The Desperate Hour

PG-13

Released Feb 25, 2022

1 hr. 24 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

TRAILER

for The Desperate Hour: Trailer 1

List

28%

79 Reviews

Tomatometer

Unfolding in real time, THE DESPERATE HOUR is a "riveting and pulse pounding" thriller from award-winning director Phillip Noyce. Recently widowed mother Amy Carr (Academy Award®-nominee Naomi Watts) is doing her best to restore normalcy to the lives of her young daughter and teenage son in their small town. As she's on a jog in the woods, she finds her town thrown into chaos as a shooting takes place at her son's school. Miles away on foot in the dense forest, Amy desperately races against time to save her son.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Sep 05

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Hulu

Prime Video

Apple TV

Watch The Desperate Hour with a subscription on Hulu, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Naomi Watts gives it her all, but The Desperate Hour falls short as a thriller as well as social commentary.

Read Critics Reviews

GoogleJo & Co

It was OK although very repetitive during the middle of the movie and a mother worrying about her teenage son did some very strange things. The iPhone messaging and calling was too much and shots of her falling and limping were followed by her walking and even running without any discomfort. Then the next shot she was running fine and then next scene she was limping. She even got concussed! So some appalling continuity.. The end piece tacked on with her teenage son appealing to families to watch their kids more was totally unnecessary. The movie should have told that message without it The final meeting with her son was a relief but also from us not having to hear all that phoning. There should have been more back story with her relationship with her son and why it deteriorated after her husband /his father died. It would have been much more moving. The star, Naomi Watts, was on the screen the whole time and I wish my iPhone had a battery in it that lasted so long and have a range that could fine internet coverage in a remote woodland. She did as good a job as anyone could dealing with that script and talking to so many voices over a cell phone! It was not as bad as some of the 1 and 2 stars out of 10 reviews would suggest. They must be the super-hero, non stop, crazy noisy action brigade. But the movie, "The Desperate Hour", sadly was not great.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/12/22

Full Review

Jerome L

Slow (in fact, very slow) developing but then totally engrossing film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/22

Full Review

Dave V

I would not call it epic by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not as bad as everyone is saying. I found it interesting and some good plot twists. It is not a bad movie. I enjoyed it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

Jacob M

Very boring plot and slow pacing

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

Full Review

Jayson F

I was reading a bunch of reviews and it seems like most of them are all fake reviews that say nothing about the movie I thought the movie was pretty good pretty much focused on just her. It had some tense moments sad moments and some endearing moments. I don't think people like movies about things that are so close to home like a school shooting.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

Diego M

I'm only giving this a half star because that's the lowest I can give it. Such a terrible movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Phillip Noyce

Director

Naomi Watts

Amy Carr

Colton Gobbo

Noah Carr

Sierra Maltby

Emily

Chris Sparling

Screenwriter

David Boies

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

4%

23%

Shut In

TRAILER

for Shut In

88%

90%

Missing

TRAILER

for Missing

7%

36%

Dream House

17%

21%

The Intruders

52%

83%

Strange but True

TRAILER

for Strange but True

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Desperate Hour: Trailer 1

1:56

View more videos

View more photos

Brad Newsome

Sydney Morning Herald

Naomi Watts runs herself ragged, but this unsatisfying thriller from director Phillip Noyce doesn’t rank alongside Dead Calm and Rabbit Proof Fence at the apex of his oeuvre.

Mar 10, 2022

Full Review

Mark Kennedy

Associated Press

It turns out watching an hour of Watts breathing heavily as she runs and gets more frantic, her eyes ever widening, isn’t that much fun.

Rated: 1/4

Feb 25, 2022

Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

A film where it's clear that everyone involved is operating at the peak of of their skills, yet the whole is so misguided that the result is still awful.

Rated: 1.5/4

Feb 25, 2022

Full Review

Maxance Vincent

InSession Film

Its misguided script, the senseless exploitation of real school shooting victims to redeem Naomi Watts’ character automatically makes it one of the worst movies of the year and one to never watch.

Rated: D-

Mar 6, 2024

Full Review

Emiliano Basile

EscribiendoCine

The film can be summed up by a shot of Naomi Watts talking on the phone with the forest behind her. This image becomes tiresome and unsatisfactory as we yearn to see something else, but that never happens. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/10

Nov 1, 2022

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

The decision to explore grief through the tragedy of others doesn’t land well at all. Especially a tragedy that’s so real and devastating as a school shooting.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 16, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Unfolding in real time, THE DESPERATE HOUR is a "riveting and pulse pounding" thriller from award-winning director Phillip Noyce. Recently widowed mother Amy Carr (Academy Award®-nominee Naomi Watts) is doing her best to restore normalcy to the lives of her young daughter and teenage son in their small town. As she's on a jog in the woods, she finds her town thrown into chaos as a shooting takes place at her son's school. Miles away on foot in the dense forest, Amy desperately races against time to save her son.

Director: Phillip Noyce
Executive Producer: Tyler Zacharia, Devin Andre, Alex Tong, Theo James, Aaron Kaplan
Screenwriter: Chris Sparling
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: Untapped, Stratagem Pictures, Boies / Schiller Film Group, Limelight, JamTart Productions, Stratagem RX
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Content|Some Strong Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 25, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 25, 2022

Most Popular at Home Now