The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“Momentum is a formal choice.”
The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.
Back to trending 
The Desperate Hour
Thriller · 2022
A woman desperately races to save her child after police place her hometown on lockdown due to an active shooter incident.
Movie details
The Desperate Hour
“Time is running out.”
2022 Thriller 1h 24m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
5.0 / 10
9.2K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
27 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
35 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A woman desperately races to save her child after police place her hometown on lockdown due to an active shooter incident.
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 Hour?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
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.
Takedown
Thriller · 2000
Kevin Mitnick is quite possibly the best hacker in the world. Hunting for more and more information, seeking more and more cyber-trophies every day, he constantly looks for bigger challenges. When he breaks into the computer of a security expert and an ex-hacker, he finds one - and much more than that...
Nick of Time
Thriller · 1995
An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.
Black Widow
Thriller · 1987
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
No Name on the Bullet
Action · 1959
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Fast Track: No Limits
Action · 2008
Four young thrill-seekers race cars on the streets of Germany.
Race with the Devil
Action · 1975
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Crime · 1950
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Killer Bean Forever
Animation · 2008
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Silent Zone
Horror · 2025
In a zombie-ravaged world, a resourceful teen and her protector fight for survival, facing relentless dangers and testing the limits of hope and loyalty.
Eradication
Horror · 2022
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Phillip Noyce
Written by
Chris Sparling
Naomi Watts
Amy Carr
Colton Gobbo
Noah Carr
Sierra Maltby
Emily
Michelle Johnston
Heather (voice)
W
Woodrow Schrieber
Detective Paulson (voice)
David Reale
CJ (voice)
Jason Clarke
Greg Minor (voice)
Court is in session
Put The Desperate Hour on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Auteur Devotee
“Speed as an alibi.”
The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.