Product Details

• Actors: Kate Greenhouse, Aidan Devine, Gordon Currie, Iris Graham, Dov Tiefenbach
• Directors: Paul Fox
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Freestyle Releasing
• DVD Release Date: February 7, 2006
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CGX7FC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,751 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Dark Hours" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent Psychological Thriller, October 19, 2006

By 

R. Schultz (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dark Hours (DVD)

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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Squirmy Goodness, July 27, 2006

By 

Farffleblex Plaffington (Parnybarnel, Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Hours (DVD)

Director Paul Fox' The Dark Hours does one thing extremely well that is a staple of horror--it makes you squirm. This is a very disturbing, occasionally hard to watch film. Viewers with sensitive constitutions should be forewarned.

It's not so much that it's gory--although it is a bit, but Fox understands that the key to the effect he's shooting for is character development. So this is ultimately a small ensemble film--five characters in a couple of rooms, and we get to know all of these characters very well, thanks to both the writing, by Wil Zmak, and a fine set of performances. The characters are fully fleshed out and we can either identify and/or sympathize with them, so when some of them do terrible things to others, it has a lot more impact, and even when it's only a threat and there's nothing graphic about it, we feel it almost as if these events were happening to friends. The Dark Hours is very literally a psychological film, a fact reflected in its main character's occupation and the circumstances of the villainous characters.

It's also a "rubber reality" film--those are defined partially through "shifting" realities, where we as an audience, usually along with at least some characters, don't know quite what was real, if anything. After the recent spate of rubber reality films that all used essentially the same plot--including Stay (2005), The Jacket (2005), November (2004), The I Inside (2003), and eight or nine others going at least all the way back to Jacob's Ladder (1990) and the short The Awakening (1990)--The Dark Hours very refreshingly uses different kinds of twists in its questionably hallucinatory succession of scenes. The ending of the film is clear enough while still being nicely ambiguous. There is also an alternate ending on the DVD that is less ambiguous, but I don't think it works nearly as well. More ambiguity is better in a film like this.

And if you want themes and subtexts, Fox has them here in spades, including the desperation of those who know they're dying, the classic "who's crazy" conundrum between psychiatric professionals and their patients, and the turmoil of disintegrating relationships.

But you don't have to pay attention to that stuff to enjoy this excellent film. Just sit back and squirm.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was very pleased..., February 16, 2006

By 

monster trucker - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Hours (DVD)

I don't understand why this movie isn't more popular. It, honestly, is one of the best thrillers I've seen in a while. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and it definitely kept me captivated. Everything is really good: the acting, the directing, the cinematography, the music, everything. Kate Greenhouse plays her role perfectly and Paul Fox does a great job putting this film together. And the plot is simple yet it's really creative (the twists totally caught me off guard). All in all, if you're looking for a thriller, this is one of the better ones out there.