dj clinch when i first started watching this movie I thought, ughh just another low budget drama film with a bunch of nobody actors. However, it turned out to be a surprisingly great movie... I was seamlessly entertained at the beginning, but gradually began to understand the meaning of the film. It's definitely not a classic, but something that everyone should see at some point in their life. I think it shows a good point in life. I also think that the casting was perfect for this type of film. If there were big name actors/actress' in this movie I don't think I would have liked it as much. It kind of struck me as an independent film. The acting was a little shaky but it has a great plot. Try to catch this movie on HBO late at night, I guarantee you will be glad you saw it.

Dr. Gore *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*A gas station attendant is bored with his low paying, sober existence. Peter Weller pulls up in a black Porsche and proceeds to get this party started. He wants to show Balthazar how to have a good time in L.A. after dark. Weller knows where all the hidden parties are. They start slow with some bars and some strip clubs. It's just a little taste for Getty to get excited. Then they advance to underground fights and S&M clubs. Getty starts to lose his soul with the freaks in late night Los Angeles. It may be gone for good.Peter Weller knows how to party. This guy never sleeps. He loves getting as depraved as possible every night. Getty cannot resist the temptation to party in the Shadow Hours with Weller. That pretty much sums up "Shadow Hours". It's the Weller party hours. Rebecca Gayheart shows up as Getty's concerned, pregnant wife. She frowns on all of Getty's nightlife activities. She's a downer, total buzz kill. Thanks to Weller, Getty knows how to have a good time. The movie might be trying to be some sort of cautionary tale about living life too fast or it may just be a B-movie with some cheap thrills. Either way, I enjoyed it. It was a party. Like all movies that try to show you the downside of living wildly, they also have to show you the upside to a wild, wild life. Getty was having more fun with Weller than he was pumping gas. Sometimes, you just gotta cut loose, footloose, kick off those Sunday shoes. Oooh wee.

Nick Dets The devil feeds from your weaknesses and enstills good in temptation. "Shadow Hours" definitely understands this, and shows an interesting Lucifer who dwells in the seedy underworld of Los Angelos. To say the least, I wasn't blown away by the story's originality, but director Isaac H. Eaton has some brilliant style tricks to keep it fun and intriguing. He is an adroit director working with a mediocre script, and the results are surprisingly good. Balthazaar Ghetty plays Michael Halloway, a recovering alcoholic who tries to support himself as well as his wife Chloe by working at a seedy gas station on graveyard shift. In this environment, he's bound to see some interesting things. It seems everyone who comes through has exhausted themselves with something...most likely some sort of sin. They are all running on empty as they scurry through the night. There are wonderful sequences where gas meters rise as different things happen, communicating this theme perfectly. Anyway, he runs into a mugger and a homeless man (who symbolizes his bottom of the barrel outlook), but most importantly, a writer named Stuart Chappell (played by Peter Weller, in easily one of his best performances). Chappell has a strange fixation on Michael, and he takes care of him, clothing him with nice suits, and giving him tons of money to gamble. From the start, it is obvious this guy's a little shady, however. He neglects the fact that Michael is recovering on AA and influences him to start drinking again. Soon, he plunges Michael into a truly harrowing underworld of fight clubs, gambling, drugs and sex. In one of the most disturbing scenes of recent memory, they go to a bondage club where people get sadomasochistic pleasure from torture. At first, I was angry that Eaton would use this smut to manipulate his audience into feeling shocked (like how Todd Solondz did in his terrible film "Happiness"). Then I realized, Chappell, a satan figure, is indeed masochistic in that he feeds off his victim's pain. Little did Michael know as he looked at these twisted acts, that he was being used as a partner to Chappell's atrocity. When Michael becomes closer with Chappell, he realizes how much of a lie this man really is. But the perks of being with him are too great, and soon Michael goes too deep into the dark side, hurting Chloe and damaging the new life he forged after leaving AA. I didn't like how the film ends. It takes an easy (and largely taken) way out, keeping itself on a level of simplicity. I believe Eaton is a genius director, but he sells himself short in "Shadow Hours". I did like a lot of things in this film. I loved the performances by Getty (who also produced), and more so Peter Weller. He plays Stuart as attractive, fun and seemingly caring, but always dark somewhere deep. I liked how the story was paced and told, but it is lacking in overall freshness. (2 and 1/2 out of 4)

GETSOMEFILM Shadow Hours is the best movie Balthazar Getty has done since Lost Highway and is also probably the best movie Peter Weller has done since Robocop. Anyone who has spent considerable time within a major city nightlife scene will be able to identify with this movie. People who also like a film to leave a few questions unanswered will also probably get a kick out of Shadow Hours.The film has a great look to it, this film is so much slicker looking than any recent mainstream or indie film in the past few years. This is probably the slickest looking movie Ive seen since Blade. Kudos to the director and dp. The soundtrack is top notch as well. Weller is in top form here, his unique look and commanding voice really make his character. Getty gives a good performance as well. The cast of supporting characters is really amazing. Every few minutes you will see a familiar face pop up in a small role.The only small problem I have with the film is that a few scenes referenced other movies a little too blatantly, but the film's main story is very original and intrigueing. Overall it is a great little movie with alot of style and a thought provoking story. It was great to see a movie made for adults compared to all the pg-13 bland entertainment that the gutless hollywood studios have been releasing lately.This film is no direct to video cheapie my friends.