Silent Hours Review: A Long And Confusing Hunt

Release date: October 8, 2021
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed By: Mark Greenstreet 
Writen By: Aharon Keshales, Kai Mark, and Navot Papushado
Starring: Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey),  Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Susie Amy, Tom Beard, Annie Cooper, Elizabeth Healey, and James Webber Brown

When three women are brutally murdered in four nights, private detective John Duval, ex-lieutenant commander in Naval Intelligence, finds himself the prime suspect in a police hunt for the sexual killer stalking Portsmouth's silent hours.

Silent Hours has a complex, mysterious story and a sinister, noir vibe.  The film's main protagonist, a private detective, is tasked with watching and stalking individuals; so the main theme of a serial killer who is also watching victims is a symbiotic one.  And the voyeuristic aspects are interesting, with the private detective watching some very intimate details, presumably for his job.  The film also has a decent amount of intrigue and mystery as you try to solve these murders, and decent practical effects for the murders themselves.

However, Silent Hours is a long, convoluted story and part way through it just did not keep my interest.  The film is far too long, with many arcs, some reveals, and a whole other segment after the main one.  The story is mysterious but also the mystery is intentionally obfuscated.  The protagonist is a good type A personality, but the story eventually devolved to women throwing themselves at him.  I'm not sure if this was part of the story or just a riff on the old noir films that inspired this, but either way it just felt manufactured.  And although the practical effects are well done, there are certain body parts that just look off.  And the non practical effects are not well done, mainly a flashback that the main character experiences that really broke my suspension of disbelief.  

Silent Hours is not a bad way to kill time, but the long story and overly complicated case might make this a mystery you don't want to solve.

Pass on it.

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Silent Hours is available in theaters, digitally, and on demand on October 8, 2021.  

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