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Must Watch: First Trailer for Sci-Fi 'The Darkest Hour' Invades Online

by Alex Billington
August 3, 2011
Source: Apple

"They can see us, but we can't see them." Summit has debuted the first official trailer for sci-fi thriller The Darkest Hour, directed by Chris Gorak (Right at Your Door), starring Emile Hirsch, Joel Kinnaman, Olivia Thirlby and Rachael Taylor. We've been teasing the reveal of this trailer with plenty of concept art, but finally get to take a look at this and it looks awesome. It's a fresh twist on alien invasion thrillers, as the extraterrestrials really are electrical forces, and the things they can do with that are just, well, awesome. This has slight a District 9 feel (the weaponry) but I think it looks great, there's never enough original sci-fi!

Watch the official trailer for Chris Gorak's The Darkest Hour, in high def via Apple:

You can also now download The Darkest Hour trailer in High Defintion on Apple

Directed by Chris Gorak (Right at Your Door), produced by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and written by Jon Spaihts (Ridley Scott's Prometheus), the film is about five young people who find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack. Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer) leads the cast including Olivia Thirlby (Juno), Max Minghella (The Social Network), Rachael Taylor (Transformers) and Joel Kinnaman. Summit Entertainment is bringing Chris Gorak's The Darkest Hour to theaters on December 23rd, Christmas weekend, this winter.

Explore tags: Hype, Opinions, To Watch, Trailers

Spider

Looks pretty slick! I'm there!
http://www.facebook.com/smitty2k2 Brandon Smith

lame. Invisible aliens... whoopie.
Anonymous

This doesn't look very good at all. I suddenly feel very nervous about prometheus.

Laurent

Excuse my ignorance, but what does this have to do with Prometheus?

http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

He's referring to the screenwriter, Jon Spaihts, who is credited for the major script groundwork on Ridley Scott's Prometheus before Damon Lindelof came in and updated the screenplay.

Laurent

Thanks.

Anonymous

I have absolutely no doubt that Ridley scott knows what hes doing. From what ive seen at Comic con, it sure will deliver.

http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Yea, I completely agree with you on that.
Anonymous

I hope so. I haven't seen anything other than that still shot they released a little while back.

http://profiles.google.com/snears Nick Sears

Since this film deals with supernatural/alien forces, wouldn't that make you excited about prometheus?? Kind of a ass-backwards statement if you ask me

Buvalo

I'm glad that they state the aliens' motives earlier on that way it doesn't come as a silly and unbelievable twist in the third act.
Cody1255

Eh.

Jeff Goldblum

Be still Cody.

http://twitter.com/darktaxidermist Davide Coppola

Meh.. For now it just looks like something M. Night Charlatan would direct.

Loser

Have not laughed so hard in ages, great comment

Neuromancer

After Skyline and Battle LA I can't get myself to be excited for alien invasion movies anymore .

http://film-book.com/ Film-Book.com

Agreed.
Anonymous

that's not fair to battle:LA. skyline was HORRIBLY done.......and the story was pitiful. i know it's trendy to hate on B:LA but i thought it was pretty good. i liked following a squad the way they did. i think they did a good job of capturing the tension/intensity of the situation. the enviroments were good and i liked the aliens too - they were badass ( i like the aliens on TVs "falling skies" too.... the skitters are very menacing). it had 2 parts where i thought the talking got too cheesy but overall it was a good watch (for me).

Anonymous

I actually liked Battle LA too, it was one of the last movies to surprise me. I won't remember it for years to come, but it was good fun at the movies.

Anonymous

well, i won't remember it like "shawshank redemption".......but i still like it. i got good price for it on blu; so, i'll watch it every now and then.

Dueceswild222

I enjoyed B LA too

Anonymous

are you hoping for #2 to be made? i am. i want to see that battle for the city.

