Director Paul Fox turns in a creepy and impressive little thriller with this Canadian indie, which grabs you from the start and keeps its energy level going until the finale.

Samantha Goodman (Kate Greenhouse) is a psychiatrist at the local looney bin. But she's harboring a secret: A monster brain tumor that doesn't look so good. Shortly after the revelation she heads out for a weekend with her husband (Gordon Currie) and her sister (Iris Graham) -- an odd trio, and one that just gets stranger as their first evening wears on. Soon Samantha is starting to hallucinate, thanks to that tumor. And so we're left to wonder how much of what transpires is real.

Do hubby and sis really have a thing going on? And when that kid breaks in and shoots their dog in the head, did that really happen? And when Samantha's nemesis, a patient at the institution, arrives to terrorize the three of them, how about that? Is that real?

The Dark Hours takes a familiar setup -- my favorite "trapped in a cottage with a psycho" story being Death and the Maiden -- and spins it into horror territory. The torment by patient Harlan Pyne (Aidan Devine) is awfully disconcerting, and the way he plays Samantha off of her husband and sister is appropriately twisted. The film doesn't quite keep you guessing to the extent it probably ought to, but it's still a well crafted little thriller, one which elevates itself considerably and consistently over its independent roots.

Fox mixes taut thrills with a decent amount of gore -- and realistic stuff, too, not the over-the-top bloodbaths that have become commonplace in current era horror flicks. Great performances all around -- especially from some of the lesser-used players -- make this indie worth tracking down at your video store.