Last night, while eating my dinner, I watched “Pitch Black”, the 2000 science fiction movie starring Vin Diesel (in his breakout performance). I am in love with this movie. In fact, this is the second time I’ve watched it this week (partly because we finally bought it on DVD after I watched it, yet again, on Showtime) It’s th Director’s Cut, which is highly superior to the theatre version if you’ve never seen it.

Anyway, the thing I love about this movie is the two male leads. Cole Hauser plays the bitter, addicted, violent Merc, Johns. With his lean, muscular body, his bright baby blue eyes and his badge, Johns should be the ‘hero’. And yet, he is conflicted, ugly and capable of cruelty on a variety of levels.

And then there is Diesel’s character, Riddick. An escaped convict, he’s the bad guy the Merc Johns is bringing back to prison when the transport they’re traveling in crashes onto a hostile world where night only comes every 22 years. And when it comes, it brings with it death from a group of truly creepy animals. Of course, our motley little crew lands on the day of the eclipse and Riddick has a special physical attribute. He can see perfectly in the dark thanks to a ‘shine job’ he got in prison.

Diesel plays his character with the coiled strength of a powerful animal. He is raw and powerful, delivering his lines with a quiet calm that is both sexy and disconcerting. He tempts fate. He cares and does only for himself. And he will kill. There is no doubt about it.

Does he have character growth? Absolutely. I won’t give away the moment that changes him. But there is still that raw quality. Riddick will always be Riddick. Always.

The reason I love this movie is because of his character. It is so strong, so believeable, so absolutely achingly perfect that I get a chill every time I watch it. Riddick is the quintessential dark hero. I’m not talking the ‘dark hero’ who doesn’t act dark. Riddick IS dark. He revels in his black soul. And as sexy as I find him, I also have no illusions that he is totally redeemed when the credits roll at the end. And THAT is character to me. When I feel I know someone from top to bottom. When their every decision and action makes perfect sense (even the unexpected ones) to me because of what a writer and an actor have done.

So what kind of character gives you that shiver? Any movie or book characters that have taken you to that edge where you utterly believe they could stroll off the screen or page?