The Desperate Hour is a 2021 thriller about a mother single-handedly trying to save her son in a tense school shooter situation. Originally titled Lakewood
Directed by Phillip Noyce from a screenplay written by Chris Sparling.
The movie stars Naomi Watts, Colton Gobbo and Sierra Maltby.
Plot:
Recently widowed mother Amy Carr (Naomi Watts) is doing her best to restore normalcy to the lives of her young daughter and teenage son in their small town.
While she’s taking a jog in the woods, she discovers that the town has been thrown into chaos as there is a lunatic shooter at her son’s school. Miles away on foot in the dense forest, Amy desperately races against time to save her son…
Reviews:
“I’m sure Lakewood had its heart in the right place, and Watts, gosh love her, is really trying, since she’s pretty much the only person on screen for most of the movie. But every step Amy takes towards the school is another misstep the movie makes, and by the time she gets to her destination, we’ve already mentally checked out.” /Film
“A couple minor flaws aside (Amy has some great cell service and phone battery for being so deep in the woods!), Lakewood is a well-made thriller that succeeded in freaking me out and drawing tears by the time it concluded […] Lakewood’s approach through a parent’s perspective in real-time is heartbreaking, horrifying, and upsetting all at once.” Josh at the Movies
“Stunningly incompetent when it’s not being offensively exploitative, this is an infuriating film, one that has the nerve to suggest that what it really takes to stop school shootings is attentive mothers before arriving at a coda that’s arguably even more offensive than that, if you can believe it.” RogerEbert.com
“For nearly an hour, Watts runs/jogs/limps while frantically calling and texting and GPS-ing, and if you think that sounds thrilling, it’s not, especially when it’s a snap to guess the development about the “ongoing incident” that, when she hears it (and it seems to take forever to get there), will knock Amy for a loop.” The Wrap
Release:
In the US, The Desperate Hour will be released theatrically in select locations, on Digital and On-Demand (VOD) on February 25th 2022.
Filming locations:
North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Trailer:
