Dipaly Banerjee
Lifetime’s ’12 Desperate Hours’ is a thriller movie that centers on a family’s terrifying ordeal during a home invasion. Val, Mark, and their children are held hostage in their home by a murderer Denny. To save her family, Val decides to play along in the dangerous game designed by Denny and offers to drive him to places while committing rampages and illegal activities. Val is forced to abide by his rules and act as his unwilling accomplice for the safety of her family and gain Denny’s trust. As the hours pass by, tensions rise, and the family faces their worst fears.
Despite the terrifying occurrences, Val develops a rapport with her kidnapper and uses the connection to try to rescue herself as well as the bystanders. Helmed by Gina Gershon, the Lifetime thriller is an adaptation of Ann Rule’s ‘Last Chance, Last Dance’ true crime collection, a heart-pounding film that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The filming locations added a layer of suspense and grimness to the movie. So, if the movie aficionado in you is keen to learn more about all the sites and places which elevated your viewing experience, let’s probe deeper!
12 Desperate Hours: Where Was it Filmed?
’12 Desperate Hours’ was filmed entirely in West Virginia, particularly in Fairmont. The principal photography for the Lifetime movie commenced in August 2022 and wrapped up within 15 days of filming. Now, without wasting time, let’s traverse all the specific sites that appear in the thriller movie!
Fairmont, West Virginia
All the pivotal sequences for ‘12 Desperate Hours’ were lensed in and around Fairmont, a city in and county seat of West Virginia’s Marion County. From the looks of it, the filming unit set up camp at various sites across the city to record different interior and exterior scenes against suitable backdrops. The film’s crew also used one of the local jails of the city where a few of the scenes of the film was shot. Sheriff Jim provided great support to the cast and crew and made the whole filming process very comfortable.
Moreover, the cast and crew reportedly utilized one of the private residences in the city to shoot a few key scenes. The principal city of the Fairmont micropolitan area, Fairmont, is known to be the Pepperoni Roll Capital of the world, as this is where the eponymous snack originated. Furthermore, it is home to important landmarks such as Fairmont’s National White Collar Crime Center, NOAA Robert H. Mollohan Research Facility, the Jacobs-Hutchinson Block building, and the NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility. Other famous productions shot in the location are ‘The Man from Toronto,’ ‘Feast of the Seven Fishes,’ ‘1863,’ and others.
12 Desperate Hours Cast
Samantha Mathis essays the role of Val, the cunning mother, in the Lifetime film. You might recognize her from her other performances in ‘American Psycho,’ ‘Broken Arrow,’ ‘Billions,’ and others. Harrison Thomas has done a brilliant job in portraying Denny Tuohmy, the murderer and kidnapper, in the thriller film. The actor is recognized for his portrayal of Lyle in ‘Better Call Saul‘ and Carson in ‘600 Miles.’
Other supporting cast includes David Conrad as Mark Jane, Tina Alexis Allen as Francine, Tali Rabinowitz as Cherie, Tamara French as Jessica, Hannah Dunne as Carolee, Jesse C. Boyd as Jesse, Leo Cocovinis as Parker, and Lanz Duffy as Spence.
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