The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The Desperate Hours
Crime · Thriller · 1955
Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.
Movie details
The Desperate Hours
“A reign of violence sweeps the screen.”
1955 Crime · Thriller 1h 52m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Desperate Hours?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Girl in the Basement
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Sara is a teen girl who is looking forward to her 18th birthday to move away from her controlling father Don. But before she could even blow out the candles, Don imprisons her in the basement of their home.
The Call
Crime · 2013
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
Trapped
Thriller · 2002
When their daughter is abducted by experienced kidnappers, the Jennings turn the tables on their seemingly fool-proof plan.
Don't Breathe
Horror · 2016
A group of teens break into a blind man's home thinking they'll get away with the perfect crime. They're wrong.
Butterfly on a Wheel
Crime · 2007
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
Alpha Dog
Crime · 2006
Johnny Truelove likes to see himself as tough. He's the son of an underworld figure and a drug dealer. Johnny also likes to get tough when things don't go his way. When Jake Mazursky fails to pay up for Johnny, things get worse for the Mazursky family, as Johnny and his 'gang' kidnap Jake's 15 year old brother and hold him hostage.
Panic Room
Crime · 2002
Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.
Protector
Action · 2026
Nikki's life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Crime · 1986
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
No Good Deed
Crime · 2014
Terri is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin, a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him but soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished as she finds herself fighting for survival when he invades her home and terrorizes her family.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
William Wyler
Written by
Joseph Hayes
Humphrey Bogart
Glenn Griffin
Fredric March
Daniel C. Hilliard
Arthur Kennedy
Deputy Sheriff Jesse Bard
Martha Scott
Eleanor 'Ellie' Hilliard
Dewey Martin
Hal Griffin
Gig Young
Chuck Wright
Mary Murphy
Cynthia 'Cindy' Hilliard
Court is in session
Put The Desperate Hours on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.