The Darkest Hour (I) (2011)

In Moscow, five young people lead the charge against an alien race who have attacked Earth via our power supply.

Director:

Chris Gorak

Writers:

Jon Spaihts (screenplay), Leslie Bohem (story),

Stars:

Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emile Hirsch	...	Sean
Olivia Thirlby	...	Natalie
Max Minghella	...	Ben
Rachael Taylor	...	Anne
Joel Kinnaman	...	Skyler
Veronika Vernadskaya	...	Vika
Dato Bakhtadze	...	Sergei
Yuriy Kutsenko	...	Matvei (as Gosha Kutsenko)
Nikolay Efremov	...	Sasha (as Nikolai Efremov)
Georgiy Gromov	...	Boris (as Georgy Gromov)
Artur Smolyaninov	...	Yuri (as Arthur Smoljaninov)
Anna Rudakova	...	Tess (as Anna Roudakova)
Pyotr Fyodorov	...	Anton Batkin (as Petr Fedorov)
Ivan Gromov	...	Bartender No. 1
Aleksandr Chernykh	...	Bartender No. 2 (as Alexsandr Chernyh)

Storyline

The American software designers Sean and Ben travel to Moscow to sell their software to investors. However, their Swedish partner Skyler pulls a fast one on Sean and Ben, and they are out of the business. They go to a nightclub, where they meet American Natalie and Australian Anne and they flirt with the girls and see Skyler in the club. Out of the blue, the population is surprised by lights, which they mistake for natural phenomena. But soon, they learn that the lights are aliens invading Earth and using power supply to annihilate mankind. Sean, Ben, Natalie, Anne and Skyler hide in the kitchen and when they leave the place, they seek out survivors on the street. Are they the last people on Earth?

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Plot Keywords:

alien | nightclub | aurora borealis | bricking up a window | abandoned car | 

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Taglines:

Survive The Holidays

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [es]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

25 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

La última noche de la humanidad

Filming Locations:

Academy of Science Plaza, Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,000,000 (USA) (23 December 2011)

Gross:

$21,426,805 (USA) (24 February 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Regency Enterprises, Bazelevs Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The boat the refugees use to try to reach the submarine is named "Orca" (spelled "orka" in Cyrillic).

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Goofs

When they are floating down the river on the boat to get to the submarine, you can see traffic in the background just as they go under a bridge.

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Quotes

Skyler: Next time, you send an NDA.
Sean: You must mean the Non-Douchebag Agreement.

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Connections

References Matlock (1986)

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Soundtracks

"The Uprising"
Performed by Pilot Hill
Courtesy of Red Parade Music

User Reviews

Exactly what Sci-Fi fans love and film critics miss the point

In a world of mostly straight to video lower budget scifi movies or the hit and miss affairs of Sci-Fi original movies, The Darkest Hour was a real joy.

The ghost-like concept of the invaders was well conceived. Adding tension in droves, much like the original alien movie, with the what you can't see lets your mind be more creative. The lack of need for constant CGI of the aliens seemed to allow more budget and creativity on the other more subtle effects, creating a much more believable world. The floor of light bulbs effects, used similarly to the motion detectors in the Aliens movie, was cool.

It seems the film critics have again missed the point and glories of this movie. What they seemed to punish for I personally found to be the movies greatest achievements. Efficient, well conceived plot to me, seen as lacking to the critics. The not trying to save the whole world, ala Independence Day, but focusing on rag tag group of unprepared survivors worked, as it does in AMC's series The Walking Dead. The restrained use of 3D, meaning few objects flying out the screen or visual overdose leading to headache like the latest Transformers movie. The 3D effects added significantly to the sites of Moscow, giving a true sense of the size of Red Square and hence the immersion a 3D movie should give.

The Darkest Hour. Solid entertainment and great way to see Moscow without a 12hr flight. Ignore the critics and make up your own mind.