movie review these final hours

These Final Hours

There have been any number of cinematic depictions about how we might find  ourselves living out the last few days before the imminent annihilation of our planet,  ranging from the quiet reflection of the Canadian drama “ Last Night ” to the overblown  nonsense of the disaster epic “2012” to some simple  canoodling with Keira Knightley in the quirky comedy “Seeking a Friend for the End of  the World”.  The latest film to present viewers with a look at the final hours of mankind is an  Australian import titled, appropriately enough, “These Final Hours” and while it does  have a few things of interest going for it, this low-budget effort ends up arriving at its  necessarily predictable conclusion in too many unnecessarily predictable ways.

As the film opens, an asteroid has just landed in the North Atlantic and  kicked off a firestorm of destruction that has already taken out huge chunks of the  civilized world. In Perth, Australia, the approaching firestorm is set to arrive in about 12  hours and the mood of the remaining populace veers between grim resignation (with  suicides aplenty) and a determination to make Earth’s remaining moments play out  like a mash-up of “The Road Warrior” and “ The Purge .” Our anti-hero, James (Nathan  Phillips), is leaning more towards the latter and after a farewell snog with girlfriend Zoe  (Jessica de Gouw), he decides to leave her alone so that he can spend the rest of  his time at a wild bacchanal thrown by friend Freddy ( Daniel Henshall ) with his other  girlfriend, Vicky ( Kathryn Beck ) and not even her revelations that she is pregnant can  convince him to stay. He wants to get messed up because, as he puts it, “I don’t want to  feel a thing.” 

James heads off to the party that he has placed above everything else, and  after getting waylaid along the way, he sees a little girl who has been abducted by a couple of  depraved weirdos for presumably unspeakable reasons. D espite his insistence  that he no longer cares about anything, he rescues the girl, Rose ( Angourie Rice ), and  when he is unable to reunite her with her father, he decides to take her along to the  party in the hopes of finding someone there who can take her to be reunited with her  family. Needless to say, as they go along their trek, the two bear witness to any number  of horrible sights but Rose’s optimism and innocence in the face of the oncoming  apocalypse (Spoiler Alert!) begins to change his cynical soul. Once they arrive at the  party—an orgy of open sex, prodigious drug and alcohol abuse and bouts of Russian  Roulette—he discovers that nihilism may no longer be his thing and tries to get Rose  back together with her family and settle his own outstanding emotional debts before it is  really too late.

Written and directed by Zak Hilditch , “These Final Hours” is more ambitious than its  presumably inexpensive origins might suggest but this is the kind of storyline that has  been done dozens of times before and even the better parts of this effort contain more  than a whiff of the familiar. The finale, for example, is presented in a relatively striking  manner but anyone who has seen the vastly superior apocalyptic drama “ Take Shelter ”  will no doubt notice a number of similarities between the two climaxes. Likewise,  the relationship between Phillips (whose presence here, following on the heels of  appearances in such films as “ Wolf Creek ,” “Snake on a Plane” and “The Chernobyl  Diaries,” marks him as one of the guys you least want to have with you on a cinematic  excursion of any duration) and Rice doesn’t really hit any overtly wrong notes but  nevertheless fails to break any new ground either. Even the end-of-the-world blowout  is nowhere as decadent as one might hope—from what we see, it basically feels like  Burning Man sans the morning-after hangovers—and when it does threaten to become  transgressive, as when little Rose is dosed with Ecstasy and begins tripping, it pulls  back the reins before things can get too weird.

“These Final Hours” has a couple of things in its favor. Sarah Snook , who delivered  such an amazing performance in the recent sci-fi mind-bender “ Predestination ,” shows  up in a brief but frighteningly vivid part as a grief-stricken mother convinced that Rose is  actually her late daughter and Lynette Curran has an equally strong scene as James’s  estranged mother, who plans on riding out the end with some wine and a few jigsaw  puzzles. Visually, the film looks far more expensive that it probably was and there  are some admittedly arresting images scattered throughout. However, none of these  elements are enough to make you forget just how profoundly familiar the rest of it  is. 

“These Final Hours” is not without merit but if you pick only one Australian-made  apocalyptic road movie to see in 2015, my guess is that you should probably save your  time and money and just wait a couple of months for “Fury Road” to arrive.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

• Nathan Phillips as James
• Daniel Henshall as Freddy
• Lynette Curran as James' Mum
• Sarah Snook as Mandy's Mum
• Angourie Rice as Rose
• David Field as Radio Man
• Jessica De Gouw as Zoe
• Kathryn Beck as Vicky

Director of Photography

• Bonnie Elliott

Original Music Composer

• Cornel Wilczek
• Nick Meyers
• Zak Hilditch

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The Big Picture

• The suburban setting of These Final Hours uncovers the dark side of humanity, as society crumbles in the face of impending doom.
• The film debates hedonism vs. embracing reality in the final hours, highlighting the importance of kindness and morality.
• Micro moments in These Final Hours pack an emotional punch, invoking raw emotion and exploring themes of love and connection.

These Final Hours follows James ( Nathan Phillips ) as he tries to get to a party before the world ends. But, his journey becomes more complicated when he finds Rose ( Angourie Rice ), a young girl who has lost her father. What makes These Final Hours so terrifying is the manic perspective of society we get as an asteroid’s shockwave moves towards Australia, eventually proving that giving in to hedonism does not provide an escape from reality .

The setting of These Final Hours ratchets up the tension as the illusion of civilized suburban life crumbles, showing us the hedonistic darkness lurking inside of us all. Zak Hilditch 's tense narrative ends up portraying James as a philosopher king from Plato's cave allegory. He breaks free of his chains to see the real world outside, escaping hedonistic shadows that provide escape. There is still a price to pay, as waking up to reality means embracing the harshness that comes with it. However, as Hilditch explained in an interview , These Final Hours argues that harshness can be overcome when you are with somebody you love.

These Final Hours

These Final Hours follows James, a self-absorbed man heading to an end-of-the-world party as a global cataclysm approaches. On his way, he rescues a young girl named Rose searching for her father. Their journey through the chaotic city leads James to a path of redemption as he reevaluates his choices and priorities in humanity's final hours​.

'These Final Hours' Suburban Setting Is Haunting

These Final Hours opens with footage of an asteroid entering earth's atmosphere, and we learn a shockwave is rippling across the planet, giving Australia mere hours to live. This places the entire environment in a somehow pre- and post-apocalyptic state. The mise en scène of the suburban environment with murder, sex, and drugs make an intriguing contrast , heightening the unpredictability of every scene, as we do not know if the people we meet will be mentally broken or not. The Radio Man ( David Field ) is a brilliant addition that uses everyday tech, like a radio, to update everyone on the progress of the shockwave, dialing up the tension with an invisible terror heading everyone’s way.

Equally, the unnamed woman at the party, played by Sarah Snook , who believes that Rose is her daughter, is the physical manifestation of this contrast. Whilst Snook's character doesn't look like she poses a threat, the uncivilized environment adds a glint in her eye that is thoroughly unsettling, making the audience fear for Rose greatly. Her scenes with Rose are simultaneously heartbreaking and terrifying, a stark illustration of what the end of the world has done to this woman.

'These Final Hours' Debates Whether To Give in to Hedonism or Embrace Reality

These Final Hours constantly debates whether people should give in to hedonism as an escape, as it shows James drinking and having sex in order to forget the end is coming, even abandoning his pregnant love, Zoe ( Jessica De Gouw ). On the other hand, Rose serves to wake James up to the reality that, even if the world is ending, that does not mean one should not be kind. We see how, even from the start of his journey, James struggles to let go of his morality as he stops a group of men from kidnapping and raping Rose. Even if James "just wants to get f**ked up" and forget the world is ending, as he tells Zoe, he sees the consequences of this decision through the lens of the men who have also made the decision to abandon morality . Thankfully, James' conscience wins, and he brings Rose to her father, only to discover the entire family has killed themselves. Despite the grief Rose clearly displays, however, she is still thankful to James for bringing her here, showing that even the harsh reality of death does not destroy Rose's love for her father and the comfort she gains from that in her final hours.

Prepare for The End of the World in 'Last Night on Earth' Trailer [Exclusive]

The apocalyptic sci-fi thriller stars Dee Wallace, Leven Rambin, and Jake McLaughlin.

Whilst it is painful to wake up to sanity, as shown in James and Vicky's ( Kathryn Beck ) breakdowns when they discover they cannot ignore the reality before them, we see that it is what truly makes our lives worth living, as evidenced by Zoe commenting on how the world-ending storm of fire and ash is “beautiful”. In the end, These Final Hours is reminiscent of Plato’s cave allegory as mentioned earlier, with James as the philosopher king who breaks free of his chains. Leaving the cave to see the real world, he realizes the hedonistic shadows were a façade and the true world, whilst harsh, is why we live. Even if we cannot completely help those around us, we can always cling to our own morality .

The Small Moments of 'These Final Hours' Pack Just as Big of an Emotional Punch

Whilst These Final Hours nails it's thematic explorations on a macro level, it is the micro moments that invoke such raw emotion that keep us engaged throughout the narrative. Most of these moments even invoke famous final moments and horrors of other real world tragedies. The opening shots of These Final Hours include the dialogue of phone calls over images of the asteroid hurtling towards earth. These are phone calls to loved ones for the final time to say goodbye, reminiscent of the heartbreaking final calls made by those on the planes or in the towers on 9/11. Even the first moments of These Final Hours makes the point that we are not programmed to give in to hate or hedonism in our final hours, but to cling to love.

A similar tiny moment is when James, rather than go to save Rose from the heinous kidnappers, goes to steal the van Rose had just been kidnapped in. Whilst conflicted, it initially appears James is going to go through with this cold act, until he notices Rose's empty shoes next to him. Childrens shoes – an image haunting to anyone who has been to, or seen in images of the piled up shoes at Auschwitz . A haunting reminder of the cruelties that occur when we abandon morality. Most likely, James isn't thinking of Aushwitz at this moment, but instead, that his true love, Zoe, is pregnant, and he is most likely imagining what he would do if Rose was his daughter. However, this information is only revealed later, meaning the shoes hold a more objective meaning at that moment of James looking at them for the audience. It invites us to relate the image of these shoes to our own real world examples of the need for morality, rather than any exposition we could think of for James.

Overall, These Final Hours adds something unique to the apocalypse genre, providing a fascinating exploration of morality and hedonism. Watching the movie just for the terrifying setting is well worth it, but the film keeps you engaged throughout with tense set-ups and haunting moments that make this a brilliant and tense thriller. It's a beautiful and haunting reminder of why we should cling to love , even in our final hours.

These Final Hours is currently available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.

WATCH ON TUBI

• Movie Features

• Jessica De Gouw

Review: Authenticity in ‘Final Hours’ lends an upside to doomsday film

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In the grimly involving “These Final Hours,” the fiery effects of a crash-landed asteroid are wiping out the planet and heading for their last devastating stop: Australia. And there’s nothing anyone in the coastal city of Perth, where the film is vividly set, can do but wait. Oh, and go literally crazy.

At the center of the mayhem is James (Nathan Phillips), a broad-shouldered everyman with responsibility issues. In the beginning, he leaves the bed of pregnant girlfriend Zoe (Jessica De Gouw) to visit a second squeeze, the shrill Vicky (Kathryn Beck), who’s busy partying like it’s 2099 with her mohawked brother (Daniel Henshall) and a bunch of last-blast orgyists.

En route to the bacchanal, James must fend off a swath of anarchic locals, who’ve turned into weapon-wielding, homicidal — or suicidal — maniacs. He ends up rescuing an endangered child, Rose (Angourie Rice), and against his better judgment, he takes her along on what becomes an increasingly desperate if cathartic journey.

Writer-director Zak Hilditch, with a strong assist from cinematographer Bonnie Elliott (who’s bathed her frames in a kind of eerie sulfuric yellow), has crafted an urgent yet strangely simple and humanistic doomsday scenario. If how some folks here choose to spend their last moments alive — getting lost in sex, drugs and booze or merely finishing a jigsaw puzzle — may not feel all that, well, earth-shattering, there’s a raw authenticity to it all.

Phillips, an Eric Bana-like hunk, brings requisite intensity and gravitas to his role as the reluctant hero, with young Rice showing grace and maturity as the equitable, resilient Rose. Intriguing stuff.

------------------------

‘These Final Hours’

MPAA rating: None

Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle’s Town Center 5, Encino. Also on VOD.

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These Final Hours Reviews

A more aggressive, candid look at the human condition, dropping a bit of the idealism and metaphysical musings of its Canadian counterpart.

Full Review | Jan 30, 2023

These Final Hours is easily my favourite Australian film in years.

Full Review | Apr 9, 2020

Phillips gives his all in a display that showcases a multitude of emotions, and they all are stellar in appearance - he's come a long way from Wolf Creek and is poised to make a huge mark in the business shortly...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.3/5 | Apr 9, 2020

[The] film doesn't have any of the melancholy of its cousins; it's harsher and bleaker, as befits the Australian landscape. But it still manages to find the humanity in annihilation.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 9, 2020

These Final Hours is a dramatically thrilling addition to the pre-apocalypse genre - there's a simplicity to some of it, a predictability too, but it's as surefooted in its suspense and action beats as it is during its emotional ones.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 9, 2020

If you're bored with this movie, I honestly don't know how to help you.

