The Quiet Hour (2016)

Touches You

Instant Favorite.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Blistering performances.

OK, a blind guy that looks at everything, A smoking chimney when no one stokes a fire, a fish that burns as there is no oil ???? hello, fish are full of oil and what was wrong with steaming it ?, food in short supply yet carrots and spud were peeled instead of being scrubbed, lock all the downstairs windows and leave the upstairs ones open,, no one heard the vehicle drive up outside, search for an intruder with a gun pointing at the floor, a cut on Sarahs face that got worse and then better and then worse again.....who the hell did the continuation ?? lousy computer graphics where alien craft go behind the mother ship, wooden actors, terrible story line and a director that needs to go back to school to learn his profession....Simply awful. I had to watch it all just to see how bad it really was

I had the great pleasure of seeing The Quiet Hour at the Raindance screening in London and was hugely impressed. Everything about it is worthy of note - interesting original concept, great script, fantastic direction, top notch performances by the cast and fantastic production value. This sci-fi, post apocalyptic thriller tells the story of a young girl and her blind brother who do their best to survive in a world that has been torn apart by an invasion of mysterious aliens who kill all humans in sight. Their routine is interrupted by a wandering stranger, who may or may not have the best intentions... I couldn't believe this film was done on a low budget, the production value is absolutely excellent, it looks and feels like a very sophisticated production. This is what independent films should aspire to be like! Dakota Blue Richards delivers a truly superb performance as the lead, showing us just what she is capable of, and Karl Davies and Jack McMullen are equally convincing and excellent. Zeb Moore and Brigitte Millar are also worthy of note, absolutely rock their parts. Stephanie Joalland is clearly a very talented director, every shot is carefully and cleverly put together and, as a fan of post apocalyptic films in general, her use of the landscape and scenery is brilliant. I can't remember the last time I've seen such a good directorial debut! I am sure we will be seeing a lot more from her. Gripping from beginning to end and beautifully shot, I cannot praise and recommend this film enough - watch out for it because people will talk about it once it's released. Very much looking forward to Frenzy Films' next production!!

If you like post-apocalyptic films, the The Quiet Hour is a must-see. In a near future where an alien race has taken over Earth, a sister and her blind teenage brother must survive in a remote farmhouse on their own, with their mother and father both dead. But it's not just the aliens you have to watch out for. In this story the more immediate hostiles are other humans. Claustrophobic, tense, well-acted - Dakota Blue Richards (the Golden Compass) plays the lead as the older sister and is well supported by Karl Davies as her blind younger brother and Jack McCullen as the fugitive who takes refuge in their farmhouse. The sets are highly atmospheric and well-designed to capture the sense of a devastated world and the sound-track adds an emotional depth to the story. The Quiet Hour offers film goers an experience of isolation, courage and hope that is missing from most other films.

So often one sees hopeless work coming from a low budget — where the financial limitations of a production are translated into visible cracks in the films structure and production values. The same cannot be said of The Quiet Hour which imaginatively and creatively uses its financial limitations to its advantage and also deftly manages to work the things that count, such as decent camera equipment, locations, acting, CGI and narrative framework.The film focuses on the story of Sarah, a nineteen year old ex-veterinary student who has to defend her farm, blind younger brother and livestock not so much from the unseen alien predators that have arrived to pillage the earth of its natural resources as from a gang of bad guys who want to take over her farm. The action largely takes place in the house and surrounding grounds where director Stéphanie Joalland (in her feature debut) strikes a fine balance between building dramatic tension and fleshing out the characters.Given that this is primarily a slice of genre cinema it is refreshing that so much effort has gone into character development and performance. Also the backdrop of the alien apocalypse has been carefully considered, rendering the picture refreshingly devoid of plot holes. Highly recommended.