Hour of the Wolf (1968)

In the suspenseful masterpiece "Hour of the Wolf," troubled artist Johan Borg and his expectant wife, Alma, retreat to a secluded island for a serene summer. The island, however, bristles with an undercurrent of unease that mirrors Johan's restlessness and creative stagnation. As the days pass, Johan's mental disarray intensifies, mirroring the island's wind-whipped isolation in the only horror piece of Ingmar Bergman's repertoire. An aged woman mysteriously approaches Alma, entrusting her with Johan's hidden diary concealed in a black bag beneath their bed. This diary becomes a window into Johan's unraveling psyche, filling Alma with dread as she grapples with the unsettling transformation of the man she loves. As the grip of insomnia tightens, Johan's nights become a playground for the ghosts of his past. During the eerie 'hour of the wolf', a time suspended between midnight and dawn, Johan reveals his most haunting memories to Alma. His recollections lead to Veronica, the woman who shared his life for five years, painting a chilling picture of their intertwined past. In a harrowing climax, Johan vanishes into the island's dense woods, blending into the shadows of his nightmares. Alma is left in a chilling limbo, questioning the line between reality and the phantoms born from Johan's tortured mind. The "Hour of the Wolf" thus offers a chilling exploration, not only of an artist's crisis but also of the human psyche's eerie capacity to blur the boundaries of reality and imagination.

Hour of the Wolf is a drama movie featuring Max von Sydow.

Hour of the Wolf is currently streaming on Criterion Channel.

It is also possible to buy Hour of the Wolf on Apple TV and Vudu.