Amber Alert (2024)
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Two ordinary people find themselves caught in a dangerous situation after receiving an AMBER alert for a child's abduction.
The story
In Louisville, Kentucky, seven-year-old Charlotte Bryce is abducted from a park while playing hide-and-seek with her younger brother. Her mother, Monica, captures partial footage of the kidnapping, showing Charlotte being approached by a black Toyota Camry. After contacting 911, Sergeant Phil Casey issues an AMBER Alert despite lacking a license plate number. Meanwhile, Jacqueline "Jaq" Dana, having missed her taxi ride, convinces off-duty rideshare driver Shane to give her a lift. While en route, they receive the AMBER Alert on their phones and soon spot a vehicle matching the description. At Jaq's urging, Shane agrees to follow the car.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Louisville, Kentucky, seven-year-old Charlotte Bryce is abducted from a park while playing hide-and-seek with her younger brother. Her mother, Monica, captures partial footage of the kidnapping, showing Charlotte being approached by a black Toyota Camry. After contacting 911, Sergeant Phil Casey issues an AMBER Alert despite lacking a license plate number. Meanwhile, Jacqueline "Jaq" Dana, having missed her taxi ride, convinces off-duty rideshare driver Shane to give her a lift. While en route, they receive the AMBER Alert on their phones and soon spot a vehicle matching the description. At Jaq's urging, Shane agrees to follow the car. At a gas station, Jaq sees a child in the back seat, increasing their suspicion that the car may be involved in the abduction. The pursuit continues to an isolated field, where they feign car trouble to confront the driver, who identifies himself as Aaron. He claims the child in the car, ‘Olympia’, requires medication for a heart condition, and that the vehicle is mistakenly being pursued. Believing the authorities may have been misled, Jaq and Shane initially let him go. However, Jaq realizes that the child is actually Charlotte and that Aaron has falsified the license plate to avoid detection, prompting them to resume the chase. Jaq and Shane eventually track Aaron to a secluded property. Despite police warnings to stay back, they investigate the house when Aaron leaves briefly and discover Charlotte held captive in a cage, along with evidence suggesting he previously abducted numerous other children. They manage to free Charlotte, but Aaron returns home, resulting in a confrontation. During the ensuing struggle, Aaron and Shane exchange gunfire, wounding each other. Aaron pursues Jaq and Charlotte, shooting Jaq twice while she shields Charlotte. Sergeant Casey intervenes, fatally shooting Aaron. A bandaged Shane accompanies the more wounded Jaq to an ambulance, while Charlotte is reunited with her mother.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kerry Bellessa
- Writers
- Kerry Bellessa · writer; Joshua Oram · writer
- Cast and characters
- Hayden Panettiere · Jaq; Tyler James Williams · Shane; Ducky Cash · Charlotte; Saidah Arrika Ekulona · Cici; Kurt Oberhaus · Aaron; Katie McClellan · Monica; Kevin Dunn · Sgt. Phil Casey
- Genres
- thriller
- Themes
- ethical and emotional questions ordinary citizens face when confronted with an AMBER Alert
- Tone and mood
- tense; grounded
- Premise and plot tags
- child abduction; thriller; remake
- Source material / true-story basis
- Bellessa's 2012 found-footage film of the same name
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the lead performances and production values but criticism for its predictability, narrative logic, and reliance on genre tropes.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 63% · review count: 16
- Production trivia
- The film is a remake of a 2012 found-footage film produced on a budget of approximately US$5,000.; The idea for the film originated from a real-life experience in 2010 when the director and his wife received an AMBER Alert while driving from Los Angeles to Phoenix.; The film was shot by Cinematographer Luka Bazeli, who used drone shots to emphasize the smallness of the vehicle and the difficulty of the search.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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