At 2:17am in Maybrook, Pennsylvania, 17 children from a class taught by Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) suddenly flee from their homes and disappear, bar one student, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). The parents, headed by Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), focus on Ms Gandy in their search for their missing children.

Writer, co-producer, and director Zach Cregger continues his brand of horror developed in Barbarian (2022), delivering a much more satisfying, coherent, and well-thought-out mystery-thriller yarn.

Inspired by Magnolia (1999), the movie is split between its leads’ perspectives, covering the mystery’s landscape before all relevant characters converge on the story’s resolution. Unlike Together (2025), the movie does not serve as a metaphorical or allegorical social commentary. Rather, the twisty-spooky story is more in the vein of M. Night Shyamalan, or an X-Files episode.

Shot dark with iconic images of children oddly running into the night, the movie is also darkly humorous, with quirky score choices contrasting against the thriller visuals. The lead characters also have their quirks: the overly empathic Ms Gandy struggles with alcohol addiction and has an extramarital affair with a recovering alcoholic investigating police officer (Alden Ehrenreich), who himself is feuding against a lively local homeless drug addict burglar (Austin Abrams). Brolin brings a grim determination against all the zaniness in his dogged attempt at bringing his lost son home.

Verdict: An intriguing and humorous mystery yarn that frustratingly leaves a few threads bare. 4 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net. Viewed at Dendy Cinemas.

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