Director: Elio Quiroga
Starring: Silke, Julio Perillán
The One Where I Review The Dark Hour In Sixty Seconds
Do you think the final shot on a film can influence your opinion on it? In a good way, can enhance the whole experience? In a bad way, can it ruin what went before? It’s your final impression. Your lasting image. That said, there are films, some of my favorites even, that I couldn’t think of the closing seconds. How it ends. Where am I going with this? Well, essentially, the closing shots of Dark Hour blew my mind a bit. That’s not to say I hadn’t liked what I had seen before it, but the closing seconds took it up a notch.
I’ve written enough film reviews on here now for you to know what I’m about. I love films. Live for them. With the screeners that Phil asked me to look at though, I realized I really try and look for the good in any film. Now if a film is bad (Hereafter), or disappointing (Hereafter), then I’ll say so. But if a film is “OK”, especially if it didn’t cost more than a small countries debt, chances are I’ll give it a pass.
Dark Hour is a sci fi, set in a post apocalyptic future. The genius of it is that we know from the outset our main characters are stuck underground. They can’t go up to the surface due to the surface being destroyed. We know this as we read the sub titles. That may put some of you off straight away. My test for any sub titled film is that you could switch them off and understand what was going on. Two recent examples where I put this to the test were Apocalypto and Pans Labyrinth. Try it.
Our characters are clichés really, but I found them all likeable enough. Bizarrely even the child actor. It’s no secret I hate most child actors, (Hereafter).
What we really want is for the “alien monster spider things” to escape. I hope that’s not spoiling anything for anyone. The back cover art shows them, and it’s the difference between a big budget film and a low budget one. Not the effects of the “alien monster spider things” themselves, but the artwork on the box. It simply doesn’t do the effects justice. I really liked them, and it took me back to other creature flicks that only I ever seemed to like. The Relic springs to mind.
We get everything we would want too, from a B Movie like this.
We get all the psudo religious stuff we would want from a post apocalyptic setting. We get the dark lighting, and sense of loneliness. (Cue sexy time being recorded! On a camcorder!) We get the tension when the “alien monster spider things” escape, and they have to look themselves away, and yes… yes… I didn’t want to give any spoilers, but I can confirm we get “alien monster spider things VISION”. Amen to that.
Of course we also get *that* ending. And I’m over exaggerating to say it kicked this up a notch for me. That and the “alien monster spider things”.
Has anyone seen it? What did you think?
