The Dark Hour

The Cold Hour takes several cliché' horror film tropes, combines them in entirely unexpected ways, adds brilliant acting and great cinematography and ends with a purely science fictional image that will live in my mind for a really long time. This is a well put-together ensemble piece. I'd tracked it down, having been encouraged by the largely positive IMDb reviews, but mainly because of the Silke (Hornillos Klein) Rule: "Buy Anything She is In" that dates back to Julio Medem's wonderful, Philip K. Dickian, Tierra. Purely from the perspective of The Silke Rule, this film could almost have been seen as a disappointment since, although her character Maria is top billed, all of the characters are extremely well balanced and no one is really the lead. Every part is so well written and so well acted, however, that the viewer comes out ahead. In fact, the primary PoV is 8 year old Jesús, played by Omar Muñoz, and he is wonderful, despite my normal antipathy towards child actors. I can't, alas, say much more without revealing too much.

If you've read the other reviews, you already know that the primary situation appears to be similar to 28 days, et al. (This MAY actually be correct - if you prefer clear, pat explanations from a film, rather than have it ask as may questions as it answers, leaving you with a delicious sense of cognitive dissonance, then go watch something else). However, I've never seen that ultra-standard plot trope handled THIS way, or combined with THAT. Run, don't walk, to get La Hora Fría if you admire and enjoy originality, a continual sense of surprise, and a refusal on the part of the creators to spell everything out; if, like me, you prefer leaving the experience of a film with a deep sense of unease and the feeling that you have a lot of thinking to do especially about what that final shot meant. Your mind will have something to mull over for a long, long time.

This is a great little Sci-fi film. The production isn't that lavish but every Euro was well spent. The acting is top notch; the lighting is excellent with none of that "shot in the car park around back" feel. Clever tools like interjected scenes shot from the camcorder (there aren't that many) and the constant propaganda on the TV help Immerse you in to the world very quickly. The characterisations are strong and develop rapidly.

There are bits of the plot that are unexplained and may or not make sense if you really thought about it, but if you like Sci-fi (real sci-fi not Star Trek) you can't go wrong. The film is dark in essence, but I didn't find it overly depressing or gory, think Screamers or Cube.

It's funny that the English title isn't literally, but they opted to go for the more "frightening" DARK hour, instead of the correct COLD hour! But that's just a side note. Back to the movie, that is as I stated in the summary line, a sci-fi story. And I think that it could've been a double episode of the Outer Limits. I don't say it, as a bad thing.

I liked the movie. The strange atmosphere, the great actors and a ambiguous ending (you could say that, as I did, or maybe it's crystal clear to you, you have to watch it and tell for yourself) all combined to a great whole. And although it is quite unique, something was missing, but I couldn't tell you what, for me to like it even more ...

You will find absolutely no plot-info in this short comment/praise of director/writer Elio Quiroga's debut feature film. Because one of the cool things about LA HORA FRÍA is when you enter it, you have no idea what kind of movie this is. You think it might be some sort of post-apocalyptic drama, set in an underground facility. Pretty down-to-earth and believable. But as it progresses, you still don't have a clue what it's actually going to turn into. There's a re-occurring, strange supernatural phenomenon. A bit later it feels like you've just entered Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD vs. Cameron's ALIENS, so to speak (more in vibe than actual subject matter). And the real nature of this films pretty much continues to be a question mark right up until the final, fascinating revelation at the end. And don't worry, it's not some twist along the lines of "Oh, it's all not real after all...". A solid film that went beyond my expectations. Try to not read anything else about it, and just watch it. One thing I'll add: It's not straight-up horror but a great mixture of things, that's for sure. Great things, including haunting cinematography and a script soaked with a bleak sense of hopelessness, all accomplished on a modest budget.

This is a great little movie, not perfect - the multiple threats are too improbable - but really atmospheric. The ending is a revelation, and makes a lot of sense given earlier details (though there remain unanswered, and probably unanswerable, questions).

I really enjoyed it, but it could be depressing and grim if you are not in the right frame of mind.