt with Carolyn at the end by encouraging her to leave Imam and Jack behind to come with him instead. He's practically ''nice'' about it, being helpful by telling her he will leave her, and recognizing how difficult it must be but that nobody would blame her. She breaks down in front of him and he gets even nicer, encouraging her like a small child. One would think he's nothing but a MagnificentBastard but it's likely he very much likes Carolyn. Doesn't ultimately take anyway as she violently rebuffs him and convinces him to go back for them anyway after remembering what she'd attempted to do at the beginning of the movie.]]

* AdmiringTheAbomination: Upon seeing the huge swarms of vicious night-dwelling flying monsters emerging from underground, [[SociopathicHero Riddick]] can only whisper: "Beautiful". Probably because he identifies with them much better than with humans.

-->'''Fry:''' You're fucking with me, I know you are.
-->'''Riddick:''' You know I am? You don't know anything about me. [[SincerityMode I WILL leave you here]].

-->'''Riddick:''' Did ''not'' know who he was fuckin' with!

* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Carolyn is outraged to find out that Johns is a morphine addict when her copilot died in pain without relief. Johns states that the entire reason he's an addict in the first place is because of a piece of a shiv Riddick left right next to his spine that causes him nearly constant pain. He can still feel it rubbing against his spine and shows the wound to Carolyn.
-->'''Johns:''' ''"You feel that? Riddick did that. He went for the sweet spot and missed."''
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: You would be forgiven for thinking that Riddick actually cares for the others in the group. He doesn't.]]

** Johns pretends to be a brave, upstanding man of the law at first, but is eventually revealed as a cowardly, self-serving junkie mercenary. He steals all the morphine so Owens has to die in agony. After the aliens come out during the eclipse, he stays back and lets the others investigate even though he's the only one with a gun, uses Jack as an excuse to hide his own fear, and [[spoiler:is prepared to kill Jack and use her as bait to distract the creatures, causing Riddick to kill him.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played with. It's left ambiguous as to whether Riddick refuses to kill the teenage Jack and instead [[spoiler:ghosts Johns]] on moral grounds because he crossed a line, or [[PragmaticVillainy simple opportunism]]. His second option gives Riddick control of the group, revenge, and a target off his back. He later rescues Jack yet again, [[spoiler:but leaves her to die just as quickly.]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler: Riddick, while initially coming off as a morally ambiguous and even somewhat likable character, (almost to the point his past a mass murderer comes across as something of an InformedAttribute) shows what kind of a person he really is by the end when he rather apathetically decides to abandon the others entirely for his own benefit. When Carolyn confronts him, he seems to enjoy (correctly) pointing out to her that she herself is really no better than he is, as she like him was entirely willing to sacrifice the rest of the passengers to save herself at the beginning of the story, and he almost seems to see her as a kindred spirit of sorts. [[SadisticChoice He even offers to take her with him, thereby knowingly saving her own life at the expense of the others]], and tries to goad her into stooping to his level. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame She chooses to have none of it]] and [[ShutUpHannibal rejects that she is anything like Riddick]] by [[{{Redemption}} refusing to leave Jack and Imam behind]]. Riddick chooses to help her, intrigued by her decision.]]

** Johns also repeatedly stresses to Carolyn that Riddick is someone to be genuinely wary of. Johns is a junkie coward and a prick who still operates within the bounds of the law, while Riddick is a dangerous killer who would [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sacrifice all of them in an instant]] if he could. [[spoiler:Johns's point is proven when Riddick leaves Carolyn, Jack and Imam behind to die when they have outlived their usefulness.]]

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted when Riddick ''smells'' that Jack is menstruating, outing her as a girl.

** This almost happened to [[spoiler: Riddick. In the original script, Riddick was supposed to die instead of Fry]]. Executive Meddling put a stop to that, since [[spoiler: ''The Chronicles of Carolyn Fry'' would not have made for a decent sequel.]]

* SympathyForTheHero: [[spoiler:This is the source of Riddick's redemption. He's a borderline sociopathic murderer who has been killing people all his life to escape his past and will sacrifice anyone to save himself. Carolyn Fry starts out much the same way; while not being a criminal she's willing to jettison all the passengers in the opening and tries to cope with the guilt for the rest of the movie. Riddick initially admires Fry for her "strong survival instinct" and offers her at the end to leave the planet together by threatening to leave her behind to die if she doesn't. She eventually refuses and professes her willingness to die for the others. This declared intent of self-sacrifice intrigues Riddick enough to go back with her.]]
* TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath: The death of [[spoiler: the female lead at the end after she and Riddick survive a confrontation with two of the monsters when another lunges out of the dark and snatches her up (it's unclear and debated if Riddick may have caused her death by accidentally stabbing her in the "catch your breath" moment, attracting the last creature to the scent of her blood)]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Johns constantly warns the others that if they give Riddick the opportunity to betray them and escape the planet by himself, he'll leave them all behind to die. They delay bringing all the power cells to the skiff until the last minute, but they held off too long and the aliens wake up. [[spoiler:He's proven right, since as soon as Riddick gets the chance, he steals the cells and traps the other survivors in a cave, planning to take off alone. Carolyn's willingness to sacrifice herself for the other two motivates him to go back and rescue them.]]

* ConvenientlyClosePlanet: It's a good thing the interstellar freighter which was 22 months out from its port was passing so close to an inhabitable moon when the artificial pilot malfunctioned, isn't it?