TI H
Well, this movie is about a shut-in author during the infamous Summer of Sam (1977), a year I myself was too young to comprehend. Naomi Watts's character, June, believes she's being harassed, because someone on the outside is ringing her door buzzer but won't speak to her. /////////////
This movie heralded that it was going to be slow right from the opening credits, but I perked up when the delivery guy showed and good acting ensued. That was an intriguing interaction. Suddenly, however, the plot got really boring. So, I decided it was time to get to the buzzer stalker person, introduced earlier, which in filmmaker's terms means the exact middle of Act II, which is when the Law states that something big must happen (trust me, it's in the Bible). I laughed when I clicked dead center on the progress bar and, yup, that door buzzer was going off again. The buzzer acts as sort of a motif in the film, perhaps a wake-up call for our protagonist to do something different in life. It's not scary, though. This movie isn't quite horror. Rather, it's so depressing that you feel unsettled.
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I hate that I'm so needy of a plot that moves. So much about this film is good, if you like quiet moodiness and a sense of isolation and even dread. There's a lot of art in this movie, and for that reason, it might deserve a long look (you form your own opinion). I'll betcha a film student could enlighten me and give me a new perspective. I love it when that happens, when a dull movie becomes masterful.
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It's difficult to pin down the logline of The Wolf Hour. I suppose you could say that the film is "a shut-in's quest to overcome her fear and reenter the outside world during the riots of 1977," but I never really know what she wants during the film. She orders food. She talks to an old friend. She orders a sex worker. . .and then suddenly, she needs to go outside. Does she make it, and what does it mean if she doesn't? Well. . .that's for you to decide. ////////////////////
The denouement comes quickly--abruptly--and I felt very little of anything about June's ending. This is one of those movies that I WANT to like, TRIED to like, and ended up kind of liking. Still, only a fresh perspective will ever make me watch it again.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
04/20/25
Full Review
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 1.5/5 Stars •
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 4/5 Stars •
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 2.5/5 Stars •
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 2/5 Stars •
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 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
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