Full Review | Apr 8, 2020

These Final Hours may be that rare beast -- a low budget Australian film that could satisfy a multiplex audience in search of an edge-of-the-seat thrill.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 8, 2020

A thrilling game of scruples.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 3, 2019

[A] gorgeously-shot Australian apocalyptic disaster movie that's part buddy comedy, part end of the world downer and packs just as much of a punch as its gorier bedfellows.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Oct 3, 2019

[A] blistering and noteworthy 2003 Australian apocalyptic low-budget film. In short, These Final Hours were well spent minutes on the clock in watching this well-structured doomsday drama unfold with intriguing forethought.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 10, 2018

These Final Hours sets up a simple redemption tale and convincingly stages mass panic on the sunny streets of Perth.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 27, 2017

Zak Hilditch's breathless... thriller tears through orgies, mass suicides and murderous rampages to conclude on a scene as moving and terrifying as the climax of Melancholia.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 1, 2017

It's the old mawkish story of a selfish adult reformed by a child, but the apocalyptic background throws up some lurid and unpredictable scenes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 17, 2016

In a strange way it makes a hopeful statement, arguing that redemption is still possible up until the very point we are engulfed in continent-buckling fireballs.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 22, 2016

Although the film lacks the bravura of Von Trier's Melancholia or the heart and humour of Don McKellar's Last Night, it does have a propulsive energy and a satisfying arc of redemption.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 8, 2016

The plot might suggest a large-scale epic, but These Final Hours emerges as an intimate film about the end of the world.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 5, 2016

It's grim but thought-provoking fare, which Hilditch handles with considerable skill.

Full Review | May 5, 2016

It's the end of the world. Finally, a legitimate reason for a man to experience emotion. We've seen this all before... except not quite so ridiculous.

Hilditch's 'end of the world' effort is a movie that could well be a dark horse bet to be one of many people's favourite films of the year by the time that 2016 comes to a close.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 5, 2016

Has more to say than your usual apocalyptic affair.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 5, 2016

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Review: In ‘These Final Hours’ an Imminent Apocalypse Incites Depravity

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By Neil Genzlinger

• March 5, 2015

Every time the world ends, somebody has to learn a lesson, generally about Love and What’s Really Important. In “ These Final Hours ,” an Australian drama, it’s James’s turn. The lesson may not be particularly original, but the film has some striking moments as it follows him to his destiny.

Some sort of cataclysm — apparently a meteor strike — has put Australia on notice that it will be wiped out in a matter of hours. James (Nathan Phillips), a scruffy fellow about whom we learn little, wants to spend his waning moments at a big party he has heard about, though that means abandoning his girlfriend.

On his way to the party, he encounters a young girl, Rose ( Angourie Rice ), who is trying to escape the kind of creepy men end times bring out of the woodwork. James feels duty-bound to rescue her and reunite her with her father.

Their journey is full of vivid scenes — the usual lawlessness and debauchery, but also some more specific moments that show Zak Hilditch, the writer and director, at his best. A distraught man begs James to shoot him and his family so they don’t have to face the coming calamity. A deranged woman mistakes Rose for her own daughter. The movie needed a few more such scenes to make it more than just a run-of-the-mill apocalypse.

These Final Hours Review

01 Apr 2016

These Final Hours

A trickle of films deal with the last moments before the end of the world – Last Night , Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World , 4.44: Last Day On Earth , Melancholia . This Australian take, written and directed by Zak Hilditch, subliminally evokes the genre’s first great example, On The Beach .

This Australian end of the world movie evokes the genre’s first great example, On The Beach.

Protagonist James (Nathan Phillips) leaves pregnant Zoe (Jessica De Gouw) in their beach house to hook up with his other, richer, trashier girlfriend Vicky (Kathryn Beck). Driving through a montage of chaos, he sees thugs dragging off a screaming, pleading ten-year-old, Rose (Angourie Rice), so they can spend the last few hours of humanity indulging in consequence-free paedophile rape.

Against his instincts, James rescues Rose, who he now needs to get rid of, although she wants him to take her to her aunt’s place to be with her father at the end. Their wayward trip leads Vicky’s wild party, where Rose is drugged by a mad woman ( Predestination 's Sarah Snook, stealing a scene) who wants her to replace her vanished daughter. James and Rose make calmer visits to James’ estranged mother (Lynette Curran), who is doing jigsaw puzzles, and the aunt’s place, scene of a mass suicide (or murder) before a Last Wave-style climax as a big burn hits Australia ("it’s beautiful").

Hilditch implies what kind of guy the hero used to be from the stalled relationships addressed during his detour into heroism, but doesn’t burden us with too many speeches. It may be that helping Rose is James’ version of doing crossword puzzles, getting smashed, participating in an orgy, killing people or committing suicide: just a way to avoid thinking about the unthinkable.

These Final Hours

By Abhishek Sharma | October 25, 2022

In 2020, George Floyd’s brutal murder led to nationwide protests and outcry against racial bias, profiling, and intimidation at the hands of law enforcement. Joined by the supporters of victims like Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the Black Lives Matter movement raised several voices against racial injustices and systematic racism in the States. Director Lionel Coleman’s short, These Final Hours , is a part of those voices.

This ten-minute anthology pilot intends to educate viewers about unconscious bias against particular segments of American communities. Though it is set against the backdrop of the BLM movement, the drama isn’t about highlighting one specific incident of racism. Instead, it’s a short that sparks conversation about misconceptions and negative stereotypes associated with African-American people (or other minorities). In addition, it’s an attempt to show support for activism against discrimination based on color and race, which goes beyond rallying in protests and showing disgust on social media.

Curtis Grimes (Joseph David-Jones) is seen doing rounds at several places in the city. The camera captures his movement in a suspicious tail as he walks across the city. Curtis is seen throughout the neighborhood with a bandana covering his face, which is certain to trigger qualms from some. But is it what it seems at first look? Screenwriter Brian Flaccus creates a clear and hard-hitting contrast between reality and perception.

“ Curtis is seen throughout the neighborhood with a bandana covering his face …”

These Final Hours  plays like a montage, with scenes overlapped with a powerful voice-over interlocution. But in the second half, the montage becomes more apparent, and the dialogue ends with the beginning of a melodious cover of Bonnie Raitt’s  I Can’t Make You Love Me . David-Jones capably portrays Curtis, delivering Flaccus’ well-written verses with aplomb and dignity. The forceful and intentional editing hits hard. Such nuanced editing refines the second half of the short wherein sequences unraveling the true story are woven together to intercut between David-Jones’ performance of  I Can’t Make You Love Me .

The film proves cinema’s power to promote rightful activism and the strength the medium has to give people a deep insight into complex subjects such as this. In its very short run-time, the film   stylizes its effort in bringing forth its cause through realistic and variant color grading patterns. This is especially so when depicting several aspects of the neighborhood. The final reveal, which will catch the viewers off-guard, is the moment where the short really   pulls off its goal. In that commendable sequence, the film raises high the message it wishes to convey and brings back its whole backdrop full circle.

