Rotten Tomatoes
Suggestions will appear as you start typing. Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Philosophers

Play trailer Poster for The Philosophers R 2014 1h 47m Mystery & Thriller Action Fantasy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
67% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A philosophy teacher (James D'Arcy) tells his students that they must choose 10 people from among their group to take shelter during a nuclear holocaust and reboot the human race.

Where to Watch

The Philosophers

Critics Reviews

View More
Phuong Le Guardian May 20, 2021
2/5
John Huddles's sci-fi thriller unintentionally succeeds in replicating the exact experience of playing "would you rather?" with a friend in a pub, as in it starts out with vague philosophical questions but ends up being utterly ridiculous. Go to Full Review Nicolas Rapold New York Times Feb 6, 2014
Both smugly clever and at times distastefully clueless. Go to Full Review Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times Feb 6, 2014
An unusually creative and ambitious film of ideas that offers so much more than its forgettable title and sensationalized publicity may imply. Go to Full Review Frank Ochieng SF Crowsnest Nov 11, 2018
2.5/4
Refreshingly, Dark wants to cryptically convey an honest conversation about the fate of mankind's fragile existence. Despite some questionable unevenness, a contemplative SF thriller that dares to assume its thinking cap in surrealistic experimental mode Go to Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight Mar 15, 2014
3/4
A heavy-handed and manipulative work of philosophical fiction featuring strong performances, but a troubled narrative. Go to Full Review Nikola Grozdanovic The Playlist Feb 8, 2014
D
Philosophical thriller After The Dark collapses under a nifty concept. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Mackie T @RT95114279 Nov 11, 2025 Good premise, writing might of been rushed through, doesn't allow dynamic emotional expression of characters, maybe good for younger audiences thinking about what makes us valuable in community, would like to see another try, maybe with less characters, less scenarios and more character exploration and development :) See more Varomers F @RT25921102 Aug 12, 2025 Despite the interesting idea behind the thought experiment, the plot and the repulsive characters of the teacher and students are clearly taken from the film "God Is Not Dead" (2014). Some scenes literally copy this movie. However, strangely enough, this film is superior to "God Is not Dead" (2014) thanks to its idea and more logical approach. I do not think it is a good film, and I would not recommend watching it. See more David M @RT38144236 May 26, 2025 In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. See more Brian H @RT25736836 Apr 5, 2025 Good concept. Interesting plot to start even if the acting was less than acceptable... then gets sucked into the hollywood version of reality virtues over values. See more Joshua M @RT09978087 Aug 28, 2023 After the Dark as it is called on netflix is an impressively smug and pseudo-intellectual piece of film making wrapped in a grade 11 intro to philosophy level of meaning and allegories. Acting was wooden for some and the writing and directing did not help the matter. With some dialogue and scenes making me wonder why it wasn't left on editing floor. It's "twist" was as subtle as a cannon. Interesting in concept. Poor in execution. Still at times the film was pretty to look at. See more Mar 12, 2022 Teenager bullshit. The movie does not even make any sense. Why the hell should a philosophy professor make the whole class hate him without any plausible reason? Personal revenge? Show everyone the main character is dumb? That's stupid. See more Read all reviews
The Philosophers

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

John Huddles

Director

James D'Arcy

Mr. Zimit

Bonnie Wright

Georgina

Daryl Sabara

Chips

Sophie Lowe

Petra

Rhys Wakefield

James

More Like This

View All
Life on the Line 0% 36% Life on the Line Watchlist TRAILER for Life on the Line Snowpiercer 94% 72% Snowpiercer Watchlist Justice 28% 39% Justice Watchlist Project Power 61% 46% Project Power Watchlist TRAILER for Project Power 14 Blades 67% 52% 14 Blades Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Philosophers

The Philosophers (2013) The Philosophers (2013) The Philosophers (2013) The Philosophers (2013) The Philosophers (2013) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A philosophy teacher (James D'Arcy) tells his students that they must choose 10 people from among their group to take shelter during a nuclear holocaust and reboot the human race.
Director
John Huddles
Producer
John Huddles, George Zakk, Cybill Lui
Screenwriter
John Huddles
Distributor
Phase 4 Films
Production Co
An Olive Branch Productions
Rating
R (Sexuality|Brief Drug Use|Some Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Action, Fantasy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 7, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 7, 2014
Runtime
1h 47m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings