DVD Review: The Darkest Hour (12) by Phil Hewitt

It isn’t long before they are in the thick of a massive alien invasion which is wiping out millions across the planet.

But this is – not that it’s much consolation – a very strange invasion.

The aliens are invisible, intent on gorging themselves on any energy source they can find, be it electric light bulb or human being.

Which is potentially their one weakness. The invisible nasties become briefly and glowingly visible as they down their energy fix.

It’s all completely silly and not remotely persuasive, but for sure it’s mildly entertaining and certainly doesn’t last long – which is kind of how you’d hope the end of the world would be.

But the interest is in the film’s depiction of the great survival instinct. The businessmen are rubbish at business, but they are pretty shrewd when it comes to working out how to remain alive, just what triggers the aliens and how to avoid them.

Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby and Max Minghella are the actors in a film which cries out for a bit of star quality to lift it above the ho-hum, but even so, it just about sustains interest on a rainy day.