Neuromancer

I would definitely agree with you and say Skyline is downright horrible while Battle LA is better. But to me Battle LA was a let down, it felt too much like a long, high budget army propaganda. That said, there were some elements I did enjoy nonetheless. Really liked seeing the aliens use hand gestures just like the human squad did, for example. But in the end I was still disappointed. Eventhough I'm not all that excited, I'll still see The Darkest Hour at one point in time and maybe it will change my opinion

Anonymous

i'm lost on anyone who says this was "military propaganda" of ANY kind. how the soldiers were portrayed is just how they are! i wasn't left disappointed at all - after that end, i'd hope for #2 to be made and show the battle to take back the city!

Neuromancer

I don't think anyone dislikes it because the propaganda lies about how the army is but rather that the "heroic"-ness and army aspect of it all are contantly "shoved" in your face. Atleast that's how I felt anyway heh, especially the heroic part. edit: wow, we're kinda really going off-topic I guess :p

Anonymous

I get what your saying, and now that you talked about i think i might have felt the same while watching the movie. But I think a lot of american "war movies" whant to give you that idea, that the American army is great. If they made a depressing army movie people wouldn't like it, as simple as that. I'll give you an example, I love Jarhead, think it's a great movie by a great director, but most people didn't like it. And it didn't have lots of shooting and action and it lacked that heroic feeling. Did any of you guys like Jarhead?

Anonymous

well, ricardo - i didn't dislike jarhead. it was just an "ok" movie for me. i thought the story was a little convoluted. as far as war movies - it isn't just americans that do this. i've seen some ware movies made by russians, japanese, germans and koreans (maybe more -this is off the top of my head) and they ALL do this to some extent. there are exceptions.........platoon springs to mind. it was an outstanding movie and yet the military was far from being "gloirified". in any way.

Anonymous

if that's how you felt - then that's how you felt.......i'm not trying to say you're wrong - i just didn't get that from it.

http://twitter.com/rltuva Robert L. Tuva

Agree, for what it was (on the intersection of ID4 and Black Hawk Down somewhere) I think it was very well done with some great action in some parts.

Anonymous

i couldn't agree more, robert!

http://mithunonthe.net MithunOnThe.Net

Hmm, doubt it will get a big opening in the US. Sure, it has a little 'District 9' vibe but it looks a tad under-budgeted and to the mainstream, it will just look like a movie in which the survivors fight electricity.
CookieMonster

The Alien POV doesnt sit well tbh:P Maybe. VFX need polishing.. Maybe it's just a crap trailer?:P
http://twitter.com/JohnnyNeat Johnny Neat

Interesting. I like different takes sometimes in genres. Anyhow what's with all the alien invasion movies of late? Warnings? Preparing the global psyche?
Tye1119

Looks ok, but the concept art was beautiful, with the different colors of electricity, compared to the the one shade of orange we see in the trailer. I at least hope that will change when it finally comes out.
Freemanmensa

Eh, the visuals look okay, but overall, I wouldn't say it's a lot to get excited about.
Moviekidmike

Well...no need to see the movie, cause I just saw the whole thing

http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Come on, again? I don't think so... this barely shows anything! You could always say that about MOST trailers, but this one has a good variety of scenes and I really have no idea where the story will start and end. Do YOU?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ricardo-Marques/100000599847001 Ricardo Marques

If you saw the whole thing how do they get them in the end?
http://www.mynameisjay.com/ DesinaCoda

Nah not really. If you want to see a trailer that gives away everything, watch the Rise of the Planet of the Apes trailer.

Sam Doyle

Hey bro, you wanna know what gives away everything in Rise of the Planet of the Apes? The Planet of the Apes.... I will give you a hint, the apes win. But seriously, do you just go to a movie to see a beginning, middle, and end story, no matter how short? If only more people were like you, filmmakers could save shit loads as appparently they only have to give a couple of minutes footage and people think they have seen the whole thing.

Anonymous

If the aliens work with electricity, why don't they dump a bucket of water on top of them?

Anonymous

Doesn't water conduct electricity? Wouldn't that just make it worse?

