La relève

The idea behind it is great, but I do not think anyone can actually create a film from that idea that an educated audience or anyone who has taken a philosophy class would find acceptable. I will not go into details as there are far too many instances in every scene of the film that make you question the believability that these students have ever taken a single philosophy class.

To enjoy this film I feel you need to ignore the played out apocalyptic scenarios completely and only focus on the two lead characters and the teacher and take it for what it is. If you are expecting to watch a film that is intelligent and driven by strong performances you will be sadly let down. You could seriously watch this film with your television on mute and understand the story just as well.

I admit I had very high expectations for this movie, simply because I love riddles and movies that stimulate one's brain. Sadly, it was a huge disappointment.

At the beginning, the movie seemed pretty promising and I rather enjoyed it till about the middle. That's when things started taking the turn for the worse. For all the logic that movie tries depict, it truly lacks that very same logic badly. There were so many absolutely illogical and dumb scenes I can't even begin to name them. What was a highly interesting scenario with great potential became just another one of these movies you are likely to forget pretty soon.

I enjoyed it while it lasted, with the exception of the ending (I'd rather they just deleted it all together), and the acting was pretty great, too. Over all, it's entertaining to a certain degree but don't expect anything mind-blowing. The movie doesn't live up to what it promises.

It is a shame when such a great idea with so much potential is executed improperly and inevitably fails. That is the case here with 'After the Dark.' The film begins immersing you into the world of Philosophy. The teacher asks his class questions revolving around situations of morality or rationality and how they would go about it. You find yourself answering these hypothetical questions for yourself and then realizing that this is a movie that you can become indulged in without any proper knowledge of philosophy. The one thing that the film did do well was taking an experiment that realistically only took place in one location, and made it interesting by adding other dimensions to it. This was repeated three times with different outcomes and I would find myself correcting their mistakes, thinking that I could figure this puzzle out. What I didn't know was that the movie in itself was a puzzle I would never figure out.

'After the Dark' felt like a 1,000 piece puzzle that you were just about to finish perfectly until you realize that the last piece just doesn't fit right. The movie up until the final 20 minutes or so is really intriguing. It asks all the right questions to get your brain working, however, your brain is working towards an answer that is never given to you. The ending doesn't make sense by any means and it certainly doesn't tie everything up in a nice bow like you so desperately hoped for. Instead, it leaves you questioning the fate of some of the characters and why the last hour of the movie was even relevant.

Aside from some beautiful cinematography, satisfying performances from a young cast and an original take on a film, 'After the Dark' doesn't deliver. It tries to answer questions that no one was searching for a resolution to and denies to answer the questions they were so evidently setting up throughout the entire film.

Evolution has always favored self-interest. Collectivism only works when the self-interest of the majority is satisfied. That is all you have to know to survive the end of times, I mean, if you even want to survive the end of times...because, let's face it, it is pointless... just like this movie.

As I watched the movie it came to me that the guys who wrote, directed and produced this film were in a bar one night when they decided that this was a worthwhile film. You would have to be fall- down drunk to think this film had any depth or even answered the most shallow philosophical questions of existence.

The acting was bland, the lead actress was a desert of emotions. The other actors just stood there without expression. I don't suppose that the director or the films cutter had sobered up from their night of drinking yet and I do believe that the music was written for some other movie...maybe a cartoon.

Please do not watch this film or you might hurt your artistic soul...there, I have warned you.

A bunch of kids who all seem to have arrived from the same toothpaste or shampoo commercial turn up for their last day at school ever. The teacher decides to run a philosophy role-play as a kind of review session. What follows are momentous life-and-death decisions with huge consequences for the fate of the human race.

Or not, as it turns out - because it is a classroom exercise. All the exotic settings, CGI explosions, and crisp cinematography cannot distract us from the fact that all that is at stake here is an A, B or C grade. There isn't even a mention that someone might FAIL the class - the stakes are that low! The teacher threatens the lead girl with losing her A+ in a manner that, if taken seriously, would see him fired for power harassment and incompetence. Are we meant to fear for her in this ludicrous moment? Unfortunately, that is as dramatic as this film gets.

The so-called philosophy is preachy and immature. The pupils all kind of blend into each other as characterisation is one-note. And absolutely nothing of value is tested or put at risk here. It's like The Breakfast Club was never made.

How this screenplay made it to the top of anyone's pile is a crime that should be investigated. Two stars - one for the cinematography, the other for the huge drinking game potential.