While the line for the Game of Thrones panel was wrapping around the entirety of San Diego, a select number of journalists were sequested away in the Hard Rock Hotel. What were we all doing in this room? The team behind THE DARKEST HOUR had gathered us all to see the world premiere of the trailer and learn more about the film. While this film wasn’t officially a part of Comic-Con, it was definitely the best thing I saw all weekend.

Inside the small suite, we saw exclusive production stills, the world premiere of the trailer, and heard about the creation of the film. Keep reading to learn what THE DARKEST HOUR is all about and why it outshined even THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

As an avid Comic-Con goer (6th year running!), the highlight has always been the movies that surprise you most. Last year, it was COWBOYS & ALIENS, even though THE AVENGERS were the bigger draw. This year, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was arguably the only movie everyone seemed to be interested in, simply because THE AVENGERS bowed out this year. So while I expected SPIDER-MAN to pull out all the stops, the lesser known projects are the ones that stick with me longer. IN TIME showed promise with their first trailer in Hall H, but THE DARKEST HOUR blew me away with the details about the film and the selectively debuted trailer.

The director was on hand to walk us through some of the key concepts of the film, and it definitely sounds like a unique spin on the alien invasion flick, which is hard to come by these days since just this weekend alone, we’re seeing aliens invade the wild West and the urban streets in England.

While I can’t include the official trailer that was shown, I can say that it was an impressive new interpretation of aliens. THE DARKEST HOUR follows a few young Americans as their visit to Moscow is interrupted by a devastating alien attack. They soon realize it’s not just Russia, but every major city and the entire world that has fallen to these attackers. These alien beings are formed out of electro-magnetism, meaning the only sign they’re around is if the now dormant electronics start to work again. It is in the darkest hours of night that they are even remotely visible to the human eye. While they aren’t solid, their method of killing is among one of the most impressive visual effects I’ve seen. People simply disintegrate because of their electromagnetism.

The film will be out in theaters on December 23, 2011 but soon after their will also be a comic book that shows the story more universally. The film focuses on Moscow’s struggle, while the comic goes around the globe to see how other major cities coped and tried to survive. See the comic art here:

THE DARKEST HOUR is directed by Chris Gorak, produced by Timur Bekmambetov (WANTED, NIGHT WATCH), and stars Emile Hirsch (SPEED RACER), Max Minghella (THE SOCIAL NETWORK), Olivia Thirlby, and Rachel Taylor. Check out the official plot description here:

"THE DARKEST HOUR follows five young people who find themselves stranded in Moscow, fighting to survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack. The 3D action-thriller highlights the classic beauty of Moscow alongside mind-blowing special effects from the minds of visionary filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (WANTED, NIGHT WATCH) and director Chris Gorak. In theaters December 23, 2011."