These Final Hours  successfully gained attention through its numerous screenings at several film festivals. It was eventually nominated for NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Short Film. While the film   may specifically tell the story of a black man in America, its impact is worthy of reaching beyond those borders. Flaccus and Coleman’s examination of changing perceptions and discarding stereotypes marks the beginning of the end of racism against all minorities in all global societies.

These Final Hours (2022)

Directed: Lionel Coleman

Written: Brian Flaccus

Starring: Joseph David-Jones, Aeriél Miranda, Dripp Vegas, Shan Harris, Johnny Salamanca, etc.

Movie score: 8/10

"…the short really pulls off its goal."

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The Dissolve

March 04, 2015 Reviews

These Final Hours

By mike d'angelo.

Post-apocalyptic movies generally depict a savage, lawless wasteland in which violence rules. The same is true of pre-apocalyptic movies, but there’s often an additional party-hard element, involving people who are determined to have one last blowout before they’re blown up, or whatever the doomsday scenario may be. In the Australian end-of-the-world thriller These Final Hours , the murderous lunatics represent a sort of obstacle course that the hapless protagonist must navigate on his way to a friend’s hedonistic everyone-must-go bash. The poor guy is just trying to avoid being killed a few hours before he’s going to die anyway, along with everyone else—ideally, he’d like to be stoned or coked out of his mind when the moment arrives. Unfortunately, he has a conscience, and he stumbles onto something he can’t ignore.

Hilditch begins the movie with the world-ending event, which is never quite specified (it seems to involve a giant wall of flame that slowly rolls across the planet), already in progress. The other continents are already toast, and Australia will apparently be the last inhabited region to go; it’s T minus 12 hours as James (Nathan Phillips) tells his lover, Zoe (Jessica De Gouw), that he can’t stay with her and meet a painful death head-on. En route to the big party, however, he’s first carjacked by a maniac wielding a machete, then happens across two burly men who are carrying a screaming 12-year-old girl, pretty clearly with the intention of raping her. Unable to walk away from this horror, James reluctantly rescues the girl, whose name is Rose (Angourie Rice), and proceeds to drive her all over Perth, trying to find somewhere safe he can drop her off. This being a movie, though, it’s juuuust possible that our callow, selfish hero may start to feel a tiny twinge of responsibility for the first time, here in the last few hours of his life.

Actually, part of the problem with These Final Hours is that it isn’t very clear what kind of person James is, or was, prior to meeting Rose. Virtually no details about his past emerge, and Phillips plays him as a fairly decent, normal guy, so the only negative data point regarding his character is his initial decision to go to the party rather than stay with Zoe, which doesn’t seem that indefensible, given that Zoe’s plan is for them to hug on the beach while being burned alive. Also, Zoe isn’t his girlfriend—he’s been cheating on his actual girlfriend, Vicky (Kathryn Beck), who’s at the party, and conveniently proves to be intolerably annoying. Another problem is that lots of people opt to commit suicide rather than await the end either high or sober, which means that a big hunk of These Final Hours is devoted to scenes of James looking for loved ones (his own or Rose’s) and finding corpses. That’s entirely credible, under the circumstances, but it still gets pretty repetitive after a while: “Maybe I can leave you with… no, never mind, they’re dead.”

More effective is Hilditch’s chilling portrait of civilization’s final bow, which he assembles largely from details that are briefly glimpsed rather than lingered upon: curbs lined with garbage bags that will never be collected; a house with the words “SORRY HAD TO LEAVE” spray-painted on the garage door; a body dangling from a streetlamp. When James (still with Rose in tow) finally arrives at the party, it’s a writhing mass of mostly naked bodies, featuring cameos by Snowtown ’s Daniel Henshall as James’ mohawked friend, who’s built a completely useless underground shelter, and Predestination ’s Sarah Snook as a bereaved mother who decides Rose will replace her dead daughter. The casual ghastliness makes it easy to empathize with the growing bond between James and Rose; their relationship mostly skirts the cheap pathos that usually dominates stories about an adult forced to care for a little kid in a time of crisis. There’s a sentimental streak to These Final Hours, but in the end (heh), it feels as if it’s been earned.

GoWatchIt: Buy. Rent. Stream These Final Hours

87 min / Run Time

March 04 2015 / Release Date

Drama / genre

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These Final Hours – film review

THESE FINAL HOURS

A race to discover what really matters at the end of the world.

Reviewed on Friday 18th July 2014

Written & directed by Zak Hilditch. Starring: Nathan Phillips, Angourie Rice, Jessica De Gouw, Kathryn Beck, Daniel Henshall and Lynette Curran. Running time: 87 mins.

An extinction-sized asteroid impacts in the North Atlantic – sending a gigantic wall     of fire circling the globe at supersonic speed. The wave of destruction will reach     Perth – Australia’s western-most city – in twelve hours. It is clear from the outset that society has already broken down, although it is unclear how long it has been since the inevitable impact of the asteroid became apparent – perhaps a matter of days or weeks. There is anarchy in the streets of Perth. A naked body hangs from a light pole. Spray-painted messages to absent loved ones adorn the walls of abandoned homes. A makeshift barricade of shopping carts blocks access to a suburban street with a hand-painted sign: ‘Stay The Fuck Away!’ Plumes of black smoke billow from Perth’s tallest buildings in the distance. Abandoned motor vehicles lay strewn across empty highways. Strung-out junkies roam the streets, hacking people to death with machetes. Strangers copulate in public. A suburban family celebrates Christmas early for the sake of the children, before euthanizing the kids and then themselves.     It is during the chaos of this societal breakdown we meet James (Nathan Phillips),     a young man cheating on his girlfriend Vicky (Kathryn Beck) with Zoe (Jessica De Gouw) – whom he learns is pregnant with his child. In a selfish move, James leaves Zoe on her own to face the end so that he may spend his final hours with Vicky, getting shit-faced at a wild end-of-the-world party held by Vicky’s brother Freddy (Daniel Henshall). While on his way to the party, James stumbles upon Rose (Angourie Rice) – a young girl in peril looking for her father and rescues her. Now James must decide within himself what is really important – to continue on to the party as planned or help Rose navigate this increasingly hostile environment and     find her father.

Australia appears to have a tradition in producing apocalyptic stories. There’s the Mad Max series of course and the recent The Rover . But it really all began with Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel ‘On The Beach’ (twice adapted for the screen in 1959 and 2000). Zak Hilditch’s fourth and most ambitious feature also recalls other ‘pre-apocalyptic’ thrillers such as Miracle Mile and Knowing – a sub-genre begun with On The Beach – films which, by their very nature; pose the question ‘what would you do if you only had hours to live?’ How would you spend the time?

This film is unapologetically disturbing and intense, the centerpiece being the backyard rave party; resembling the rave from Matrix Reloaded ; only with way     more nudity. This party-to-end-all-parties also features unbridled hedonism, Russian Roulette, copious drugs and group sex. Needless to say – this is not a film for everyone. But having said this, it does feature a terrific performance from relative newcomer Angourie Rice as Rose – a definite new talent to look for in the future. Nathan Philips, on the other hand, is okay – but not nearly as convincing in the lead as James.

There is a maxim in screenwriting which states that what a character ‘wants’ propels the narrative; while what a character ‘needs’ fulfils the character arc. What James ‘wants’ is to spend his last few hours “getting fucked up” with his girlfriend (whom he doesn’t love) and to “block out” the horror of the end of the world at the party-to-end-all-parties. What he ‘needs’ is to be with the woman he loves (Zoe) – as the world comes to an end. And it is James’ interaction with Rose which ultimately brings him to this realization that his surface yearnings – the ones he thinks he wants to fulfil – are entirely superficial in comparison to what his inner soul ultimately needs.

Uncompromising, with moments of shocking violence; there is a paplable sense of dread and foreboding sustained throughout this film. And unlike Deep Impact or A rmageddon – there is nothing here to save humanity from the inevitable – no Robert Duvalls or Bruce Willises. We’re basically fucked – and we know this from the start. So if you go into this aware there is ultimately no salvation for anyone, then you may have an okay time. Everyone else will probably leave the theater in a bit of a daze and in need of a couple of stiff drinks and a need to re-evaluate what’s important in their lives – which perhaps may not be such a bad thing.

3.5 stars out of 5

Star ratings: 1 – poor / 2 – below average / 3 – good / 4 – excellent / 5 – unmissable

Viewed at the Palace-Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide, July 18th 2014.

Greg Moss is a film school graduate with a background in directing music videos     and is currently seeking representation as a screenwriter. He likes creative people, feeding the cat and watching genre movies. Greg can also be heard on the Blu-ray commentary track for the 1980 sci-fi thriller Saturn 3, out now from Scream Factory.

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These Final Hours Review

The world is going to end in 12 hours. Balls of fire have descended from the sky to turn the ocean into a pool of rumbling, quickly spreading magma, and the heat has already evaporated all life on many coastlines. In Perth, Australia, the clock is ticking – for those who have not already evaded the apocalypse by taking their own lives.

Bleak and blisteringly intense, These Final Hours is an end-of-the-world title from Australia that manages to give a few jolts, despite the overwhelming familiarity of this countdown to doomsday scenario. Titles like Last Night and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World explored how people choose to spend their final moments, while the ravaged roads in The Book of Eli and The Rover lead to a despairing version of a place where life has already gone to the dogs. Despite a familiar template, this is a taut, tense ride that is over much too quickly. The Australian thriller, like its characters hoping to make the most of this cumulative day, hardly wastes a second.

In the midst of the chaos and carnage, we meet James (Nathan Phillips), who is on his way to a massive end-of-the-world party to meet his girlfriend, Vicky (Kathryn Beck). He drives a car that is running low on fumes, while he is starting to fume about the end of civilization. The roads are deserted and smoke spews into the sky from wrecked vehicles on the side of the road. Those wandering on the road are chopping at each other with machetes, hoping to find a car with enough fuel to get away from the carnage.

However, as he evades these predators on his way to the party, James sees a young girl, Rose (Angourie Rice), shrieking for her life as two burly abductors drag her into a house. Armed with a hammer, he captures Rose from her captors. She wants to spend the final moments of humanity with her father. James has other things on his mind, but he decides to return her to the people who love her.

This apocalyptic thriller approaches this end-of-the-world scenario in two different ways. The first is through a pounding sensory overload, as we enter James’ tormented, drug-addled psyche as he comes to realize the weight of the world falling down on him. The second is a more calming, contemplative mood, as James realizes he still has time to do some good and make a meaningful impact on the people in his life. Hilditch’s greatest achievement as a director is how he manages to capture these wildly different tones, yet achieve balance.

These Final Hours manages to be jarringly violent in segments when Rose and James encounter nihilistic folk with machetes on the street, who would maim and kill to find a car with enough fuel for the day. A heavily profane script mirrors the coarse desperation of the characters, as the sun encroaches and the temperature blazes. (Bonnie Elliott’s cinematography is suitably sunbaked and smoggy.) On the other hand, the quieter scenes with the two characters are haunting, as both realize their lack of available time left. Composer Cornel Wilczek ( Cut Snake ) alternates between harsh, suspenseful strings and thick silences, the latter creating a deeper intensity as the end looms nearer.

The centerpiece of the film is an arresting one, as James and Rose get separated at the end-is-nigh party, where hundreds of adults have decided to fornicate the pain of their incoming peril away. It is a carnival of excess, which includes casual sex in the living room, pill passing in the pool and rounds of Russian roulette in front of cheering crowds. By showing the carnal pleasures through Rose’s eyes, we (as an audience) are jolted by how removed this savagery is from the world as we know it. Alternatively, the moments between James and Rose have a quiet grace and solemnity that stands in contrast to the rest of the bacchanalia.

These Final Hours propels forward with ease and is barely 80 minutes before the credits start rolling. While the short length is effective for a film where time is of the essence, the characterization is too slight. James moves from a man hoping to consume the rest of his day with substances to one with enough substance to become a paternal figure to Rose; however, there is little indicating how he moved from relying on his basic instinct to survive to decide to care for the girl.

“I never would have picked you for the fatherly type,” Vicky tells James, explaining our disorientation at his change of heart. The future overwhelms the characters, but unfortunately, we do not learn enough about James’s past to become invested with his redemptive arc. Phillips gives a commanding but mostly inexpressive performance, at least until he has to come to grips with saying goodbye to the people he loves the most.

Instead, most of the dramatic lifting comes courtesy of the petit Rice, who steadily becomes weary as she comes to accept her fate. Regardless, she provides a bit of relief, able to smile at the thought of freely swimming in her dress. Rice offers a mature, poignant turn, becoming the heart on this sunbaked road of misery. Like her performance, These Final Hours becomes increasingly still and silent as the end approaches, achieving an inescapable dread as we realize what lies ahead.

