These Final Hours (2013)

Nathan Phillips stars here as James, a selfish mess of a young man who is trying to get to a party, and to his girlfriend. He wants to get drunk and messy, but ends up distracted from his main journey by a young girl (Rose, played by Angourie Rice) he ends up saving from some dangerous pedophiles. The two head along to the party, an occasion with added significance for being the last one that many will attend. The world is about to end, you see, and people are making choices about how to spend their last living moments. Many want to break rules and wallow in excess and debauchery, some just want to find the right person with which to shuffle off the mortal coil.

Written and directed by Zak Hilditch, These Final Hours is a very good film, technically speaking, that just didn’t resonate with me. I finally checked this out after friends mentioned it recently, and nobody really had a bad word to say about it, so I expected good things. Weirdly, I can recognise all of the individual moments that should affect and move me. They just didn’t work, mainly because this film feels so derivative of many other films in this specific sub-genre without ever really committing to any specific tone. You have moments of tension, but they are too fleeting. You have moments of strong emotion, but they are often held in check by the characters. You have a good central relationship between James and Rose, but it already begins with everyone knowing that they won’t have much time together.

Phillips and Rice are both excellent in their roles, believable and easy to root for, especially when compared to almost everyone else appearing in the movie. Sarah Snook makes a strong impression as a woman who sees her own daughter in Rose, Daniel Henshall is the party host, and both Kathryn Beck and Jessica de Gouw play the main women figuring in plans that James has for his last day of life. Lynette Curran also deserves a mention, onscreen for a key scene between James and his mother.

I cannot put my finger on why I didn’t like this as much as so many other people. I like the cast, I like the journey that the main characters go on, I like the decisions made by Hilditch to avoid providing any easy escape, or deus ex machine, for his leads. I just didn’t truly settle in to the full experience, and I was always wondering about the many different directions this could have gone in, to make the film a bit darker or lighter. Maybe it hits a bit differently after seeing how awful human beings can be when there’s even a hint of something affecting their day to day lives, which makes the behaviours shown here far from shocking. Or maybe I am just growing a bit more heartless and/or stoic in my “old age”. 

5/10

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Bonus review: The Babadook (2014)

When I watched the trailer for The Babadook I was worried that I'd figured out what the whole film was about. In fact, I thought the trailer was just one big spoiler for those who could figure out one or two possible directions for the movie. I was slightly wrong, but only because writer-director Jennifer Kent never seems sure of what direction to take the movie in, at any point.

The film focuses on a struggling mother, Amelia (Essie Davis), and her difficult son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman). Amelia lost her husband, Samuel's father, in a car crash that occurred before Samuel was born, which has led to her grieving ever since. Samuel realises this, of course, and veers between unconditionally loving his mum and also mourning for a father that he never knew. So when the two start being spooked by the titular babadook, it doesn't take long for their fragile minds to look ready to crack wide open.

Lots and lots of people will line up to tell you that The Babadook is one of the best horror movies to be released in recent years. I'd certainly advise at least giving it a watch, because I seem to be in a minority with my dislike of the thing. For me, the main characters never felt even remotely likable (not always a necessity, but helpful when dealing with such dark material), the scares weren't all that scary, and the psychological layering just didn't do enough right to make up for so many wrongs.

Davis and Wiseman are both very good in their roles, with the latter particularly impressive, especially during the second half of the movie, but they're given very little to work with. Davis has to act like a woman getting down to her last frayed nerve, and she does, while Wiseman is either wandering around like a grimy orphan or being as aggravating as possible. Whatever explanation you go with, and the film indulges itself in allowing for pretty much any interpretation, the actions of the main characters just don't seem to make sense. Daniel Henshall has a few scenes, and is a welcome presence, and there are some other peripheral characters, but this is mainly about Amelia, Samuel and the babadook.

Kent shows that she's got talent, especially in the many scenes overtly showing the effects of deteriorating mental health, and it's always good to see another rare horror movie released that seems aimed squarely at adults, yet that also makes it more disappointing that the end result is such a squandered opportunity. The visuals are impressively dark and messy, as is the tone. Unfortunately, both start to work against one another, grinding up the thin characters in between them.

Worth your time? Yes it is. The modern masterpiece that many are calling it? Not for me, obviously, but you may find yourself agreeing with them. I'll just stand in a corner, glaring at people, muttering, and making rude hand gestures. As usual.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Babadook/dp/B00O20UHDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415020282&sr=8-1&keywords=the+babadook