Pitch Black was pitched (that’s right, pitched. We went there) as a movie about survival when a spaceship that crashes on a remote desert world orbiting twin suns. Despite the sci-fi monsters on the planet’s surface, the unknown cast and tight, clever script meant the budget was a meager $23 million dollars. The film attained a slow but strong cult following, leading to The Chronicles Of Riddick, $120m worth of sequel behemoth.

Pitch Black’s story was a rather clever bait-and-switch. While there’s an opening voiceover from Vin Diesel’s Riddick, convicted criminal and murderer, most of our initial introduction is to apparently-heroic, apparent-lawman Johns (Cole Hauser) who’s intent on tracking down the dangerous psycho. Only gradually and under threat from the dark-dwelling beasts that rule the world does it become clear that Riddick may not be so bad, and Johns may not be so good.

In the original script, Riddick was a woman called Taras Krieg. The character was given a gender change early on since it was felt she’d be more menacing with size as well as speed. The last of his species, the Furyans, Riddick’s defining characteristic is his eyeshine, allowing him to see in pitch black without difficulty. He’s also tough, strong-willed, a ruthless killer when necessary and a pushover for kids. That’s why we like him – it’s like when Rocky stroked the puppy (not a euphemism).