This science fiction film is a thriller from start to finish. Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, and Cole Hauser star in this film about a spaceship that crashes on a distant planet with three suns. Some of the photography is excellent and the fast moving plot keeps you on the edge of your seat for most of the film.

Vin is a convicted killer being sent to a distant penal colony when the ship crashes. Through necessity, the crew and survivors turn to Diesel, who has had his eyes altered in prison to see better in the dark. That's important to the story. The planet goes into an eclipse and the crew soon discovers that the planet's only inhabitants, who only come out every 22 years in the darkness, are very, very hungry. Their only weakness is light. The characters are less than perfect in this drama-the pilot, played by Radha Mitchell, wants to jettison the passengers before the crash, "I don't want to die for these people", and the hero of the story, is a knife wielding killer. These are the good-guys! The creatures are all CGI created, and are quite vicious. Nothing is left of their victims , who are stripped clean to the bone in a matter of seconds. Gore factor is limited. They are fast and furious, and it leads to many highly anticipated shock scenes.

Picture-Clear and sharp anamorphic transfer from Universal, The photography is highly creative-specially before the darkness as the camera overexposes the picture just slightly, creating the illusion of heat and brightness on the three sun planet. The production notes explain that this was actually done out of necessity as the desert country of Australia, used for the shooting of the film, had unseasonably overcast skies. The background set shots of neighboring ringed planets is highly imaginative and beautiful. Sound-Dolby 5.1 and DTS give the soundtrack a powerful presentation, especially the crash scene at the beginning of the film. Discreet channel information travels from front to back and through you adding to the shock value of the certain scenes. Vin Diesel's low voice is barely distinguishable in some early scenes; the guy sounds like a laid back Barry White.

Commentary is provided on the DVD by director David Twohy, and cast members Diesel and Hauser, along with producer Tom Engelman and special effects supervisor Peter Chiang. The disc also contains coverage of a Raveworld celebration of the film, in scenes from rave nightclubs around the country. There is a ten minute featurette on the making of the film, along with a trailer.

There are more than enough shock scenes in the film, which is what its all about. Being scared of the dark takes on a whole new meaning with this film. The characters are all less than admirable; I really didn't care much about any of them. Still, it's a good thriller and the disc has excellent technical qualities. Advice-rent before you buy on this one.