The Philosophers

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The Philosophers

R

Released Feb 7, 2014

1h 47m

Mystery & Thriller

Action

Fantasy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

67%

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15 Reviews

43%

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5,000+ Ratings

A philosophy teacher (James D'Arcy) tells his students that they must choose 10 people from among their group to take shelter during a nuclear holocaust and reboot the human race.

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Phuong Le

Guardian

John Huddles's sci-fi thriller unintentionally succeeds in replicating the exact experience of playing "would you rather?" with a friend in a pub, as in it starts out with vague philosophical questions but ends up being utterly ridiculous.

Rated: 2/5

May 20, 2021

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Nicolas Rapold

New York Times

Both smugly clever and at times distastefully clueless.

Feb 6, 2014

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Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

An unusually creative and ambitious film of ideas that offers so much more than its forgettable title and sensationalized publicity may imply.

Feb 6, 2014

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Frank Ochieng

SF Crowsnest

Refreshingly, Dark wants to cryptically convey an honest conversation about the fate of mankind's fragile existence. Despite some questionable unevenness, a contemplative SF thriller that dares to assume its thinking cap in surrealistic experimental mode

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 11, 2018

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

A heavy-handed and manipulative work of philosophical fiction featuring strong performances, but a troubled narrative.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 15, 2014

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Nikola Grozdanovic

The Playlist

Philosophical thriller After The Dark collapses under a nifty concept.

Rated: D

Feb 8, 2014

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David M

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/26/25

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Brian H

Good concept. Interesting plot to start even if the acting was less than acceptable... then gets sucked into the hollywood version of reality virtues over values.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/05/25

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Cinephemeride [

a falsely philosophical film whose initially ambitious scenario ultimately ends up tiring us with endless dialogue scenes

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/08/23

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Joshua M

After the Dark as it is called on netflix is an impressively smug and pseudo-intellectual piece of film making wrapped in a grade 11 intro to philosophy level of meaning and allegories. Acting was wooden for some and the writing and directing did not help the matter. With some dialogue and scenes making me wonder why it wasn't left on editing floor. It's "twist" was as subtle as a cannon. Interesting in concept. Poor in execution. Still at times the film was pretty to look at.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/18/23

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Audience Member

Teenager bullshit. The movie does not even make any sense. Why the hell should a philosophy professor make the whole class hate him without any plausible reason? Personal revenge? Show everyone the main character is dumb? That's stupid.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I understand and agree with some of the criticism about the movie, but overall I found it very different and thought-provoking. I found the film entertaining and believe many who did not, try to think too much about what makes sense and doesn't. Remember this is not a documentary of factual events, but a cinematic endeavor showcasing aspects of the human condition.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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John Huddles

Director

James D'Arcy

Mr. Zimit

Bonnie Wright

Georgina

Daryl Sabara

Chips

Sophie Lowe

Petra

Rhys Wakefield

James

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Synopsis

A philosophy teacher (James D'Arcy) tells his students that they must choose 10 people from among their group to take shelter during a nuclear holocaust and reboot the human race.

Director: John Huddles
Producer: John Huddles, George Zakk, Cybill Lui
Screenwriter: John Huddles
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Production Co: An Olive Branch Productions
Rating: R (Sexuality|Brief Drug Use|Some Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Action, Fantasy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 7, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 7, 2014
Runtime: 1h 47m

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