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No Sleep Till | 2024 Venice Film Festival Review

I’m still here (ainda estou aqui) | 2024 venice film festival review, the brutalist | 2024 venice film festival review, the order | 2024 venice film festival review, campo di battaglia (battlefield) | 2024 venice film festival review, interview: mika gustafson – paradise is burning, one question: sean wang – dìdi (弟弟), interview: yann mounir demange & rosa attab – dammi (short), interview: monia chokri & magalie lépine blondeau – the nature of love, interview: léa drucker – last summer (l’été dernier), world cinema report: the philippines – lino brocka feted in rotterdam & berlinale + sheron dayoc future projects, world cinema report: hong kong – “to my nineteen-year-old-self” opts out of the hkiff awards, world cinema report: hong kong – most anticipated for 2023, world cinema report: the philippines – most anticipated for 2023, desperately seeking studio: agustina san martín’s to kill the beast, fyc: top 10 cannes storylines that will shape the awards race, 2024 european film awards: audiard, guiraudie, fargeat, gomes & rasoulof among first selections, 2024 oscars: totem, the mother of all lies, godland, the zone of interest & the taste of things part of international feature shortlist, 2023 le prix andré bazin: pham thiên ân’s “inside the yellow cocoon shell” takes unique prize, 2023 european film awards: the zone of interest, fallen leaves & anatomy of a fall grab most noms, these final hours | review, the final countdown: hilditch fails to impress with aussie apocalypse.

With only twelve hours to go before a meteor will bring about the end of the world, Australia remains the last piece of land to be affected. As the final countdown begins, people are either ending their lives or engaging in hedonistic end-of-times behavior. James (Nathan Phillips) is of the latter group. Meeting up with his mistress (Jessica De Guow) for what may be their last tryst, James is in a hurry to get to his friend’s drug fueled party, where his actual girlfriend is waiting for him. However, the mistress reveals she is pregnant, an emotional truth James doesn’t seem to want to deal with. Leaving her, he makes his way to the party but stops when he sees a young preadolescent being forcefully taken into a home where it looks like she’s about to be raped. He saves little Rose (Angourie Rice) from her plight and they try to find her father, but to no avail. Rose tags along with him to the party, but it isn’t a scene safe for the child. After increasing tensions lead to a violent altercation, James takes Rose away from the party.

The apocalypse, both before and after, has literally been done to death and to varying degree. Hilditch’s endlessly derivative effort can’t quite find anything new to say and he’s bound to be unfavorably compared with a wide range of films that spans the gamut, from the works of his native peers like Mad Max and The Rover , to more international realms, such as 2008’s Before the Fall (a film that manages to use the encroaching end as an innovative backdrop). But what These Final Hours really seems to rip off is Stanley Kramer’s 1959 film On the Beach ….which concerns the inhabitants of Australia, finally coming to terms with the fact that the nuclear fallout that’s eradicated the rest of the world’s population will soon wipe them out as well. Sound familiar? Hilditch’s only addition is the amateurish fantasy of every adolescent when asked the hypothetical question about what they’d do if the world were about to end, succinctly stated by its lead character, “I just wanna get fucked up.” In essence, they really will be dancing until the world ends.

Nathan Phillips, of Wolf Creek and Snakes on a Plane fame gets the honors of navigating us through the bleak mise-en-scene, though his predicament doesn’t happen to be all that compelling, which sees him basically engage with a quartet of females (two girlfriends, his mother, and the small child he saves). A couple notable Aussie actors are sandwiched into the film’s party/orgy scene (including Sarah Snook as an insane mother and Daniel Henshall of Snowtown and The Babadook ), while Jessica De Guow fails to make much of an impression, saddled with a silly pregnancy meant to imbue the film’s final blow-out with a bit of sentimental heft.

Sadly, nothing about These Final Hours manages to make any kind of lasting impression, and we’re left with a feeling of disconnected ambivalence, a state that would have been more beneficial for the characters facing a terrifying, inevitable end.

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‘the end’ review: tilda swinton and michael shannon in joshua oppenheimer’s ambitious, uneven post-apocalyptic musical.

The last family on Earth finds their careful facade disrupted by a stranger in this narrative debut from the documentarian, also starring George MacKay and Moses Ingram.

By Lovia Gyarkye

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Arts & Culture Critic

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In December 2023, a report came out that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was building a sprawling underground bunker on a secluded stretch of ranch land on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The project is shrouded in layers of NDAs, but it’s supposedly 5,000 square feet and will have its own energy and food supplies. When the end of civilization comes, Zuckerberg, like many billionaires, will be sheltered from impact. 

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In Oppenheimer’s striking feature narrative debut, it’s a combination of all the above. The Act of Killing director uses an allegorical family to probe a different kind of psychological violence, one padded by the illusory comfort of money. Mother ( Tilda Swinton ), Father ( Michael Shannon ) and Son ( George MacKay ) live in a Zuckerberg-like bunker 25 years after an environmental catastrophe has left the Earth uninhabitable. Their routines, observed early in the film, include a communal breakfast, learning piano (Mother), building a miniature model of the old world (Son), emergency drills (everyone) and rearranging the expensive art (Mother, again) in the parlor. Through these moments, Oppenheimer tours the palatial bunker that he constructed with production designer Jette Lehmann. Each room, with its harsh, bright lighting and ornate decorations, reflects the family’s delusions.

Unlike his parents, Son does not know the old world. He was born in the bunker, and his understanding doesn’t stretch beyond the compound. That naïveté is a boon for Father, a cagey and erudite man whose role at an energy company contributed to planetary disaster. He enlists his son to help him write a memoir — a hagiographic and revisionist history of the family.

The End opens with humorous observations of how the family maneuvers this intricate obfuscation. Oppenheimer introduces music immediately: A strained ballad between Father, Son and eventually Mother signals the kind of songs that will be featured. The director wrote the lyrics for each number (Josh Schmidt composed the music) and most of them are somber and melancholic. This is, after all, a musical about the end of the world. But pay attention to when, and about what, the characters sing. The lyrics aren’t particularly memorable, but they do reveal how music facilitates their avoidance of reality.

This allergy to difficult feelings is most apparent when Girl ( Moses Ingram ) enters the bunker. Her presence disrupts the carefully curated existence of the family, especially as she and Son start to fall in love. Coming from the outside world, Girl carries the weariness and curiosity of a survivor. She asks questions and attempts, often unsuccessfully, to bring up emotional topics.

At first, the family tries to kill her, but then they just accept her existence. The abrupt switch comes naturally to this group of people never asked to account for their actions. The End doesn’t confront the racial dynamics of Girl, a black woman, being thrust into the shelter of a white family, but it does gesture at her alienation. “I don’t understand why she is here,” Mother says at one point. “She is a stranger.” 

Deeply committed performances from the cast are a major strength of The End . They sing, dance and leap (with choreography by Sam Pinkleton and Ani Taj) around the bunker trying to dodge accountability through increasingly histrionic songs. MacKay’s portrayal of an overly sheltered adult is particularly compelling, as is Ingram’s slow transformation into a hollowed-out version of herself.

The End requires complete submission to the off-kilter rules that govern this family and to Oppenheimer’s ambitions to radicalize the musical genre. It’s an admirable if uneven endeavor. The choice to tell this story as an allegory proves limiting in the film’s second act, which, after an energetic start, languishes. Without more details about the characters, investment in their post-apocalyptic playground wanes.

