THE DARKEST HOUR – The Review

Studying and researching movies over the years I’ve come across an expression, ” A monster movie is only as good as its monster”. Well, I’d add that the fear level you have while watching said flick really depends on how fearsome the monster is. Well the beasties in THE DARKEST HOUR rank right up there with the walking carpet of the Grade- Z classic THE CREEPING TERROR. And I do mean rank. They’re floating balls of yellow light. Yup. Hence the darkness in the title ( they’re easier to see at night ). These energy balls may be pretty, but they’re deadly. Get too close and they’ll shoot out a neon-like lasso, pull you close, and smash your atoms ( disintegrate you into a clod of powder ). They’re relentless all right, just not that visually interesting ( they’re certainly no competition for the Predator, and H.R. Gieger’s Alien ). And 3D doesn’t make them any more frightening than a really aggressive swarm of lightning bugs.

The film at least has an interesting background for all the mayhem : Moscow. Things start out with two hotshot internet dudes ( Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella ) flying in to meet the investors in their great ” social network/hook-up while globetrotting ” website. But, man, their Russian connection dude has totally ripped them off. At least they meet up with two vacationing babes ( American Olivia Thirlby and Brit Rachael Taylor ) at a swinging nite spot. Then the power shuts down and the sky lights up in waves of yellow and orange. Then the yellow glowing orbs ( thousands of them! ) float to the ground and turn everybody to chalky dust. Except our heroes and their new gal pals. Oh, and that dude that stole the website!. After leaving the safety of the bar’s storage room ( ran out of food ) they try to hide during the day and scurry around the deserted streets at night in search of supplies, other survivors, and information.

And that pretty much sums it up. Lots of hiding, arguing, and running about. Very much like SKYLINE and CLOVERFIELD. It’s attractive young actors scurrying about ( and having to wear lightbulbs as necklaces to warn them of the aliens ). I’ve enjoyed the work of Hirsch, Minghella, and Thirlby, but here they’re fighting a script that renders the male characters mostly obnoxious and the women shrill. The Moscow settings are interesting as are the local actors ( could’ve used the subtitles for some of their lines in English ) and at least it was shot in 3D. The main problem ( besides the space glow balls ) is that we’ve seen so much of it done better ( the deserted city in I AM LEGEND for example ). Perhaps this is why it was released on Christmas Day ( it’s not Oscar-bait like the other flicks opening that day ). If you’re looking for a good Russian travelogue the opening scenes of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE : GHOST PROTOCOL are a much better time at the cinema. Okay you three stars, hope you movie on from this tiresome, uninspired effort and treat us to much better works.

Overall Rating : One Out of Five Stars