You'd think the mini-trend of watching young, callow people run away from an alien attack in a major city would have ended after the disastrous Skyline, but the direct descendants of Cloverfield are at it again in The Darkest Hour, the new film produced by Timur Bekmambetov and directed by Chris Gorak. The first trailer for the movie has premiered today on iTunes; you can download it there in HD (on the program on your desktop, not at Apple's website) or check it out embedded below.



As you'd probably expect from a film produced by the director of Wanted and the Day Watch/Night Watch movies, the visuals seem to be the key here-- the aliens aren't visible to the naked human eye, so have to be identified by electricity and the bizarre effect they have on the humans and animals they kill. It seems like there's also some kind of alien vision going on, in which we see objects like the cop car or even humans through what these electricity-seeking aliens might look for. It's also a little strange to see the likes of Olivia Thirlby and Emile Hirsch-- two actors known for best their indie roles in movies like Juno and Into the Wild-- running around in a giant alien invasion movie. Even though we've seen this plot any number of times already, The Darkest Hour at least looks different, which can go a long way toward making an old concept feel fresh again.

If you want to know more about the movie, check out Eric's report from a presentation at Comic Con where they showed off this trailer and some of the concept art. The movie hits theaters on December 23.