Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- harrowing
- claustrophobic
- mournful
- stormy night
- survival thriller marathon
What critics said
Critics found the film's ingeniously simple survival premise effective at generating suspense, while overall reviews judged the execution mixed or average.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Nolan must repeatedly crank the hospital generator to keep his premature daughter's ventilator operating.
The largely abandoned New Orleans hospital becomes both refuge and trap as Katrina floods and disables the outside world.
Nolan remains at the hospital after his wife's death and personally sustains his daughter's life despite exhaustion and isolation.
The hurricane cuts hospital power and staffing, making a generator and manual labor the only barrier against the baby's death.
Films like Hours, and why
The Next Three Days
Shares a confined survival-thriller structure in which an ordinary protagonist faces escalating danger while protecting a vulnerable loved one.
The Impossible
Combines intimate family drama with catastrophe-driven suspense and a determined parent struggling against overwhelming circumstances.
The Finest Hours
Uses a high-pressure disaster scenario to explore parental devotion, endurance, and emotional loss.
Movie Details
- Director
- Eric Heisserer
- Release Date
- 2013-12-04
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (806)
Cast
- Paul Walker
- Natalia Safran
- Christopher Matthew Cook
- Nancy Nave
- Kerry Cahill
- Nick Gomez
- Tony Bentley
- Judd Lormand
- Lena Clark
- TJ Hassan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hours about?
- A grieving new father battles exhaustion, isolation, and a dead hospital generator to keep his premature daughter alive as Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans.
- What is Hours like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hours as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Hours violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Hours as mild.
- What did critics think of Hours?
- Critics found the film's ingeniously simple survival premise effective at generating suspense, while overall reviews judged the execution mixed or average.
- Which films are like Hours?
- Films with a similar feel include The Next Three Days, The Impossible, and The Finest Hours.
- How long is Hours?
- Hours runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hours?
- In United States, Hours streams on Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
