Synopsis
On Friday, September 24, 2021, recently widowed mother, Amy Carr, decides to take a personal day off work. She waves goodbye to her young daughter, Emily, who boards a school bus, but discovers her teenaged son, Noah, still in bed complaining he is sick. Amy takes a jog through the woods, navigating through several routine calls while running. Shortly after meeting several police cars traveling hurriedly, Amy receives a bulletin on her cell phone reporting all area schools are in lockdown. Desperately trying to find out more information, Amy places several calls, the combination of which gradually allow her to piece together details. She learns there is an active shooter at the high school who has taken the life of a girl. Further, she concludes Noah is not home, but instead went to the high school after his truck is seen in the parking lot. A mechanic, whose shop is near the school, tells Amy the police are searching Noah's truck. He later adds that four other vehicles, besides Noah's, are also being searched. A police officer, via a 911 dispatcher, asks Amy questions about Noah which leads her to wonder if Noah is the school shooter. In a subsequent call, the police tell Amy that Noah is not the shooter, and the shooter is not a student. Amy eventually makes her way to the highway where she meets a Lyft driver who takes her to the high school. Along the way, Amy calls the shooter's cell number which her boss surreptitiously retrieved. The shooter answers but hangs up after a brief exchange. Amy discovers the shooter is a former employee of the school. The police call Amy chiding her for calling the shooter and disrupting their negotiation efforts. Noah calls Amy, but the call is short and Noah is under obvious stress. The police call Amy back asking if she can, again, call the shooter, hoping she can distract him so the police can breach the room where the hostages are located. Amy arrives at the scene and during her brief call to the shooter, she hears gunfire and loses contact with both the shooter and Noah. Standing by the police barricades at the school's perimeter, Amy sees Noah emerge and the two are joyfully reunited. On the trip home, Amy's mother calls and tells Amy she is picking up Emily. Noah makes a social media post in which he denounces school shootings and encourages his audience to courageously fight against them.Cast
Reception
Reviewer Shubhabrata Dutta of ''Digital Mafia Talkies'' described ''The Desperate Hour'' as "a film that is based almost completely on phone conversations".References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desperate Hour, The 2021 films 2021 thriller films American thriller films Canadian thriller films English-language Canadian films Films about mobile phones Films directed by Phillip Noyce Roadside Attractions films Vertical Entertainment films Films produced by Zack Schiller 2020s English-language films Films shot in North Bay, Ontario 2020s Canadian films 2020s American films