10 Knock Off Horror Movies That Are Worth Watching

Knocked Off - Alien 3

Pitch Black follows a group of space transporters who find themselves marooned on an alien planet during a month-long eclipse. To complicate matters, the world is populated by nocturnal savages called bioraptors. In order to survive, the crew ally with a serial killer who can see perfectly in the dark.

Based on that synopsis, you would never guess Pitch Black started off as a sequel to Aliens. When David Twohy was assigned to write the script for Alien 3, he came up with the idea of civilians working with prisoners to battle an alien threat. Although his manuscript was rejected, elements were used for Alien 3. Many years later, Twohy went back to his failed script and rejigged it a bit, turning it into Pitch Black.

However, this film is the perfect example of how do a knock-off without coming across as shameless. It uses the template of Alien 3's plot structure but doesn't attempt to copy any other elements and instead, does its own thing. With its inventive action, creative visuals, and Vin Diesel's career-defining performance, Pitch Black was one of the best thrillers of the decade.

And more importantly, it's better than Alien 3.