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The Wolf Hour

R Released Dec 6, 2019 1h 39m Mystery & Thriller List
44% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 44% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings
An unseen tormentor harasses a reclusive author as a citywide blackout triggers fires, looting and escalating violence during the Summer of Sam in New York in 1977. Read More Read Less
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The Wolf Hour

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The Wolf Hour

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Critics Consensus

Naomi Watts gives it her all in The Wolf Hour, but it isn't enough to compensate for a film that spends too much of its runtime in search of a compelling story.

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Critics Reviews

View All (25) Critics Reviews
Danny Leigh Financial Times Watts is left to do the heavy lifting as she has done so often, bringing her character shimmering into life, as real as if you were there in that sweatbox apartment with her - even this far from Mulholland Drive. Rated: 3/5 Apr 15, 2020 Full Review Beatrice Loayza AV Club The Wolf Hour begins to feel strangely like an allegory for the paranoid fears of white women in a world of scary Black men. Rated: C Dec 9, 2019 Full Review Tomris Laffly RogerEbert.com Like the sheltered loner at its center, The Wolf Hour feels jailed amongst a string of half-realized ideas, too intimidated to step outside and tackle them head-on. Rated: 2/4 Dec 6, 2019 Full Review Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine This is sort of like Repulsion with zero thrills or sick laughs, a glum ’70s reconstruction rendered in a decidedly contemporary way that doesn’t illuminate then or now. Jan 4, 2023 Full Review Prahlad Srihari Firstpost It draws out an exceptional performance from Watts as she sweats, shudders and strives to sustain the film for its full duration by herself...But the film really inspires more yawns than scares. Jul 23, 2020 Full Review Danny Brogan Common Sense Media Claustrophobic thriller goes nowhere despite sense of peril. Rated: 2/5 Apr 3, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (23) audience reviews
Jeff M I found this movie under the category "Fright Fest" on Kanopy, and I should seriously consider suing them for false advertising. This is the least frightening movie I've ever seen - I've seen Tom & Jerry cartoons that were more suspenseful. I don't want to give anything away, but what's most frustrating of all is that the one ongoing situation that is supposed to be creating the terror is never explained and basically just forgotten. It feels as though the filmmaker here was trying to make some kind of social statement in addition to the alleged thrills and chills, but it fails on basically every imaginable level. Watts tries hard - maybe too hard. The performance feels very "effortful" for lack of a better word. Other characters come and go for a scene and are never heard from again. The background of Watts' character is briefly mentioned but not enough to believe the transition at the end. It feels like a one-act off-off Broadway show that closed after 5 performances. All in all, a very unpleasant experience. And, again, not a scare to be found for miles. Just irritation. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/24 Full Review Rosana B Filme claustrofóbico, angustiante, triste e solitário... Tão pertinente ante a quarentena de COVID, uma boa analogia e referência utilizando-se da onda de calor e blecaute acontecido em 1977 e tempos atuais, bem como o assédio referenciado na época dos acontecimentos do "verão de Sam" um serial killer... As cenas, amareladas, opacas e quentes, pessoas suadas, nos dá calor e angústia em alguns momentos... Muito, embora lento, quase monótono... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Naomi Watts is one of the most gifted and underrated actresses of our time. She commands this role as a depressed author sheltered in a Manhattan tenement apartment during the height of the Son of Sam murders. She is being tormented by a stranger, or is she? As the story unfolds we learn that her novel caused a family uproar and may have contributed to her father's death. The attention to dated details is very, very good. The cinematography is well done. The sense of heat, humidity, and filth in Watts' apartment is palpable. This is more like a play than a movie in some ways. The movie is a one woman show and, while Watts is commanding, I do see how one might find it slow as it was advertised as a thriller and is more of a psychological drama with the emphasis on drama. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review dennis q These two stars are for Naomi Watts alone. She was great, but sadly it wasn't enough to carry a severely lackluster plot and flat story-arch. The first 2/3rds of the movie felt like one big red herring; by the end it was totally disjointed. It was billed as a mystery/ thriller but the only mystery it poses is, ‘what's the point?' Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review emperor s Despite such an interesting premise, the film's a drag. For all the time devoted to a paranoid build up, it doesn't even pay off. Its just a great bag of nothing. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Omg it was sooooo boring. Nothing really happened. And I mean nothing! Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Wolf Hour

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis An unseen tormentor harasses a reclusive author as a citywide blackout triggers fires, looting and escalating violence during the Summer of Sam in New York in 1977.
Director
Alistair Banks Griffin
Producer
Bailey Conway, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Bradley Pilz
Screenwriter
Alistair Banks Griffin
Distributor
Brainstorm Media
Production Co
Automatik Entertainment, HanWay Films, Bradley Pilz Productions
Rating
R (Language|Brief Sexuality/Nudity)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 6, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2020
Runtime
1h 39m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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