PCP on DVD - The Darkest Hour

Survivor horror and alien invasion films are very common.  It is hard to bring something new to the field of alien invasion movies, but The Darkest Hour at least comes up with some nifty new aliens for their invasion, so I figured I'd give this film a shot.  Turns out I wasted my time.

The Darkest Hour - 2011, rated PG-13.  My rating:  4 out of 10.

Pretty much the only original thing about this movie is the design of the aliens.  Everything else has been done better before.  Aliens show up, start killing almost everyone in their path, and humanity has to find a way to fight back before we are all wiped out.  It is a standard alien invasion plot, but it usually works better if we actually care about the characters.  Here they are just so one dimensional, not to mention utterly stupid in their behaviors, that there is rarely a moment we care when one of them gets ripped apart by the aliens.

As I said, the design of the aliens is the film's redeeming feature.  Rather than your typical green or gray skinned monster, this time the aliens are nearly invisible balls of energy.  When they come in to contact with a living being, they quickly disintegrate them nearly instantly, ripping them apart at what appears to be a molecular level.  The effects shots of that happening are about the only cool thing in this film.  Otherwise, the film is very predictable and linear, the characters asinine, and the scenery dull and drab.  Don't waste your time on this one, I wish I hadn't.