Exclusive: The Darkest Hour Concept Art

Emile Hirsch stars in The Darkest Hour, an alien attack movie that takes place in Moscow. Here are 12 exclusive concept art images with captions written by the film's director Chris Gorak.

Red Square

The iconic Red Square in Moscow is the scene of desolation in the post-alien invasion world of The Darkest Hour. We discussed dressing in a crashed plane into Red Square, but decided to save this for the interior of the GUM department store, a popular shopping location in Moscow.

Shredding

The aliens in The Darkest Hour are unlike any depicted on screen. Composed of lethal wave energy, they have the ability to shred apart human life. We wanted the shredding to be as violent as possible and I think we succeeded in creating a shocking, terrifying effect.

Subway Attack

An alien "seeker" emits a controlled lightning bolt to reel in its prey. The idea of the alien seeker beam was, even in you hide, it can search around corners and under doorways… nowhere is safe.

Seeker Bolt

A close-up of the alien seeker bolt. The alien seeker beam applies a lethal hold that burns and squeezes like an electrically charged boa constrictor.

Flamethrower

The aliens in The Darkest Hour are virtually invisible. They are detected only by the surrounding electrical systems they activate, making travel by day particularly dangerous. Fire is a natural alien deterrent. Fire annoys the aliens and can momentarily keep them at bay. We had a real Russian flamethrower on set. Beat that!

Trolley Attack

A seeker alien attacks Olivia Thirlby & Emile Hirsch on a runaway trolley train. This is our classic runaway train sequence. An out-of-control electrically powered trolley car with an invisible alien onboard amplifies the tension to unbearable levels.

Alien POV

Life forms are illuminated by the faint electrical impulses in the body's nervous system. This is a pre-vis look at how the aliens see humans. Like hungry sharks, the aliens can see our electromagnetic pulses. This depicts what alien vision might look like.

Sergei's Faraday Cage

The group of survivors meet up with an eccentric Russian scientist, who has outfitted his apartment as a giant Faraday cage, providing protection from the aliens. This was one of our whackier ideas. I envisioned our scientist, Sergei, to be living inside this cage for years. He was ready-made for the invasion of electrically charged aliens.

Faraday Cat

Sergei's cat is also outfitted with a mini-Faraday cage. Who doesn't want a custom Faraday cage for their cat? The perfect holiday gift for the coming alien invasion!

Matvei

The survivors meet up with a group of tough Russian soldiers on horseback, led by Matvei. Our heroes join forces with this rag-tag group and fight back!

Submarine

A submarine in the heart of Moscow may provide temporary sanctuary from the vicious aliens. We experience almost every mode of transportation in , from airplanes to taxi cabs to yes, even submarines.