These Final Hours

These Final Hours is a 2013 Australian sci-fi apocalyptic thriller film written and directed by Zak Hilditch and starring Nathan Phillips and Angourie Rice. It was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.[4]

These Final Hours
Theatrical release poster
Directed byZak Hilditch
Produced byLiz Kearney
Written byZak Hilditch
Starring
Music byCornel Wilczek
CinematographyBonnie Elliott
Edited byNick Meyers
Production
companies
  • 8th in Line
  • XYZ Films
Distributed byRoadshow Films
Release date
  • 2 August 2013 (2013-08-02) (Melbourne IFF)
  • 31 July 2014 (2014-07-31) (Australia)
Running time
87 minutes[1]
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.5 million[2]
Box office$360,234 (Australia)[3]

Plot

The film takes place in Perth, and begins ten minutes after an asteroid has collided with earth in the North Atlantic, leaving approximately twelve hours until the subsequent global firestorm reaches Western Australia. James and his lover, Zoe, are having sex for the last time at her beach house, where she reveals that she is pregnant with James' child. Wishing to block out all feelings and avoid what's coming, James berates Zoe for sharing her news and leaves for "the party to end all parties".

After having his car stolen, he comes across two men who have kidnapped a young girl and are planning to rape her. James kills them, and rescues the girl. The girl, named Rose, explains that she was separated from her father in Malaga en route to her aunt's house in Roleystone. Without enough petrol, and wishing to get to his party, James instead plans to leave her with his sister and her children. But upon arriving, he finds his sister and her husband dead in the shower, and three crosses marking what appear to be his nieces' graves, in what is an apparent murder suicide.

Other attempts at locating Rose's dad, or someone to leave her with, have sobering results, and James eventually heads to the party with Rose in tow. The party is overflowing with people, a game of Russian roulette is being played, and an orgy is going on inside the house. James is noticeably uncomfortable and appears to want to leave. James meets with the host of the party, Freddy, whose sister is James' girlfriend, Vicki. James leaves Rose in the pool to speak with Vicki. In a reversal of the earlier scene with Zoe, James attempts to share a serious moment with Vicki, only for her to berate him for bringing her down with his news.

Vicki shows James a bunker built underneath Freddy's garage, which obviously does not have sufficient food, protection, or space for the miraculous survival Vicki envisions. James tells Vicki and Freddy that they will all die, even with the bunker. Freddy's reaction to this statement informs Vicki that her brother had known this all along. James accepts that his death is inevitable and cannot be blocked out, and commits himself to reuniting Rose with her family.

Meanwhile, outside, a drug-affected woman follows Rose, claiming that she is her daughter, Mandy. When James finally comes back outside to find Rose, she is hallucinating and vomiting after being coerced into taking an ecstasy pill, with the woman leaning over her. James tries to leave the party with Rose, causing the woman to scream that he is kidnapping her child. Freddy holds James at gunpoint, before Vicki calmly takes the gun and shoots the woman, telling James to go.

James drives Rose to his estranged mother's house, with whom he reconciles whilst Rose recovers. She gives James petrol and Rose some old clothes, and the pair leave for Rose's aunt's house. Upon arrival, nobody seems to be home, but James finds the bodies of Rose's family, including her father, outside in what seems to be a mass suicide. Although hysterical at the news of her father's death, Rose insists on seeing him. James comforts her and brings her his body, and they lay him by a pond with flowers as she tells him that her dad wanted them to be together for the end. James then confides in Rose about his relationship with Zoe and her pregnancy, which leads him to realise his love for her. Rose convinces him to make amends with her while he still can. He heeds her advice, and the two share an emotional farewell before James leaves. His car overheats on the highway as the firestorm approaches, and he runs for the rest of the way. He finds Zoe on the beach, watching the approaching firestorm. She is initially hostile towards James, however the two quickly reconcile and confess their mutual love. The pair then embrace, and turn towards the ocean as they are consumed by the firestorm, which marks the end of life on Earth.

Cast

Reception

Box office

These Final Hours opened in a limited release across Australia, grossing $360,234 throughout its entire theatrical run.[3]

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 83% of 52 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 7.03/10. The critical consensus states: "Writer-director Zak Hilditch's thought-provoking screenplay -- and a stellar performance from young Angourie Rice -- make These Final Hours worth watching, even if its end-of-the-world premise is overly familiar."[5] Metacritic rated the film 61 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]

Remake

In 2015, it was announced that EuropaCorp was planning an American remake, in which Hilditch would return to write, direct, and produce.[7]

References
  1. "These Final Hours (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  2. Quinn, Karl (28 July 2013). "Filmmakers' apocalyptic obsession will be the ruination of us all". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. "These Final Hours". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  4. "Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2014 lineup unveiled". Screendaily. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  5. "These Final Hours". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  6. "These Final Hours Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  7. Buckmaster, Luke (13 July 2015). "Hollywood's Australia Invasion". BBC Online. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
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