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Pitch Black poster

Movies that feel likePitch Black (2000)

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.

If you loved Pitch Black, the closest films we have are Serenity (2005), Elysium (2013) and eXistenZ (1999). All three share Pitch Black's tense and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).

πŸ… 58% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. David Twohytensecerebralkineticbleakawe
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Hulu

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See it on the Mood Map

If Pitch Black hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) Β· Riddick (2013)

Serenity poster
Serenity
2005 Β· dir. Joss Whedon
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.8science fiction Β· action Β· adventure

One thread runs through both: dystopia

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Pitch Black does

A group of rebels travel the outskirts of space evading the sinister Alliance regime. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbours a dangerous secret. Soon, the crew find themselves being pursued by an Alliance agent who will stop at nothing to find them.

Elysium poster
Elysium
2013 Β· dir. Neill Blomkamp
πŸ… 64%β˜… 6.6science fiction Β· action Β· dramaNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: dystopia

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Pitch Black does

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 Β· dir. David Cronenberg
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same mix in both: tension, then ideas

The difference: Takes it somewhere less awestruck than Pitch Black does

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

District B13 poster
District B13
2004 Β· dir. Pierre Morel
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fictionPrime Video

Kinetic where it counts, bleak underneath

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

Equilibrium poster
Equilibrium
2002 Β· dir. Kurt Wimmer
πŸ… 40%β˜… 7.3action Β· science fiction Β· thrillerParamount+

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes poster
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
1971 Β· dir. Don Taylor
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.3action Β· science fiction

Awestruck science fiction in both cases

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1970s show

The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a spacecraft. Intrigued by their intelligence, humans use them for research - until the apes attempt to escape.

Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
2001 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 42%β˜… 5.7thriller Β· science fiction Β· actionHulu

Action with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

After a spectacular crash-landing on an uncharted planet, brash astronaut Leo Davidson finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Desperate to find a way home, Leo must evade the invincible gorilla army led by Ruthless General Thade.

Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 Β· dir. Jonathan Mostow
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: intense

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.

The Book of Eli poster
The Book of Eli
2010 Β· dir. Allen Hughes
πŸ… 46%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Common ground: survival

A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.

Death Race poster
Death Race
2008 Β· dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
πŸ… 41%β˜… 6.4action Β· thriller Β· science fictionStarz

Thriller built on momentum, twice over

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

Total Recall poster
Total Recall
1990 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.5action Β· adventure Β· science fictionPrime VideoParamount+

Both lean on bleakness more than on science fiction

Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.

They Live poster
They Live
1988 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.2science fiction Β· action Β· thrillerPrime Video

Tense action in both cases

The difference: Reviewed even better

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

In the mood for more tense?

all tense movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Pitch Black’s defining feeling.