After the Dark

After the Dark (also titled The Philosophers outside the U.S.)[4][2] is a science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by John Huddles.

It stars Sophie Lowe, Rhys Wakefield, Bonnie Wright, James D'Arcy, Daryl Sabara, and Freddie Stroma.

[2][10][11] Mr. Zimit, a philosophy teacher at an international school in Jakarta, has been challenging his class of twenty with thought exercises to prepare them for their future.

The top student, Petra, initially refuses to participate, but Zimit threatens to lower her boyfriend James' academic score if she does not.

Zimit distributes cards that contain a detail about the students' characters in the exercise: James is an organic farmer and Petra is an engineer.

Students with skills judged useful for survival are allowed in, such as James and Petra, while those who don't are refused, such as Beatrice, a fashion designer.

She picks people who are a potential risk or have non-technical skills, including an opera singer and poet, which angers Zimit.

Zimit arrives at the beach, having survived in a cave for the past year, and threatens to shoot James, but the rest of the survivors stand in front of him.

During the press conference for the film, director John Huddles said that "multiculturalism was a major theme in the movie, which revolves around a challenge to reboot humanity in the event of a nuclear apocalypse."

"[26] Severin Auer of Groarr.ch – Filmmagazin gave it a mixed review by saying, "Although The Philosophers has a strong start, the clear weaknesses which the film has to fight can already be found towards the middle part.

"[27] Upon its theatrical release, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and said, "This ambitious teen-oriented fantasy is like taking a university philosophy course in The Twilight Zone.

"[28] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote: “[This] well-shot sci-fi thriller …is impressively packed with smart, provocative ideas about how we would react to a nuclear holocaust.

… [It] brims with metaphor and symbolism … [and features] an attractive array of young actors … [who] ... bring apt heart and conviction to their roles as budding academics.”[29] Brandon Harris of Filmmaker called the film “sneakily beautiful, remarkably thoughtful.”[4] Sherilyn Connelly in her review for The Village Voice said, "[The film is] a shaggy dog story, but an intriguing and frequently beautiful one" and singularly praised Wright by saying that "the picture fumbles the ending, sliding into a Gravity-esque soapy backstory while suggesting that supporting actress Bonnie Wright might have been a stronger female lead.