Anonymous

I think it's more likely that it would shortcircuted them

Qwqeqw

This looks like crap, you should've posted the battleship trailer, now that looks like a good sci-fi movie

The Shoes Dude

Um, they did post the Battleship trailer: http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/watch-first-official-trailer-for-peter-bergs-cheesy-battleship-movie/ And no, it doesn't.

http://film-book.com/ Film-Book.com

It looks disposable.

Tester

They both look like crap
Anonymous

aha, best joke on this thread so far!
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

As already mentioned above, we did post the Battleship trailer and no one seemed to like that trailer. I think this one looks a LOT better, it has an original concept behind it, and isn't based on a frickin' boardgame!

Unknown

Shit. Just plain shit... sorry.
http://www.mynameisjay.com/ DesinaCoda

Looks like fun. I'll probably wait until it comes out on video though.
JL

Emile Hirsch, what have you done with your career, buddy?

Anonymous

he's not that old - he's got 2 excellent movies with "milk" and "into the wild".

JL

Don't forget he was in Lords of Dogtown. I know, he's still got lots of time make his mark. I was just saying how he seemed to be on a roll with good indie dramas, and then he goes and does this. Granted, I haven't seen it, but it doesn't look very interesting. "Into the Wild" was pretty great. It was sad, but I love stories like that based on true events. Plus, they did such a great job with it. Sean Penn is a pretty good director, yeah?

Anonymous

yea, i remember he was in LoD but i didn't think people connect him with it when they think of his best pictures. i LOVED ItW. milk was a great movie too. i like penn as a director........he hasn't had a clunker yet.

JL

Haven't seen "MILK" yet. I'm a bit apprehensive. Let me start by saying i'm not a homophobe. One of my friends in high school was a mixed up kid who was always effeminate but declared himself "straight" and then "bi-sexual" and eventually settled on homosexual. It made me uncomfortable at first, but I didn't stop being friends with him and he never hit on me, so no big deal. But I'll admit that movies with, not just homosexual themes, but scenes of an overtly homosexual nature, do make me uncomfortable. I watched both "Brokeback Mountain" and "Mysterious Skin", the latter of which was a good movie despite the uncomfortable subject matter, and the former of which just didn't strike me as being a quality movie apart from the performances of Ledger and Williams. Perhaps one day I'll give "MILK" a try.
Anonymous

hated brokeback mountain........and it had nothing to do with the subject matter - i just didn't like the movie and thought it was over-hyped in every way. i've never seen (or heard of) mysterious skin. i'll have to check it out.

http://twitter.com/cluostari Chris Luostari

Wait a second....if the aliens can kill someone with the samllest touch and turn them to dust....why are they dragging people around?

TheEffectsLookHorrible

I was wondering the same thing...
Anonymous

Sometimes they just don't feel like killing in front of all those people and want to to that in privacy, geez, just give them some space!

http://www.facebook.com/mcrorey Michael McRorey

I love it...can't wait.
Lamar

Putting it on my must see list. Hooray for originality!
Sethamus

I can usually dig on some alien apocalypse story line, but something fell flat for me in this trailer. I'm not saying the movie will be horrible, but it just gives me a 'rent me' vibe. It comes off more like Skyline with cheaper effects. Maybe I'm just too cynical in my old age.
BinaryBob101

The Director did a very good job with the apocalyptic and very small budget, Right At Your Door. I'm willing to give him another shot with this. What worries me is Timur Bekmambetov, who is very much style over substance, imo. I hope he doesn't have too much of an influence.

Anonymous

i loved "right at your door" - the ending was so appropriate.

JL

That was some class A irony, right? What a great low budget indie. Back when I was browsing the video stores, before netflix got me, I saw that on the shelf and decided to give it a try. So glad I did.

Sethamus

I didn't even make the connection to Right At Your Door. Blast it all, I'm almost forced to give this movie a chance based on him alone.

BinaryBob101

See guys, you should give the dude a chance. I had a similar feeling that Rupert Wyatt (Please get The Escapist on rental) would do great things on Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, and it seems as though I was right there too. Some of the new wave of creatives coming through are absolute gems.

