Shadow Hours

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.

When I catch this, one thing is certain: this is Peter Weller's movie. His presence is freaky whether playing Russian Roulette or betting on underground fights. BZAR Getty does all right keeping up but is more of a standout when talking to the other players. The supporting players were good considering what they had to work with. I was shocked to see Brad Dourif look somewhat normal. I will also say I was glad Rebecca Gayheart got some much needed work after that accident that killed that kid. Regarding the writing, aside from some choice one-liners (I've seen stuff that makes Dante's Inferno read like Winnie the Pooh) it's OK at best.

If it's on cable and are an insomniac (like Getty in this film), give a glance.

The devil feeds from your weaknesses and enstills good in temptation. "Shadow Hours" definitely understands this, and shows an interesting Lucifer who dwells in the seedy underworld of Los Angelos.

To say the least, I wasn't blown away by the story's originality, but director Isaac H. Eaton has some brilliant style tricks to keep it fun and intriguing. He is an adroit director working with a mediocre script, and the results are surprisingly good.

Balthazaar Ghetty plays Michael Halloway, a recovering alcoholic who tries to support himself as well as his wife Chloe by working at a seedy gas station on graveyard shift. In this environment, he's bound to see some interesting things. It seems everyone who comes through has exhausted themselves with something...most likely some sort of sin. They are all running on empty as they scurry through the night. There are wonderful sequences where gas meters rise as different things happen, communicating this theme perfectly.

Anyway, he runs into a mugger and a homeless man (who symbolizes his bottom of the barrel outlook), but most importantly, a writer named Stuart Chappell (played by Peter Weller, in easily one of his best performances). Chappell has a strange fixation on Michael, and he takes care of him, clothing him with nice suits, and giving him tons of money to gamble. From the start, it is obvious this guy's a little shady, however. He neglects the fact that Michael is recovering on AA and influences him to start drinking again. Soon, he plunges Michael into a truly harrowing underworld of fight clubs, gambling, drugs and sex.

In one of the most disturbing scenes of recent memory, they go to a bondage club where people get sadomasochistic pleasure from torture. At first, I was angry that Eaton would use this smut to manipulate his audience into feeling shocked (like how Todd Solondz did in his terrible film "Happiness"). Then I realized, Chappell, a satan figure, is indeed masochistic in that he feeds off his victim's pain. Little did Michael know as he looked at these twisted acts, that he was being used as a partner to Chappell's atrocity.

When Michael becomes closer with Chappell, he realizes how much of a lie this man really is. But the perks of being with him are too great, and soon Michael goes too deep into the dark side, hurting Chloe and damaging the new life he forged after leaving AA. I didn't like how the film ends. It takes an easy (and largely taken) way out, keeping itself on a level of simplicity. I believe Eaton is a genius director, but he sells himself short in "Shadow Hours".

I did like a lot of things in this film. I loved the performances by Getty (who also produced), and more so Peter Weller. He plays Stuart as attractive, fun and seemingly caring, but always dark somewhere deep. I liked how the story was paced and told, but it is lacking in overall freshness.

(2 and 1/2 out of 4)