The Quiet Hour

The actors are good, the filming is good and the production is good. If this was a meal I'd describe it as good vegetarian. There's nothing really original, there are other movies with a very similar theme out there. It's power is its youth, our heroes, honestly portrayed when faced with loss and other far more aggressive stranger adults, whom happen to outnumber them. The youngest is immature and has a disability, all wrong steps stem from this innocence. From that point of view this is well crafted, and an engaging experience. The plot has several moments of true creativity and forethought. It ends well, which was satisfying. For me, being much older than the cast, I tended to see many missed opportunities. Sometimes the camera captured nature or sky with real flare, but there could have been much more of this. The Quiet Hour could have been peppered with symbolic natural image, on both small and grand scale. I liked the location, but it wasn't invested with enough for me. Then there is the aliens. I'm assuming a truly tight budget, because a bit more of that creativity could have brought this movie into a more contemporary horror. We enjoy a new age of computer graphics, and we should delight in possibilities. Overall though, as the movie wasn't long, I'm happy to recommend it.

I enjoyed the movie for the B movie a it really was. A B+ for sure and a low. Budget flick if not. I don't regret watching it though it was on late and I stayed up to watch. The no nudity part was the worst as the starlet did seem to not be lacking with her stacking. I started out at a seven rating but as the story was drug out it worsened stopping at four because I didn't want to do disservice to any three star rated productions not shown on these herbig screens. At this point I am just typing words to get to the six hundred minimum words. I tired to double space counted spacesI I was denied. I am tired now. Goodnight.

Visually, this low budget drama is nicely done with atmospheric location and lighting.

The performances aren't bad. The main problem is that the actors really had very little to work with, and I feel for them.

There is no real plot beyond a very shallow rehash of the besieged-by-nutters theme. The SF/alien aspect is completely superfluous and is in no way required by the travesty that masquerades as a storyline. The dialogue is dreadful, with thin chunks of cliché exposition and old-hat speculations about aliens who the budget will not allow us to see.

As is so often the case, the first reviews of this movie are implausibly glowing... and similar. Draw your own conclusions.

An independent movie with a low budget - what can one expect? There have been way better movies in a few respects, with similar things (production values, genre, actors etc). Having said that, this is quite decent to say the least. The story is tight overall and while it all plays out more or less in one location, that helps the movie quite a lot.

You still have to cut the movie some slack and suspend your disbelief. The what would I do department is always one that is quite rich when it comes to movies like this one. Still give it a try if you have a heart for it - after the beginning you should be able to tell if the movie and you are a good fit.

As often, reviews and ratings on IMDb are completely wrong, as I found The Quiet Hour vastly underrated.

In gloom and at slow pace, accompanied by a very rich and touching score by Carlos José Alvarez, following Sarah and Tom through the hardships of survival is an intimate journey.

By avoiding an excess of action-driven plot points, as you would expect from your average alien invasion film, this one comes across far more evocative and tense.

It reminded me a bit of Testament by Lynne Littman, but The Quiet Hour is the better cinematic experience of the two, and I guess somewhat more positive. (Not that any of them could really be called cheerful to the slightest.)