The first thing that I noticed while watching THE DARK HOURS, is that it felt like an amalgamation of several films that I've already seen. Most similar to Michael Haneke's FUNNY GAMES, there are also some elements that reminded me of the Australian film, THE UGLY, and a dash of FIGHT CLUB to round it out. Luckily, THE DARK HOURS never really came off like a direct rip of any of these films, but I can't say that I found the plot extremely original either. The second thing I noticed, was that even for someone like me who usually can't guess the outcome of films prior to their ending - this one was TOTALLY predictable.
A female psychologist with a serious brain-tumor heads up to a cabin where her husband and sister are staying. The trio is greeted by a psychotic young man, and later by the psychiatrist's number-one patient - a psychopath who has the same brain-ailment. Things get tense for the group when the patient decides to play doctor and forces the family into participating in a few of his sadistic but revealing games...
THE DARK HOURS is a decent way to blow an hour and a half, but I also wouldn't suggest expecting too much out of it. The acting and direction of this film is what saves it, as the performances add a lot of tension to what would otherwise be a derivative and extremely predictable film. A relatively solid film that would have been far better had it not played it's cards so early...7/10
A female psychologist with a serious brain-tumor heads up to a cabin where her husband and sister are staying. The trio is greeted by a psychotic young man, and later by the psychiatrist's number-one patient - a psychopath who has the same brain-ailment. Things get tense for the group when the patient decides to play doctor and forces the family into participating in a few of his sadistic but revealing games...
THE DARK HOURS is a decent way to blow an hour and a half, but I also wouldn't suggest expecting too much out of it. The acting and direction of this film is what saves it, as the performances add a lot of tension to what would otherwise be a derivative and extremely predictable film. A relatively solid film that would have been far better had it not played it's cards so early...7/10