Have you ever got that Amber Alert pop-up on your cell phone? The universal symbol that a child is missing (and most likely in danger) often comes in the form of a glaring alert on your phone usually providing details on the child as well as their possible abductor’s information, primarily their car make, model, and license plate number. Now most times, we see that, think to ourselves “How sad,” and possibly say a prayer for the young child and hope law enforcement sorts things out before it’s too late. However, director Kerry Bellessa’s new film Amber Alert (a remake of the 2012 found footage film of the same name and plot) explores what would happen if some concerned citizens decided to step up and try to save the child.
Amber Alert begins with Monica (Katie McClellan) simply playing with her children in the part with her mother. As her mother complains about smothering her children by not letting them go outside by themselves (after all, she tells her daughter she used to leave the house and come home before dark and was fine), and while this is going on, her daughter Charlotte (Ducky Cash) is playing in the park just out of her mother’s eyesight. Unbeknownst to her, a car is watching Charlotte and soon enough the young child is abducted. Amber Alert does a great job at showcasing just how easily their worst nightmare can come true in such a quick amount of time.
Meanwhile, Jaq (Panettiere) is a hard corporate worker. She has a blind date, but unfortunately, her rideshare driver leaves after she takes too long to come outside to be picked up. Luckily for her Shane (Tyler James Williams) is a rideshare driver who just dropped off his last fare as he’s getting ready to go celebrate his son’s birthday despite his estrangement from his son’s mother. Even though he says to Jaq that he’s off the clock, she convinces him to work off the books for more cash. He figures since they are both going in the same direction, he’ll make a quick buck dropping Jaq off. Unfortunately, that’s when the Amber Alert goes off on both of their phones.
The 911 dispatcher CiCi (Saidah Arrika Ekulona) who originally received the call from Monica doesn’t have much to go off of since Monica was unable to get a license plate number from the abductor. However, after her boss Seargent Casey (Kevin Dunn) advised her to put out the Amber Alert, everyone in the city made calls for the make a model of the car. And it just happens that Jaq and Shane get the alert while they are making small talk in the car, and they just happen to see what they think might be the car. While most people will call the police, report it, and then carry on with the rest of their day, both Jaq and Shane quickly become emotionally invested in trying to help in any way possible.
They first try and follow the car throughout the town. When the car stops for gas (and doesn’t actually get gasoline) and the man leaves his car to go into the store, Jaq tries to look into the incredibly tinted windows and catches a glimpse of a child’s feet in the car. Trying to avoid being seen, she then drops one of her air pods into the car. As long as they are close enough to the car, they will be able to hear what’s going on in the car via Bluetooth. As their chase leaves the city area and ventures into rural Kentucky, Amber Alert starts to have plenty of suspenseful moments, including the would-be abductor (Kurt Oberhaus) confronting them for following him as well as a few fake outs making them think they might not be following the actual culprit, but they know in their bones that they are on the right path, which proves to be correct.
Towards the end of Amber Alert, the tension racks up and you have to remember that not only are these two people complete strangers, but they also aren’t action heroes. They are just regular people who simply want to make sure an innocent child is safe, and they put themselves in a great deal of danger to try and save young Charlotte. Amber Alert works well thanks to the chemistry of Hayden Panettiere and Tyler James Williams. Initially, the film flirts with the idea of the two flirting, but never follows through on the two “finding each other” through the trauma. They simply just want to do the right thing and after learning about their backstories, you understand exactly why they do what they do. In addition, Kurt Oberhaus is very creepy as “The Man,” especially towards the end of the film. While the original film was labeled “divisive” using the found footage format, this remake is a straightforward thriller with plenty of twists and turns, especially towards the explosive final act.
As everything comes together and concludes in Amber Alert, the film’s epilogue reminds the audience that even though this film is fictional, the reason that Amber Alerts exists is very much a real thing. After the abduction and murder of Amber Rene Hagerman in 1996 and the initiation of the Amber Alert system, more than 1,186 children have been recovered after being abducted. Since they remade their own original film, it’s clear this is an important issue for the filmmaker and writer Joshua Oram and they want to keep the issue as part of the public lexicon, and if making a lean thriller with two likable leads to save the day can do it, then Amber Alert is a success!
Amber Alert is now playing in select cities and On Demand.
