Film Reviews

The Darkest Hour

• Rating:
• Director: Chris Gorak.
• Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, Max Minghella.
• Details: US/Russia / 89mins (15A)

15A? Seriously? Watching this simplistic low budget sci-fi adventure that's sans blood, guts, cursing and sex, there's a feeling that this is pitched squarely at twelve or thirteen year-olds. A mishmash of other sci-fi actioners anyone over fifteen has seen before, the odd rating will kill any possibility of it reaching its target audience, an audience that mightn't have seen all its references. The cheeky Hirsch and the serious Minghella are in Moscow pitching a new website but turn up to find that the smarmy Joel Kinnamen has stolen their idea. Drowning their sorrows in one of the capital's cool clubs, the good times are cut short when a rolling blackout forces them outside where they, and everyone else, witness strange lights descending from the sky. Suddenly, this pretty lightshow takes a nasty turn as anyone who comes within touching distance of them are suddenly vaporised. Fleeing with Thirlby, Taylor and a reluctant Kinnamen, the five traipse across the city in the hope of finding survivors… Taking its cue from other post-apocalyptic movies (especially 28 Days Later - there's even a mad guy holed up in an apartment block), The Darkest Hour suffers from being second hand. Even though it's a cute take on the invisible threat a la Predator (we even have Predator vision), and our heroes' way of 'seeing' them is crafty, it's still a cute take and nothing more. The aforementioned British zombie horror influences the visuals too and a deserted Moscow is impressive to look at, with director Gorak working hard to instil fear and loneliness in the empty streets. It's a shame then that the action (very light), dialogue (Enid Blyton) and acting (Hirsch looks bored) are not up to scratch. Gorak too jettisons the moral complexity of his underrated Right At Your Door. At one point Kinnamen has a chance of saving his girl but chooses his own life instead, which mimics the survival instinct Rory Cochrane battles with in RAYD when his wife begs him to save her. The terrible death the aliens bestow on their victims looks rather painless - there is a certain lack of dread if death comes quickly and (relatively) painlessly. Then again, the theory is that this is a sci-fi for younger viewers, so that explains away all these problems. However, even at that The Darkest Hour just isn't any fun and that's criminal considering the material at hand.

Review by Gavin Burke