2 Hours

2 Hours is certainly one of the better independent horror films I have seen in recent years, and truly does capture a feeling of longing and desperation that one could expect if you are a lone survivor fighting for your life. Viewing this movie was a truly engaging experience, in which I caught myself grinning several times as I viewed the spectacular visual effects, the emotional acting, and all the other things that made the movie shine.

2 Hours follows an unknown survivor as he searches desperately for a cure to an unknown virus… with which he has recently been infected with. As his mind collapses, he finds himself struggling to maintain his sanity, all the while being haunted by images of his former life. Although I would have loved to see more history for the characters, the fact that this is a short film is more than enough to drown any critique on the matter. Such limitations are common in short festival films, and the fact that 2 Hours held my attention and enthusiasm regardless of any minor critique I had truly does speak to its strength.

Michael Balif defined his directorial craft with 2 Hours. His desire for perfection, realism and emotion are very clear. This can be seen by how detailed even the simplest aspects of the film are, and how much work he put into making it as good as it is.

The only critique I could offer is no fault of the filmmakers. Limited resources and no budget are often more than enough to put most indie filmmakers into a creative grave, but not these guys.