Oppenheimer’s film does pick back up in the final moments, invigorated by renewed questions about the stories we might feel compelled to tell ourselves when the end does indeed arrive.

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Money blog: Cheapest holiday dates until Christmas revealed - and the times to avoid

The Money blog is your place for consumer and personal finance news and tips. Today's posts include Expedia data showing the cheapest, and least busy, times to go on holiday this autumn. Listen to a Daily podcast on the Oasis ticket troubles as you scroll.

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Summer may be edging towards the rear-view mirror, but that doesn't mean Britons are turning their back on sunshine. 

With many looking to sort an autumn holiday, Expedia has taken a look at the best times to fly and book hotels - with savings of up to £120 if you are savvy. 

Its data is based on average daily rates for lodging and flight prices between 22 September and 21 December this year.

When to book flights for

• Cheapest : 22, 23 or 24 September
• Least busy : 10 or 17 December
• Most expensive : 19, 20 or 21 December
• Busiest : 20 and 21 October

"For the best deals, travellers should look to book their flights 14 to 20 days before travel, saving them on average £120 compared to booking 91 days or more out, or saving £60 compared to booking 60-90 days out," Expedia says. 

"Target the 22-29 September for travel, when average ticket prices (ATPs) for flights are shaping up to be nearly £100 cheaper than the autumn average, and £50 cheaper than summer ATPs."

When to  book a hotel

• Cheapest : 20 November or 11 December
• Most expensive : 14 or 21 October
• Busiest : 23 October or 25 September

"For hotel stays, target the 3-9 November, when average daily rates are £15 cheaper per night than the seasonal average and summer stays," Expedia says. 

The holiday booking site says the most popular autumn destinations have remained largely the same as last year based on the largest number of hotel searches...

• New York, USA
• Paris, France
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Manchester, UK
• Tenerife, Spain
• Birmingham, UK
• Rome, Italy

Despite this, Expedia says savvy Britons are searching out "under the radar" getaway spots.

"Flight searches have surged for Brits looking to discover new, under-the-radar European cities this autumn, such as Tirana (+95%) in Albania and Bucharest (+70%) in Romania, as Brits look to stretch their budgets further by looking outside the popular city break hotspots."

The top 10 destinations with the biggest search increases are:

• Saint Malo, France
• Didim, Turkey
• Syracuse, Italy
• Beijing, China 
• Palermo, Italy
• Tromso, Norway 
• Brescia, Italy 
• Poznan, Poland
• Tangier, Morocco
• Ischia, Italy

The Money blog will return shortly - meantime, why not scroll through some of our best and most popular features below...

Despite traditionally being an affordable staple of British cuisine, the average price for a portion of fish and chips has risen by more than 50% in the past five years to nearly £10, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Sonny and Shane "the codfather" Lee told Sky News of the challenges that owning J-Henry's Fish and Chip Shop brings and why prices have skyrocketed. 

"Potatoes, fish, utilities, cooking oil - so many things [are going up]," he said. 

Shane also said that he is used to one thing at a time increasing in price, but the outlook today sees multiple costs going up all at once.  

"Potatoes [were] priced right up to about £25 a bag - the previous year it was about £10 a bag," Sonny said, noting a bad harvest last year. 

He said the business had tried hake as a cheaper fish option, but that consumers continued to prefer the more traditional, but expensive, cod and haddock. 

"It's hard and we can we can absorb the cost to a certain extent, but some of it has to be passed on," Shane added. 

After a long Saturday for millions of Oasis fans in online queues, the culture secretary says surge pricing - which pushed the price of some tickets up by three times their original advertised value to nearly £400 - will be part of the government's review of the ticket market. 

On today's episode of the Daily podcast, host Niall Paterson speaks to secondary ticketing site Viagogo. While it wasn’t part of dynamic pricing, it has offered resale tickets for thousands of pounds since Saturday. 

Matt Drew from the company accepts the industry needs a full review, while Adam Webb, from the campaign group FanFair Alliance, explains the changes it would like to see.

We've covered the fallout of the Oasis sale extensively in the Money blog today - see the culture secretary's comments on the "utterly depressing" inflated pricing in our post at 6.37am, and Twickets, the official Oasis resale site, slammed by angry fans for its "ridiculous" added fees at 10.10am.

The growing backlash culminated in action from Twickets - the company said it would lower its charges after some fans had to pay more than £100 in extra fees for resale tickets (see post at 15.47).

Tap here to follow the Daily podcast - 20 minutes on the biggest stories every day

Last week we reported that employers will have to offer flexible working hours - including a four-day week - to all workers under new government plans.

To receive their full pay, employees would still have to work their full hours but compressed into a shorter working week - something some workplaces already do.

Currently, employees can request flexible hours as soon as they start at a company but employers are not legally obliged to agree.

The Labour government now wants to make it so employers have to offer flexible hours from day one, except where it is "not reasonably feasible".

You can read more of the details in this report by our politics team:

But what does the public think about this? We asked our followers on LinkedIn to give their thoughts in an unofficial poll.

It revealed that the overwhelming majority of people support the idea to compress the normal week's hours into fewer days - some 83% of followers said they'd choose this option over a standard five-day week.

But despite the poll showing a clear preference for a compressed week, our followers appeared divided in the comments.

"There's going to be a huge brain-drain as people move away from companies who refuse to adapt with the times and implement a 4 working week. This will be a HUGE carrot for many orgs," said Paul Burrows, principal software solutions manager at Reality Capture.

Louise McCudden, head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, said she wasn't surprised at the amount of people choosing longer hours over fewer days as "a lot of people" are working extra hours on a regular basis anyway.

But illustrator and administrative professional Leslie McGregor noted the plan wouldn't be possible in "quite a few industries and quite a few roles, especially jobs that are customer centric and require 'round the clock service' and are heavily reliant upon people in trades, maintenance, supply and transport". 

"Very wishful thinking," she said.

Paul Williamson had a similar view. He said: "I'd love to know how any customer first service business is going to manage this."

Twickets has announced it is lowering its charges after some Oasis fans had to pay more than £100 in extra fees to buy official resale tickets.

The site is where the band themselves is directing people to buy second-hand tickets for face value - having warned people against unofficial third party sellers like StubHub and Viagogo.

One person branded the extra fees "ridiculous" (see more in 10.10 post), after many people had already been left disappointed at the weekend when Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing pushed tickets up by three times the original advertised fee.

Twickets said earlier that it typically charged a fee of 10-15% of the face value of the tickets.

But it has since said it will lower the charge due to "exceptional demand" from Oasis fans - taking ownership of an issue in a way fans will hope others follow. 

