The Darkest Hour

Philippine Showing: January 25

St. Basils Cathedral

This poster illustrates how the invisible aliens can easily disintegrate humans into dust

Max Minghella as Ben, Olivia Thirlby as Natalie, Emile Hirsch as Sean and Rachael Taylor as Anne

Max Minghella as Ben carrying the microwave-spitting weapon

the aliens

 

Emile Hirsch as Sean trying to look for invisible aliens | how hard can that be?

Anne and Ben

Inside the apartment/cage

After class, (yes, I have classes on Sundays - parang Sunday school lang. haha!) my classmates/friends and I went out and had dinner at Coco's South Bistro.After dinner, we headed to Abreeza and had reserved tickets for the movie.

The Darkest Hour.

Director Chris Gorak (Right at Your Door) teams with producer Timur Bekmambetov for this tense apocalyptic thriller centering on the fight for survival waged by five youths who find themselves stranded in Moscow during an alien invasion. As the invisible extraterrestrials absorb all of Earth's energy and life forms, finding a means of escaping the unstoppable attackers becomes a seemingly impossible task. Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, and Max Minghella star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

High points:

• Storyline. The storyline of the movie is quite similar to other apocalyptic thrillers but with a significant twist in the sense that the invaders are cloaked in an electrically-charged shield that affects the environment around them. What I got really excited about was the idea that the darkness is safer than the light! And so to survive, they have to lurk in the dark - which is commonly more terrifying in reality. Also, the twists of the story was unpredictable. I totally swear I was caught off guard. Yes, some of the sequences were quite predictable but there are some that will totally surprise you and make you feel really sad. :(
• Setting. Producer Timur Bekmambetov said that "the 3D thriller is one of the rare films that have showcased the characteristic beauty of Russia." After this movie, I am in love with Moscow, Russia. I have seen its marvel in Amazing Race before but it has struck me to a new intensity now. The architecture, the history and the culture - all now seemed so wonder-and wander-ful.
• Thrill. The thrill is killing me. It made me put my hand over my mouth almost throughout the film so that I wouldn't scream inside the cinema house and humiliate myself. The cinema is 2/3 full, btw.  
• Special effects. The effects was impressive. We watched it in regular cinemas but still the effects looked realistic and innovative, quite different from what we have seen before.  My favorite was when the aliens are invading the world, they seemed aurora-like apparition in the sky. They looked like beautiful and gigantic rain drops. 
• Actors. The actors are effective in bringing the emotions to the table. Many times during the movie had I felt various emotions and I credit that to the efficacy of the actors. 

Low points:

• Inconsistency. At the first half of the movie, I admired how they made the invasion so realistic basing everything on science and using logic to explain everything that they know of the invaders. However, the scenes reached to some focal points of the movie wherein they did a complete 180 and bended some of the logic they have established. You'd understand what I'm trying to say when you watch or have watched the movie. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't. :)
• Ending. The movie ended so soon. I can't believe that 89 minutes had gone by that fast. I don't know if it was because I enjoyed it that much or was it because I was looking forward for more, that I felt the the problem was left unresolved. However, I learned (after watching the movie) that their aim was to survive and not to destroy the invaders. But in the movie, they made me believed that they can defeat the aliens. I was so into that idea that I felt so disappointed that it ended.
• Climax. The climax of the movie was unsatisfactory. It was thrilling indeed but it felt far less that what I envisioned considering that the movie started really strong for me.

 Verdict:

Overall, I find the movie so-so. It's the movie that you won't miss a thing if you haven't watched it but still you're in for a good thrill if you do. I like to watch horror or thriller movies because I enjoy the feeling of anxiety (weird, i know!). The most exciting thing for me would be asking myself, how would I act in the face of this kind of adversity? Clearly an alien invasion is, hopefully, not in our future. The film is really about young people trying to figure out who they are and what it takes to survive and be with their loved ones.

Happy watching!

Love,
Me.