Watch Desperate Hours
- R
- 1990
- 1 hr 45 min
-
5.4 (8,651)
Desperate Hours is a 1990 drama thriller movie directed by Michael Cimino and based on the screenplay by Joseph Hayes. The film stars Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Mimi Rogers, Kelly Lynch, Lindsay Crouse, Elias Koteas, and David Morse. The storyline of Desperate Hours revolves around a family that is held hostage by a group of escaped convicts who invade their house. Michael Bosworth (Mickey Rourke) is the leader of the group who had planned this escape with his fellow inmates, Albert (Elias Koteas) and Wally (David Morse) from the prison. After escaping from the prison, they find their way to a secluded area in the countryside and break into the house of the Cornell family led by Nora Cornell (Mimi Rogers), a divorced mother who lives there with her two children, May (Kelly Lynch) and Zack (Shawnee Smith).
Upon breaking into the house, the convicts take the family members hostage and hold them in captivity in their own home. In a terrifying turn of events, the hostages are forced to cooperate with their captors, and as desperation sets in, they begin to hatch a plan to overpower their captors and escape.
Enter, Timothy Cornell (Anthony Hopkins), the estranged ex-husband of Nora Cornell who had been away in New York for work. Upon his return, he discovers the dangerous situation his family is in and quickly devises a plan to save his loved ones from captivity. Knowing his ex-wife's house inside out, he sets out to gain information and establish communication with the outside world. With the help of the police and the FBI, he tries to negotiate with the ruthless convicts to release the hostages.
While the movie starts at a slower pace, the tension gradually builds up, and it soon becomes a high-octane thriller filled with unpredictable twists and turns. The film takes viewers through the psychological tussle between the captors and the hostages, highlighting the various traumas that each of them is facing.
Desperate Hours is a classic crime drama with an excellent cast that delivers strong performances throughout the movie. Mickey Rourke is convincing in his psychopathic portrayal of the greedy convict leader Michael Bosworth, who is determined to get what he wants at any cost, and Anthony Hopkins shines as the ex-husband Timothy Cornell, who is just as determined to save his family.
The movie has a well-crafted script, with plenty of suspenseful moments that keep the viewers on edge throughout. The intense showdown at the climax of the movie is the highlight of the film, as the nail-biting cat and mouse game between the convicts and their hostages culminates in a dramatic finale.
In conclusion, Desperate Hours is an intense and thrilling movie that keeps the audience engaged throughout. The well-executed direction, gripping storyline, and great acting performances make it a must-watch for fans of the thriller genre.
Desperate Hours is a 1990 mystery with a runtime of 1 hour and 45 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.4 and a MetaScore of 33.