Shadow Hours

Shadow Hours is the best movie Balthazar Getty has done since Lost Highway and is also probably the best movie Peter Weller has done since Robocop. Anyone who has spent considerable time within a major city nightlife scene will be able to identify with this movie. People who also like a film to leave a few questions unanswered will also probably get a kick out of Shadow Hours.

The film has a great look to it, this film is so much slicker looking than any recent mainstream or indie film in the past few years. This is probably the slickest looking movie Ive seen since Blade. Kudos to the director and dp. The soundtrack is top notch as well. Weller is in top form here, his unique look and commanding voice really make his character. Getty gives a good performance as well. The cast of supporting characters is really amazing. Every few minutes you will see a familiar face pop up in a small role.

The only small problem I have with the film is that a few scenes referenced other movies a little too blatantly, but the film's main story is very original and intrigueing. Overall it is a great little movie with alot of style and a thought provoking story. It was great to see a movie made for adults compared to all the pg-13 bland entertainment that the gutless hollywood studios have been releasing lately.

This film is no direct to video cheapie my friends.

Shadow Hours is the story of a recovering addict trying to get his life back together and prepare for the birth of his son. Michael (Getty) gets a job working the graveyard shift at a gas station where he meets Stuart (Weller) they soon become friends and begin to hang out at various strip clubs and other seedy places in the underbelly of LA. Michael soon realizes that Stuart is a psycho and maybe a serial killer. Shadow Hours is a decent into madness that leaves the viewer disturbed and very entertained. Sure its goofy, but I love it. BZAR rocks. Check it out!

If you thought the bizarre and errie world of THE CELL was scary and weird, you haven't seen nothing yet. SHADOW HOURS takes the viewer into the dark and seedy world that does exist, in Los Angeles. From night clubs, to tourture clubs, to drug

culture, to fight clubs, the viewer doesn't really miss much of what else is dark in the city. Balthazar Getty (who looks similar to Charlie Sheen) is Michael Holloway a man who use to be part of the drug culture and it nearly cost him his life. But everything changed when he met Chloe (Rebecca Gayheart) a girl who made Michael give up his addictive illegal habits and go straight. So Michael works the graveyard shift at a gas station around central Los Angeles. Night after night, people come in, give Michael money, pump gas into their vehicles and then leave. One night Michael takes part of his anger out on a customer, Stuart Chappell (Peter Weller). Stuart pulls up in a nice looking Porsche and wearing a expensive suit. Michael feels guilty about yelling at innocent Stuart who only wanted gas, so he apoligizes to him, and Stuart accepts and wants to take Michael out for a cocktail. However, Stuart isn't innocent, he doesn't want to take Michael out only for a cocktail, and he didn't arrive to only get gas. Stuart shows Michael the underground world of Los Angeles, from strip clubs to places where people watch people getting torture. One good thing about SHADOW HOURS is the look and mood of the film. The picture starts off of fast motion cars speeding on a freeway, with the numbers on a gas pump moving in rapid speed, while music from Moby is being played on the soundtrack. If anyone is going to make a movie that takes place around in Los Angeles, one SHOULD play industrial music, especially by the artist Moby. Michael Mann protrayed Los Angeles to a prefction in his 1995 classic HEAT. As the view saw the scummy and seedy realistic side of Los Angeles, the fast dance tempo of Moby was played on the soundtrack. And SHADOW HOURS does accomplish that in some of it's scenes, which I really enjoyed. However, nothing much could be said for the rest of the film. The plot isn't anything special or new, it's more or less a updated version of the dark figure leading the innocent figure into a dark world. And some of the scenes in the film are not that original, but others (including a sexual torture club) are very disturbing to watch. The only actor who stands out in this film is by Peter Weller. He gives flamboyance to his character of Stuart that you wonder is this man really psychotic, or is he indeed the devil himself. But for the other actors, they pretty much give a paint-by-numbers performance. Getty doesn't really carry the movie, when he should be the leading actor carrying the film, he appears to be a sidekick to the Weller character. Rebecca Gayheart also gives a generic performance as the pregnant wife who stays awake late at night and wonders what her husband is up to. But a decent supporting performances from Brad Dourif as the gas station manager, and a unrecognizeable Frederic Forrest, help give the movie some color. I do see what director Isaac Eaton was trying to say in this film by getting his message across. But it's nothing really new or unique. For a small budget independent film, it does manage to show something promising, but in the end you don't walk out going "wow" it's more of a "ho-hum." ** (out of five)

'Shadow Hours' opened in late 2000 to some harsh reviews. Many critics believed that director Isaac H. Eaton borrowed from one too many films and that his storyline is jumbled and confused. I for one think that while the storyline can get familiar, the general storyline was going in interesting directions that made it more interesting to watch. And what made it even more interesting is that this film had a supporting cast of many familiar faces.

Balthazar Getty, in the lead role of the recovering addict, is servicable, but not exceptional. He seems one-note in many scenes, and clearly gets his scenes stolen from co-star Peter Weller, who has (I think) his best role in years as the devious writer Stuart Chappell. This is clearly Weller's best performance since 'The New Age' and he relishes it with a passion. One definitely doesn't know where his character is going, and Weller fleshes him out with enough mystery and charisma (without resorting to absurd overacting) to make him an enjoyable antagonist. If losing out to Weller isn't enough, Getty's acting chops also get more heat from Peter Greene, playing a cop, is just as creepy as the other man named Peter.

The soundtrack, with it's constant techno beat, is actually a refreshing change and works with the various set-pieces in the movie. All in all, check this film out. One might be surprised how good it is. It's more proof that one shouldn't always listen to critics.

It is a shame that Shadow Hours is kind of one of those rare thrillers that may have been sorta ignored during it's release, but it is perhaps one of the likable thrillers I have seen in recent years. Director and writer Isaac Eaton did a rather fine job at creating tension and keeping me interested through the story.

Balthazar Getty in my opinion has been rather too underrated in films. This talented young actor did a good turning point here in Shadow Hours as the troubled Michael. Trying to straighten out his life, Michael has a new wife (Rebecca Gayheart) and a child on the way. He gets a job during the night shift and encounters a mysterious man named Stuart, (creepily portrayed by Peter Weller). They become close friends and they begin to experiment in the terrible parts of the city and Michael begins going downhill. Eventually Michael learns that Stuart could be a sociopath and he has to fight against him to get back to his life again.

Shadow Hours should very well be viewed for those that are fans and are inspired by this kind of genre. The film also has a familiar cast in cameo appearances that include Peter Greene, Richard Moll (of TV's Night Court) and Oscar nominees Frederic Forrest and Brad Dourif.