After the Dark (2013)

At an international school in Jakarta, a philosophy teacher challenges his class of twenty graduating seniors to choose which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear apocalypse.

Director:

John Huddles

Writer:

John Huddles

Stars:

James D'Arcy, Sophie Lowe, Daryl Sabara

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James D'Arcy	...	Mr. Zimit
Sophie Lowe	...	Petra
Daryl Sabara	...	Chips
Freddie Stroma	...	Jack
Rhys Wakefield	...	James
Bonnie Wright	...	Georgina
Jacob Artist	...	Parker
George Blagden	...	Andy
Philippa Coulthard	...	Poppie
Katie Findlay	...	Bonnie
Natasha Gott	...	Yoshiko
Taser Hassan	...	Nelson
Chanelle Bianca Ho	...	Mitzi
Darius Homayoun	...	Toby
Cinta Laura Kiehl	...	Utami

Storyline

When the last day of school comes for a group of students in a philosophy class, their instructor, Mr. Zimit, challenges them to different sorts of exercises that take place in a post-nuclear apocalyptic world. While there, they each get chosen professions and have to decide whether who is valuable or not because the bunker they will be staying in for a year has only enough oxygen for 10 people. Mr. Zimit challenges them in different rounds to see how they could survive. Issues arise when they notice Mr. Zimit is disruptive to the game.

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Plot Keywords:

philosophy | gay character | voting | group decision making | teacher | 

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Taglines:

Smart. Talented. Beautiful. Stranded.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was originally titled (and marketed worldwide as) The Philosophers, until it was rebranded in December of 2013 as After The Dark, in an announcement for its then-upcoming release in North America in early 2014.

On December 20th, 2013, a new movie poster with the new title was published on social media.

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Goofs

It is difficult to conceive of even a few worthy nuclear targets in Indonesia, let alone dozens, and there is definitely nothing at all worth nuking in the vicinity of Mount Bromo, which sits in the middle of a desolate plain called the "Sea of Sand".

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Quotes

Mr. Zimit: The good news is, although we're about to part ways: Not one of you leaves here lacking the credentials to thrive in the world. You're all well-equipped to push on to university and become happy energetic members of a post-industrial twenty-first century society. On the other hand: what if that society ceases to exist? What if your credentials don't mean what you expected, and your expectations mean nothing at all? I know it's hard to conceive of everything you've based your plans on being ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

"James's poem to Petra by Rhys Wakefield and Sophie Lowe"

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Connections

Featured in The Transfiguration (2016)

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Soundtracks

Sometimes
Written by Wes Willenbring
Performed by Wes Willenbring
Published by Wes Willenbring
[Courtesy of Hidden Shoal Recordings]

User Reviews

All I was left with 'After the Dark' was a massive head scratcher

It is a shame when such a great idea with so much potential is executed improperly and inevitably fails. That is the case here with 'After the Dark.' The film begins immersing you into the world of Philosophy. The teacher asks his class questions revolving around situations of morality or rationality and how they would go about it. You find yourself answering these hypothetical questions for yourself and then realizing that this is a movie that you can become indulged in without any proper knowledge of philosophy. The one thing that the film did do well was taking an experiment that realistically only took place in one location, and made it interesting by adding other dimensions to it. This was repeated three times with different outcomes and I would find myself correcting their mistakes, thinking that I could figure this puzzle out. What I didn't know was that the movie in itself was a puzzle I would never figure out.

'After the Dark' felt like a 1,000 piece puzzle that you were just about to finish perfectly until you realize that the last piece just doesn't fit right. The movie up until the final 20 minutes or so is really intriguing. It asks all the right questions to get your brain working, however, your brain is working towards an answer that is never given to you. The ending doesn't make sense by any means and it certainly doesn't tie everything up in a nice bow like you so desperately hoped for. Instead, it leaves you questioning the fate of some of the characters and why the last hour of the movie was even relevant.

Aside from some beautiful cinematography, satisfying performances from a young cast and an original take on a film, 'After the Dark' doesn't deliver. It tries to answer questions that no one was searching for a resolution to and denies to answer the questions they were so evidently setting up throughout the entire film.

Details

Country:

USA Indonesia

Language:

English Middle English Indonesian

Release Date:

10 October 2013 (Russia)

Also Known As:

After the Dark

Filming Locations:

Prambanan Temple, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,770,376

Company Credits

Production Co:

An Olive Branch Productions, SCTV, Soundplace

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1