If you're a Horror fan such as myself, you must have noticed by now that this profound underrated genre has a few different types of films, other than having a few sub-genres. The Dark Hours, a Canadian production, is much like a combination between Funny Games (where two psychopathic killers take a family hostage and forces then to play sadistic games) and any film (take your pick) where the protagonist can't tell fantasy from reality due to a mental condition.
In some films, the effects of fear and unpleasantness are achieved by frightening and startling the spectators, often using cheap cheats like sudden loud music. Not such is the case in The Dark Hours. In this film, the audience is, in a way, tortured along with the characters.
Nothing makes a good Horror film great like some unexpected and surprising twists. In this film - what at first bothered me was the fact that the questions asked aren't fully answered. Meaning, the audience can't know for sure what really happened, and what didn't. Eventually, I realized that this feature was exactly what made this film what it is.
What's real? What really happened, and what happened only in the protagonist's imagination? Come the film's end - you'll be debating with your friends (or yourself), as the film provides "half-proofs" to support or disprove any theory.
Personally, I prefer it when the twists and endings of films do in fact answer all the the questions the original story plants in the spectators' minds, making us go "Ohhhhhh, now I get it!". Still, I really appreciate the M.O this film uses to invoke confusion and despair.
I do think tagging this film "sci-fi" is pretty inaccurate, but I guess this is a matter of personal interpretation like almost everything else about it.
All in all, The Dark Hours proved to be an original and mind-blowing film, taking the audience for a ride of questions and confusion. For me - that has really done the trick. Very highly recommended for any Horror fan who enjoys it when films successfully mess with their minds!
In some films, the effects of fear and unpleasantness are achieved by frightening and startling the spectators, often using cheap cheats like sudden loud music. Not such is the case in The Dark Hours. In this film, the audience is, in a way, tortured along with the characters.
Nothing makes a good Horror film great like some unexpected and surprising twists. In this film - what at first bothered me was the fact that the questions asked aren't fully answered. Meaning, the audience can't know for sure what really happened, and what didn't. Eventually, I realized that this feature was exactly what made this film what it is.
What's real? What really happened, and what happened only in the protagonist's imagination? Come the film's end - you'll be debating with your friends (or yourself), as the film provides "half-proofs" to support or disprove any theory.
Personally, I prefer it when the twists and endings of films do in fact answer all the the questions the original story plants in the spectators' minds, making us go "Ohhhhhh, now I get it!". Still, I really appreciate the M.O this film uses to invoke confusion and despair.
I do think tagging this film "sci-fi" is pretty inaccurate, but I guess this is a matter of personal interpretation like almost everything else about it.
All in all, The Dark Hours proved to be an original and mind-blowing film, taking the audience for a ride of questions and confusion. For me - that has really done the trick. Very highly recommended for any Horror fan who enjoys it when films successfully mess with their minds!