The Darkest Hour
Summit Entertainment | Release Date: December 25, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
18
METASCORE
Overwhelming dislike based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
2
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
VarietyJoe LeydonDec 26, 2011
The Darkest Hour turns out to be a modestly inventive and involving variation on a standard-issue sci-fi doomsday scenario. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenDec 26, 2011
Capable and compelling performers like Hirsch and Thirlby seem left to their own devices to make some connection with the material. The idea of semi-invisible aliens, an unseen enemy, should mean the film has a lingering sense of paranoid abstraction (not unlike "Right at Your Door"), but Darkest Hour never gets beyond rote efficiency. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyKeith StaskiewiczDec 29, 2011
You should be rooting for the humans, but you might as well be rooting for the blobs. Most likely, though, you'll just be rooting for the credits. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDec 26, 2011
An alien invasion flick that evidently expects dramatic shots of a depopulated Red Square to make up for a flatlining screenplay and the absence of even a single compelling character. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeJoel BrownDec 28, 2011
Once upon a time, you'd go to see a grade-C genre movie like this willing to trade consistency and artfulness for a few stray thrills or oddball charm. But Darkest Hour doesn't have even as much character as those Discover commercials. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovDec 28, 2011
This is exactly the sort of film I wasn't expecting from either Gorak or his producers. In many too-obvious ways this is just a formulaic riff on Spielberg's "War of the Worlds." Read full review
20
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisDec 26, 2011
Really, how slovenly is it to use invisible aliens? If you're going to tease us with nothing but pinwheels of light for three-quarters of the film, you'd better have one heck of a reveal up your sleeve. Read full review
10
Boxoffice MagazineDavid EhrlichDec 28, 2011
The Darkest Hour isn't just a dark horse contender for the year's biggest joke, it's the darkest. Read full review
0
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinDec 28, 2011
Not since Mark Wahlberg trembled in fear beside a menacing houseplant in "The Happening" has a film tried to provoke terror with such an unlikely object of menace. Read full review
0
Slant MagazineBudd WilkinsDec 27, 2011
In a year-end season stacked deep with worthwhile films, what possible incentive could there be for submitting to The Darkest Hour's utter pointlessness? Read full review
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