Richard Davies, Twickets founder, told the Money blog: "Due to the exceptional demand for the Oasis tour in 2025, Twickets have taken the decision to lower our booking fee to 10% and a 1% transactional fee (to cover bank charges) for all buyers of their tickets on our platform. In addition we have introduced a fee cap of £25 per ticket for these shows. Sellers of tickets already sell free of any Twickets charge.

"This ensures that Twickets remains hugely competitive against the secondary market, including sites such as Viagogo, Gigsberg and StubHub.

"Not only do these platforms inflate ticket prices way beyond their original face value but they also charge excessive booking fees, usually in the region of 30-40%. Twickets by comparison charges an average fee of around 12.5%"

The fee cap, which the Money blog understands is being implemented today, will apply to anyone who has already bought resale tickets through the site.

Mr Davies said Twickets was a "fan first" resale site and a "safe and affordable place" for people to trade unwanted tickets.

"The face value of a ticket is the total amount it was first purchased for, including any booking fee. Twickets does not set the face value price, that is determined by the event and the original ticketing company. The price listed on our platform is set by the seller, however no one is permitted to sell above the face-value on Twickets, and every ticket is checked before listing that it complies with this policy," he said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people have complained to the regulator about how Oasis tickets were advertised ahead of going on sale. 

The Advertising Standards Authority said it had received 450 complaints about Ticketmaster adverts for the gigs.

Some  expressed their anger on social media , as tickets worth £148 were being sold for £355 on the site within hours of release, due to the "dynamic pricing" systems.

A spokesperson from ASA said the complainants argue that the adverts made "misleading claims about availability and pricing".

They added: "We're carefully assessing these complaints and, as such, can't comment any further at this time.

"To emphasise, we are not currently investigating these ads."

Ticketmaster said it does not set prices and its website says this is down to the "event organiser" who "has priced these tickets according to their market value".

We reported earlier that anyone with O2 Priority will have their free weekly Greggs treats replaced by £1 monthly Greggs treats - see 6.21am post.

But did you know there are loads of other ways to get food from the nation's most popular takeaway for free or at a discount?

Downloading the Greggs app is a good place to start - as the bakery lists freebies, discounts and special offers there regularly. 

New users also get rewards just for signing up, so it's worth checking out. 

And there's a digital loyalty card which you can add virtual "stamps" to with each purchase to unlock discounts or other freebies.  

Vodafone rewards

Seriously begrudged Virgin Media O2 customers may want to consider switching providers. 

The Vodafone Rewards app, VeryMe, sometimes gives away free Greggs coffees, sausage rolls, sweet treats and more to customers.

Monzo bank account holders can grab a sausage roll (regular or vegan), regular sized hot drink, doughnut or muffin every week. 

Birthday cake

Again, you'll need the Greggs award app for this one - which will allow you to claim one free cupcake, cream cake or doughnut for your birthday each year.

Octopus customers

Octopus Energy customers with smart meters can claim one free drink each week, in-store from Greggs (or Caffè Nero).

The Greggs freebie must be a regular size hot drink.

Make new friends

If you're outgoing (and hungry), it may be worth befriending a Greggs staff member.

The staff discount at Greggs is 50% on own-produced goods and 25% off branded products. 

If you aren't already aware, Iceland offers four Greggs sausage rolls in a multi-pack for £3. 

That means, if you're happy to bake it yourself, you'll only be paying 74p per sausage roll. 

Millions of Britons could receive extra cash to help with the cost of living this winter after the government extended the Household Support Fund.

A £421m pot will be given to local councils in England to distribute, while £79m will go to the devolved administrations.

The fund will now be available until April 2025 having been due to run out this autumn.

Councils decide how to dish out their share of the fund but it's often via cash grants or vouchers.

Many councils also use the cash to work with local charities and community groups to provide residents with key appliances, school uniforms, cookery classes and items to improve energy efficiency in the home.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "The £22bn blackhole inherited from the previous governments means we have to take tough decisions to fix the foundations of our economy.

"But extending the Household Support Fund is the right thing to do - provide targeted support for those who need it most as we head into the winter months."

The government has been criticised for withdrawing universal winter fuel payments for pensioners of up to £300 this winter - with people now needing to be in receipt of certain means-tested benefits to qualify.

People should contact their local council for details on how to apply for the Household Support Fund - they can find their council  here .

Lloyds Bank app appears to have gone down for many, with users unable to see their transactions. 

Down Detector, which monitors site outages, has seen more than 600 reports this morning.

It appears to be affecting online banking as well as the app.

There have been some suggestions the apparent issue could be due to an update.

Another disgruntled user said: "Absolutely disgusting!! I have an important payment to make and my banking is down. There was no warning given prior to this? Is it a regular maintenance? Impossible to get hold of someone to find out."

A Lloyds Bank spokesperson told Sky News: "We know some of our customers are having issues viewing their recent transactions and our app may be running slower than usual.

"We're sorry about this and we're working to have everything back to normal soon."

We had anger of unofficial resale prices, then Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing - and now fees on the official resale website are causing consternation among Oasis fans.

The band has encouraged anyone wanting resale tickets to buy them at face value from Ticketmaster or Twickets - after some appeared for £6,000 or more on other sites.

"Tickets appearing on other secondary ticketing sites are either counterfeit or will be cancelled by the promoters," Oasis said.

With that in mind, fans flocked to buy resale tickets from the sites mentioned above - only to find further fees are being added on. 

Mainly Oasis, a fan page, shared one image showing a Twickets fee for two tickets as high as £138.74. 

"Selling the in demand tickets completely goes against the whole point of their company too… never mind adding a ridiculous fee on top of that," the page shared. 

Fan Brad Mains shared a photo showing two tickets priced at £337.50 each (face value of around £150, but increased due to dynamic pricing on Saturday) - supplemented by a £101.24 Twickets fee. 

That left him with a grand total of £776.24 to pay for two tickets.

"Actually ridiculous this," he  said on X .

"Ticketmaster inflated price then sold for 'face value' on Twickets with a £100 fee. 2 x £150 face value tickets for £776, [this] should be illegal," he added. 

Twickets typically charges between 10-15% of the ticket value as its own fee. 

We have approached the company for comment.

Separately, the government is now looking at the practice of dynamic pricing - and we've had a response to that from the Competition and Markets Authority this morning.

It said: "We want fans to get a fair deal when they go to buy tickets on the secondary market and have already taken action against major resale websites to ensure consumer law is being followed properly. 

"But we think more protections are needed for consumers here, so it is positive that the government wants to address this. We now look forward to working with them to get the best outcomes for fans and fair-playing businesses."

Consumer protection law does not ban dynamic pricing and it is a widely used practice. However, the law also states that businesses should not mislead consumers about the price they must pay for a product, either by providing false or deceptive information or by leaving out important information or providing it too late.

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