Movie Review: AMBER ALERT

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: September 27th, 2024 / 06:56 AM

AMBER ALERT movie poster | ©2024 Lionsgate

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Hayden Panettiere, Tyler James Williams, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Kurt Oberhaus, Katie McClellan, Kevin Dunn, Ducky Cash
Writers: Kerry Bellesa & Joshua Oram
Director: Kerry Bellesa
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: September 27, 2024 (theatrical, VOD)

An Amber Alert is a law enforcement notification to the public about an abducted or missing child (the alert got its name from 1996 kidnap/murder victim Amber Hagerman).

AMBER ALERT (the new release, not to be confused with earlier films that share the title) uses this notification as a springboard for a plot that is improbable but nevertheless entertaining.

We start out in the suburbs near Louisville, Kentucky. As the opening credits roll, we realize that we are accompanying a predator as he scopes out children from the anonymity of his car, seeking likely victims.

Not too far away, Jaq (Hayden Panettiere) is late. Her original rideshare car takes off without her. Jaq bribes another rideshare driver, Shane (Tyler James Williams), who has just dropped off what he meant to be his last fare of the night, into taking her to her destination, since it’s on his way.

Shane, we learn, is on his way to his ex’s home to celebrate the sixth birthday of their little boy. Jaq is late for a date.

In a park, Monica Bryce (Katie McClellan) argues with her mom about child care. Monica’s older two children, seven-year-old Charlotte (Ducky Cash) and a little boy, play hide and seek while Monica holds her baby.

And then Charlotte, behind a tree, sees a car door open with a big doll in the passenger seat.

Monica, snapping pictures of her son, inadvertently photographs Charlotte about to get into the car. She is understandably overwhelmed with terror, guilt and grief, but is able to call the police.

Extremely dedicated and compassionate desk officer Cici (Saidah Arrika Ekulona) persuades her immediate supervisor, Sgt. Casey (Kevin Dunn) to put out an Amber Alert. He is hesitant because they don’t have a license plate and the photo shows a black Camry sedan, a vehicle driven by half the city’s population. This means the tip line will overflow.

Like everybody else in town, Jaq and Shane get the Amber Alert on their cell phones. They commiserate on what a sad phenomenon this is. And then Jaq notices that the car driving in front of them is a black Camry sedan.

Jaq dutifully calls the tip line, but isn’t given further instructions. So, she thinks that she and Shane should follow the Camry, just in case …

This isn’t actually the part of AMBER ALERT that seems especially unlikely. Plenty of folks, out of a desire to get a chance to play hero or out of plain curiosity, might follow a suspicious vehicle themselves.

What the Camry driver does once he knows he’s being followed is a little more questionable, and the law enforcement component courts disbelief at certain points.

If these aspects can be put aside, though, AMBER ALERT has a lot of good cat-and-mouse. Director Kelly Bellesa, who cowrote the script with Joshua Oram, uses wide shots to emphasize how hard it can be for bystanders to understand what they’re seeing.

While we can tell AMBER ALERT was made on a budget, this almost never intrudes on the film’s visible needs. Indeed, some sequences that are staged cleanly and without fuss are all the more effective for their restraint. The filmmakers are also adroit at conveying the depths of horror underlying the action, without being unduly exploitive or showing anything too triggering on camera.

It’s easy to root for Jaq and Shane, two extremely decent individuals who want to do the right thing. Panettiere as Jaq has steely determination and persuasive astonishment at herself and the situation. Williams puts across caution and innate kindness. Ekulona impresses as the rock-solid dispatcher, and Kurt Oberhaus gives the kidnapper a folksy, down to Earth quality that illustrates why he’s been able to go under the radar for so long.

With legitimate high stakes and a good puzzle story, AMBER ALERT fulfills its mandate.

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