Tags:
Film: The Darkest Hour
Year: 2011
Director: Chris Gorak
Writer: Jon Spaihts
Starring: Emilie Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby and Max Minghella
Review:
This film begins with two guys traveling to Moscow to try and get a company to buy an idea. One is a smooth talker, who is played by Emilie Hirsch. The other is smart and a realist who is played by Max Minghella. While they are on the plane, Hirsch is debating with the flight attendant about his phone, when the power goes out as they are traveling through a storm. It does come back on though.
While they are going to their meeting, Minghella finds a post online from another American girl who is in Moscow. They get into their meeting to find out the boss, who is played by Joel Kinnaman, has stolen their idea and no longer needs them.
To get over what has happened they go to a club, which they recommended to the American girl who is played by Olivia Thirlby. She comes with her friend, who is played by Rachael Taylor. While they are partying, the power goes out. Everyone goes outside to see these weird lights coming down to Earth.
A cop approaches one and goes to touch it, but it sucks him in and turns him to dust. Everyone runs back inside and tries to hide. We see that these aliens see us as red, assuming it is our bioelectrical pulse. Through the devastation Hirsch, Minghella, Thirlby, Taylor and Kinnaman hide in the basement for a few days. They are the only survivors from the club.
It becomes a journey to find out what is happening, how to hide from these aliens, how to stop them and how to escape. Will they be able to do it?
This film is one of those good concepts movies, but it really doesn’t impress on the screen. I usually like Hirsch, but he jumps to conclusions about what is going on without really having any proof, which is odd, because he is supposed to not be the smart one. The acting is decent, but nothing that will blow you away.
The aliens when you finally see them look like the character from Destroy All Humans video games and I wasn’t overly impressed by them. I do like that they knocked out all the power. They are invisible, but we can see them since power in things comes on when they go by it.
I would say give this one a viewing because it isn’t horrible, but don’t come in expecting much. This is a decent film, but another one of those aliens take over and we have to mount a resistance films. Like I said with this one, good concept, but just doesn’t live up to what they made.
My Rating: 6 out of 10