Anonymous

i liked what i saw. it may not be a classic, but it looks like a fun watch.
Icefilm

Interesting concepts. I'm usually a bit iffy about movies with younger actors, I guess it's a stigma I've developed from watching half-a**ed slasher flicks growing up. But Timur Bekmambetov's is attached to it and it has that signature dark-edge look the NIGHTWATCH movies are known for. I'd like to see more!
http://twitter.com/Nielsen700 M.K. Nielsen

Who you gonna call?
Anonymous

Holy proton packs Batman! Don't cross the streams!
Anonymous

wow all that action and they couldn't even muster a physical alien life form just some invisible electric crap
Shikaka

Because in a city like Moscow, of course it would be a group of American tourists that were the only ones that could possibly have the ability to figure out how to combat a new type of enemy. They would definitely be better at that than the Russian military right? Because America, f*&k yeah! I know this might not be the case in the full movie, but it's the ridiculous impression that that trailer gave off. That a sci-fi movie set in Moscow even needs English speaking characters at all is kind of lame, but inferring that they could do something the locals or the Russian military can't (if that really is the case) comes off as incredibly arrogant.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OS5ZVTX6EP7ED7M4SSM7PZSF3M lando

this looks like fun, and its a cool concept, I think I like invisible aliens MUCH BETTER than some "been there, seen that" CGI alien from one of the many shoot em up video games..in this day and age where ANYTHING can be done with fx, its cool to see this approach. and again, it looks like fun.
Croniccris

awww alien invasion movie!! they havent done one of those since like last week!!
MACRO

Invisible aliens? This looks terrible. Looks like a really bad SyFy movie. Might download it.
Anonymous

It looks interesting. At first I thought "meh" but it grew on me. May be fun to watch and Moscow is a very good setting for a change.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tyler-Danger/100000822465362 Tyler Danger

"This has slight a District 9 feel (the weaponry)...." I'm....I'm sorry, what? This looks/feels way too safe and the people disintegrating into ash got pretty old pretty darn fast for my liking.
Bigfootwillgetyou57

What part of this was original?
tommyturner

Looks interesting, but you just know they aren't gonna know how to end it properly. Great concept, but n one ever thinks about how to wrap it up.

Anonymous

That's a HUGE problem in today's films isn't it? There are so many movies with a great premise and setting but then they just can't make the ending work and live up to the expectations...

Laurent

What about District 9?

Anonymous

I liked that movie but it didn't stay with me after I left the theatre. To be honest, I don't even remember exactly how it ends (although I have an idea)

whfastus

Looks like something I might like to see.
Brandon

Stupid.
Chad

Why'd they have to kill the dog...
Itance7

New age proton packs?
http://www.facebook.com/zero4x4 Christian Wamsley

Did anyone else think Ghostbusters? lol
han solo

does this look like a combo of "vanishing of 7th street" + " skyline" what ya'll think who is with me
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MTEO7RKG3IO7LOJZ3GJJ5NSOOI john s

The alien concept looks really cool. Lots of potential for great suspense. I'm just wondering if the whole it invisible you cant see them effect will get old halfway into the movie.
David Banner

Damn aliens killed the dog!
han solo

the disintegration effect is really cool, love to know how they developed it
konstantinos terzis

sooo.. lets make a movie about an orange light that kills people and runs on electricity. Call it an alien and put some great fx, film it in Moscow and no one will even think how stupid the premise is. as the great GOB would say: C'MON!
Anonymous

I prefer regular substantial aliens. Good luck with that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9emWB_rrMt0 Crapola

I was wondering why it was set in Russia, but with Timur Bekmambetov involved it makes sense, I love what he does and was kindo wondering where he was. Will check this oot.
Anon

*fart sounnds*
Bignose

In the end, they're calling Christopher Lambert as Raiden to kick the aliens tooshies
Avenue Leader

When does it come iTunes?