The Dark Hours (2005)

Dr. Samantha Goodman (Kate Greenhouse) is a beautiful young psychiatrist at an institute for the criminally insane. Burnt out she drives to the family s winter cottage to spend time with her husband and sister. A relaxing weekend is jarringly interrupted when a terrifying and unexpected guest arrives. Harlan Payne (Aidan Devine) is a violent sex offender and patient of the doctor. He has escaped from the hospital seeking revenge. Harlan is convinced Dr. Goodman once conducted experiments on him. What follows is an extraordinary night of terror and evil mind games where escape is not an option. System Requirements:Running Time 80 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 855280001137 Manufacturer No: FM0113DVD Product Description

A great looking psychological mind bender.

If you only like films with big explosions and shallow storylines, this isn't the film for you. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, twists and turns, indie, low-budget gems, then you will be pleasantly surprised. I am an avid film-lover, from the big Hollywood productions to the indie hand-held labors of love.

This is an intense, complex, psychological thriller that is acted very well. The direction and cinematography impressed me a great deal. I don't find many films with smart, layered scripts. For the first 15 minutes, I was a bit off-kilter. It did jump around. But, I found if I just relaxed and didn't try to figure everything out, the film ended up more enjoyable. It doesn't spell it out for you or hold your hand the way that most big budget films do. This is a thinking person's film.

Unlike some of the reviewers, I didn't find the ending confusing at all. I will say, though, that I did not like the alternate ending. While it was well-done, I thought it completely changed the tone and meaning of the story. I am one of those people who don't need a "happy ending" with all the questions tied up in a little bow. I like a little mystery. I like to stretch my mind.

There were some disturbing scenes in the film that may put some people off. Without giving too much away, the dog thing was very hard for me to watch. It was one of those, "it's only a movie!" moments for me. There is not much gore, but what there is, is cringe-worthy.

Overall, I recommend this film for those who want to mentally participate in the unfolding of a interesting and challenging story.
June 4, 2008

What? Excuse me? What really happened here?

I give this movie a 3 stars. Why? Because the actors in this movie are all very credible and do great performances. Its the kind of movie that once you start, you have to finish it to see where it goes. The only problem here, is what really happened? The movie ends and you re like, whos really dead and where did they go?... See it with an open mind. Oh, and remember this, games arent always fun to play with. May 25, 2008

Tense, thought-provoking, and quite bloody

Dark Hours was a lot better than I was expecting. Never hearing about this film prior to seeing it for rent, I was a bit skeptical. Luckily, I was really surprised by the character development and gritty realistic feel this film had. Contrary to other reviews, I did not have it all figured out from the start. I was pretty confused even as the credits were up and rolling. Confused in a good way. A way that made me want to go back and watch it all over again. Recommended. October 22, 2006

Intelligent Psychological Thriller

This is generally a worthwhile thriller, although for a little while I was afraid it was going to degenerate into just another repugnant case of sadistic home invasion. However the larger context rescues the film from that slush pile and advances it into some interesting psychological territory.

Similarly, I was leery of the fact that the bonus materials on the DVD listed "alternative endings." Alternative endings usually signal to me that the people who made the movie had no semblance of a coherent artistic vision, but were only interested in gauging what would sell the most tickets. However it turned out that the alternates here aren't a testing of wildly different conclusions, but are varying extensions of the same basic conclusion. It was just a question of how far to elaborate the one idea. So there was no compromise of integrity, casting about here, there, and everywhere for the biggest fish.

There are some lapses of logic along the way, and I'm not sure the surprises could stand close analysis. Nevertheless, the film held my attention, concentrating me into a dark place of anger and despair
October 19, 2006

Worthwhile in a studied way

The Dark Hours is an interesting Canadian synthesis/update of two ideas that can probably never be filmed too much--The House In the Woods and The Monster From the Id. Although it's not an especially great film, nor did it especially engage me in an emotional sense, it's rather a treat to see such a well-made horror movie--particularly given its budget. As revealed in the filmmakers' commentary, The Dark Hours counterbalances the glut of horror movies focused on screaming teens in the suburbs. It relies more on subtle and intelligently wrought moments than on squibs and prosthetics, although it makes some use of those goo-spewing tools. And other tools, for that matter. Also, there are some surprises if not outright twists here.

It's clear even without the commentary that the filmmakers love their chosen medium. References to other works and directors abound. Even so, the overall film has its own identity. And the actors' performances are uniformly realistic given the subject matter. All of which makes for a very believable (and enjoyably ambiguous) psychological horror/thriller movie worthy of thoughtful contemplation. September 27, 2006

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