Forget the cowboys/alien movie, this one offers more
entertainment. THE DARKEST HOUR begins with two young inventor/businessmen
traveling to Russia to make a deal for the newest internet craze they've come
up with, a hook up site that offers directions to the hottest nightclubs and
more for anyone joining. Unfortunately their idea was stolen by their Russian
partner, Skyler (Joel Kinnaman) and they've been tossed aside. After traveling
halfway around the world to find a failed business adventure what do they do?
What all twenty somethings do, head to the local clubs to hook up!
Ben (Max Minghella) is the smart one who came up with the
program while Sean (Emile Hirsch) is the one with the supposed business savvy
that got them there. Having used the program earlier in the day they're at the
hottest spot and hoping to meet two fellow Americans, Natalie (Olivia Thirlby)
and her friend Anne (Rachel Taylor). While partying hard a noise outside drives
the crowd to the doors to see what the commotion was. They discover what they
first think is a lightshow in the sky. In reality it's an invasion of aliens
hurtling to the Earth.
The first encounter they all witness is a policeman walking
up to a fluctuating, glowing mass that looks like a holographic image floating
in the street. When he pokes it, the alien wraps around him and disintegrates
the policeman before the eyes of the crowd who immediately panic and begin
seeking shelter. As they run various members of the scene are disintegrated one
by one and our heroes only escape with luck by hiding in the backroom of the
club. Along with them and necessary to help them translate is none other than
Skyler.
After several days they travel out to see what has happened.
It's basically the end of the world as we know it with no one in sight. They
learn how to tell if the aliens are nearby since the energy that flows from
these creatures brings light bulbs to full glow. Using this method they travel
the city in hopes of finding other survivors and to see what's happened.
They do find others and join with them in hopes of finding
help. A radio signal lets them all know that a Russian sub will be located in a
pier on one of the main rivers running through Moscow but only till a certain
time. It seems the aliens can't see through the water or through glass which
reflects light. They head out encountering other survivors fighting back and
taking the chance of being picked off one by one before they can make it to the
sub.
The movie does have a rather simplistic plot at use here but
it works. This is a classic sci-fi low budget flick produced with a much larger
budget and a bit of creativity. The concept used for the aliens is cost
effective yet works, giving us something we haven't seen before. As the heroes
find a way to somewhat short circuit the alien's force fields we get a crude
glimpse of them and don't have the need to see more.
But its not just sci-fi being used here. While I watched I
thought back to films like RED DAWN (amusing since this film takes place in
Russia) where we had a group of teens trying to take on an enemy far advanced
than they are at that age. The combination of sci-fi and action make this film
work.
Perhaps what made this movie more interesting yet for me was
the fact that it was actually shot in Russia, something that would have been
unheard of 10-20 years ago. Times have definitely changed, but movie perhaps
not as much. The locations take center stage much of the time as we get a
glimpse of a country we've not been privy to for long. And after the history
the U.S. and Russia have shared, it's also nice to see characters from both
countries uniting to take on a common enemy.
Don't get me wrong, this film is not an Oscar contender but
it doesn't pretend to be that either. It is what it is, a simple sci-fi film
that tells a story and tries to get us involved with characters in the shortest
amount of time possible. This is Roger Corman with the chance to play in the
big boy's sandbox and it offers a nice evening's entertainment.
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