The Darkest Hour

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The Darkest Hour

PG-13

2011

1h 29m

Sci-Fi

Action

Mystery & Thriller

Adventure

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

12%

Tomatometer

60 Reviews

25%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Young entrepreneurs Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) meet stranded travelers Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne (Rachael Taylor) at a hot Moscow nightclub. Their whole world changes in an instant when an alien attack devastates the city and everything goes dark. Joined by a Swedish businessman (Joel Kinnaman), the youths emerge from hiding days later and must somehow fight back against a nearly invisible enemy that could find and disintegrate them at any moment.

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Critics Consensus

Devoid of believable characters or convincing visual effects, this may be The Darkest Hour for the careers of all involved.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

01/13/2012

1/5

Cool though this might seem as a post-apocalyptic fashion accessory, it's fatally ill-thought-through...

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

01/12/2012

1/5

Very cheap and silly-looking.

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Ashley Clark

Little White Lies

01/12/2012

1/5

Sensationally poor.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

09/24/2023

1/5

A poor execution of a poorly conceived story, full of generic characters and bland special effects.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/01/2023

1/4

All of the poor 3D, lousy CGI, and run-of-the-mill plotting could be forgiven if there were some interesting characters onscreen, but there are none.

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Annalee Newitz

io9.com

05/25/2018

[It's] like a bad holiday fruitcake that somebody tried to spruce up with a zillion lumps of neon-colored, soggy jellybean guts.

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Adam J

@Cloberian Jan 8

I quite like it. Not an extraordinary film, not one that leaves you speechless, but overall watchable. Keeps me waiting for the next scene to come.

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Pedro Henrique C

@Pedro2005 Dec 18

The Darkest Hour (2011) This movie could have been amazing but it's a complete disappointment. I'm watching it for the first and only time, the script is terrible, things happen too fast and there's no explanation. This film left several loose ends that were not resolved.

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Jaime A

@Jimmy3302 03/07/2025

You can say the effects are cheap, the story is bad and the characters don’t act well, but the movie is entertainment from start to end, and it’s fun see how the story develops

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Adriana A

@RT12610832 12/28/2024

LOVED this movie! It started strong and maintained that tension until the end. It was very thrilling, and the story had great pacing. If you love apocalyptic science fiction, it’s an absolute must-watch!

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Pd10 S

@RT65458007 10/05/2024

This is one of the best movies ever made, I don't know who those stupid critics are who are talking crap about this movie, it's a one of a kind movie, recently there was a movie called Quiet Place which is based on this one but it still gets good reviews, but this master piece series ended just because the west hates Russia, how hypocritical.

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Mlg

@RT73231081 01/26/2024

How to make an alien invasion movie on $30 and a plastic submarine is the main story behind this atrocious bit of tat.......no expensive costumes or CGI for these guys as the aliens are invisible.....pure genius for the budget but for the viewing public I expect most wanted the aliens to win quickly, kill the abysmal cast and bring up the ending credits as fast as possible.

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Chris Gorak

Director

Emile Hirsch

Sean

Max Minghella

Ben

Olivia Thirlby

Natalie

Rachael Taylor

Anne

Joel Kinnaman

Skylar

The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - This is Why They Came

1:58

The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Shoot It

2:32

The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Welcome to Russia, Sucka

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The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Microwave Gun

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The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Bus Ride

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The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Going Home

2:33

The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Under the Cop Car

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The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - First Contact

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The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - The Americans

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The Darkest Hour: Official Clip - Shark Week

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Synopsis

Young entrepreneurs Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) meet stranded travelers Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne (Rachael Taylor) at a hot Moscow nightclub. Their whole world changes in an instant when an alien attack devastates the city and everything goes dark. Joined by a Swedish businessman (Joel Kinnaman), the youths emerge from hiding days later and must somehow fight back against a nearly invisible enemy that could find and disintegrate them at any moment.

Director: Chris Gorak
Producer: Tom Jacobson, Timur Bekmambetov
Screenwriter: Jon Spaihts
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Production Co: Summit Entertainment, Jacobson Company, New Regency Pictures, Bazelevs Production
Rating: PG-13 (Some Language|Sci-Fi Action Violence)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Mystery & Thriller, Adventure, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.4M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Dolby

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