Not every movie here at Comic Con has a presentation at Hall H, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t some cool stuff to show off. This morning I was invited by Summit Entertainment to a presentation about The Darkest Hour, a new sci-fi film directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. During the exhibition we not only got to see the first trailer for the movie – which will be released online next week – but also had the chance to get a sneak peak at some of the concept art.
In the movie, Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella play businessmen who travel to Moscow to make a deal. While out in a nightclub, suddenly all of the power shuts down and they are left in absolute darkness. It turns out that the problem is worldwide as an alien species made entirely of electrical energy has invaded with the intention to suck every bit of power on the planet. Grouping with two women they meet, played by Olivia Thirlby and Rachael Taylor, they work to not only survive but also to fight back.
What immediately struck me as being impressive is the alien design. Because the aliens can’t be seen, the story needs to create an inventive way of making their presence known. The group discovers that the aliens activate electrical devices whenever they are around, so they do things like scatter light bulbs around as a warning signal. The group also meets works with a Russian scientist who uses a mobile variation of a Faraday cage to prevents the aliens from touching and disintegrating the characters (the scientist has even created one of his cat). Also interesting is that there are multiple scenes in which we see the world through the alien’s eyes. Much like the Predator sees in infrared, these aliens see only electricity, meaning humans appear to be walking nervous systems.
In promotion of the film, they are also releasing a limited edition comic, which was written by Rick Spears. The comic will features scenes from around the world and they have employed 19 artists, including Jeremy Haun, Pia Guerrra, Mateus Santolouco and Ben Templesmith, to work on the art. Here’s a look at the Darkest Hour comic’s cover:
The film is set to come on December 23, 2011 and the trailer will be attached to releases coming in August. Click on The Darkest Hour concept art below to see it in high-res.
