The Dark Hours

I started to watch the movie with the thought to go to sleep in the middle of it. This was about to happened because the first part of the movie is not so "catching", but I don't regret staying awake to watch it.

But, including this, at the end I can say that the first half was better than the second. Once you understand what is happening, you may as well not watch the movie to the end.

The interesting here is more the psychological part, which is mostly at the beginning. Once when you start to think what is really happening, it is not so hard to get 2+2. I can say, after all bad movies, supposed to be horror this year, this was not a disappointment, but however, the movie could've been done much much better. This movie goes far away from the caches, created in this year, but i still think the script was written too fast, instead of making the movie go further and may be even a bit more complicated. It is annoying watching the rest of the movie knowing what is gonna happened, and at the end realizing you were all right, but despite all the bad things I wrote, the movie succeeded keeping me awake and I think that the movie deserves to be watched.

To anyone wanting to watch this film I have the following suggestions:- 1. Watch it with friends....you'll be debating the ending afterwards.

2. Don't expect glossy effects or graphics....this is a true psychological thriller.

3. Pay Attention....The more you put into this the more you'll get out of it.

4. Have an open mind to where the film leads you.

Frankly I have to say I think this is a little unknown gem. It was done on a shoestring budget and I suspect not many have heard of it...it deserves wider release.

To anyone on the crew or cast who may read this can I offer my compliments. Well and believably acted, good lighting, good cinematography, appropriate score, well written and a Director who has pulled it all together to produce a great tight crafted product.

Good job guys.....you made my weekend.

P

Some of the comments I've read about this movie so far seem to be a little too much on the positive side. While I'm not saying that this isn't a good film - as usual with obscure films made in countries other than the USA - there's a fair few people overrating it, when really it's just another variant on the idea used in Funny Games over a decade ago (which wasn't even original then), done with less panache and less to say. After a slow first twenty minutes, The Dark Hours finally gets going; and once it does get going, it does indeed become very thrilling, and it's easy to see why many people enjoyed it for that reason. The idea that the movie draws on mainly is the horror of having your space invaded by a maniac; and the film then dashes this central theme with ideas of immoral acts being justified and the horrors of the truth. The film follows psychiatrist Samantha Goodman as she travels to a small cabin in the woods to stay with her husband and sister. A young man who might be more than his mousy appearance suggests... soon interrupts their stay.

The thing I like most about this film is the isolated 'cabin in the woods' setting. Horror classic, The Evil Dead, proved that this setting is a great location for horror; and The Darks Hours is just one of the films to confirm that. The invaders force their innocent victims to partake in a series of macabre and terrifying games - and this too helps to add to the atmosphere that the movie is creating. Much like it did in Funny Games. The Dark Hours is brought to life by a talented cast of unknowns, and director Paul Fox proves his worth by getting good performances out of all of them. Kate Greenhouse takes the lead role and is backed up by the quartet of Aidan Devine, Gordon Currie, Iris Graham and Dov Tiefenbach. The acting here shows how good performances can enhance a script, as The Dark Hours works from a very basic plot that would be lost if the cast want up to the challenge of bring the characters to life. Overall, while you wont catch me describing this film as 'terrifying', 'brilliant' or even 'intelligent', The Dark Hours is definitely worth seeing as it pulls psychological horror together with shocking gore well, and represents a modest success for non-US obscure horror.

Dr Samantha Goodman(Kate Greenhouse),an attractive psychiatrist in her thirties joins her husband and sister for a weekend at a winter cottage when an unexpected guest arrives.Harlan Pyne(Aidan Devine),a violent sexual offender is convinced that Samantha conducted unethical experiments on him while she was his doctor.With the assistance of his troubled yet eager protégé Harlan forces Samantha and her family to participate in a series of nightmarish games."The Dark Hours" pleasantly surprised me.The script is tight and the violence is pretty brutal and ugly.Aiden Devine's portrayal of Harlan deserves special mention for being wickedly understated and menacing.The cinematography is dark and moody and the finale is surprising and thought-provoking.Give this harrowing film a look.9 out of 10.

I'm writing a horror screenplay. Until I saw The Dark Hours, I thought it was pretty decent. But this movie turned everything I thought I knew about horror on its head and made even some of my very favorite horror flicks seem superficial by comparison.

It's not that it's particularly original -- Chris Nolan could almost be listed in the credits for the cue that Paul Fox picks up from Memento and Following. What makes it stand out? It's damn scary -- it gave me the same visceral feeling of horror formerly reserved for classics like Halloween and Psycho. But even then it's like comparing apples to oranges because it's just as much a psychological thriller as it is a horror film. The Dark Hours takes the best from psychological thrillers, so-called "slasher flicks" and the lamentably-popular genre of torture horror and mixes them up in such a way that it seems fresh and original.

The film features a cast of talented unknowns, which works in its favor because there are no big egos drawing one's attention away from the story itself (and trust me -- you'll NEED to be paying attention to get the full effect).

Lopped off two stars for some unnecessary gore. Although it wasn't as extreme as many horror films, it didn't really add anything of value to the film -- gore doesn't produce scares, just shock.