Dark Fury

The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

I've had this sitting around for a while, meaning to watch. I wish I had watched it sooner. Directed by Peter Chung (creator of the Aeon Flux animated series that a later movie was loosely based on, he also directed "Matriculated" for the "Animatrix" collection of short animated films set in the Matrix universe.), this is a made-for-DVD movie that takes place "Pitch Black" and provides the setup for it's sequel, "The Chronicles of Riddick".

The plot follows the characters of Riddick, Abu, and Jack (aka Kyra in CoR). Riddick and Co. are picked up by a mercenary ship run by the creepy art-loving noblewoman Antonia Chillingsworth and her numerous hirelings. The catch: her taste in art is death, and Riddick is the perfect artist. Riddick is forced to fight for her entertainment, and is forced to consider that he may be fighting for more than just his own survival.

The film is another example of Chung's directing talents and style. His characters are complicated and quirky, with a definate trend towards the surreal. Chillingsworth herself conjurs images harking back to AeonFlux, though so do the numerous minions coming to unfortunate, bloody ends. I quite enjoyed this, but I recommend using a screen that isn't burnt out as the images on screen are quite dark for the majority of the time.