The movie “Amber Alert” is a fictional narrative that shows the scary behind the scenes of amber alert calls. It was released Sept. 27, and directed by Kerry Bellessa. This movie stuck out to me because I like mystery themes and I was interested in seeing more background on how amber alerts work. The movie portrays emotions of sadness and fear while having a storyline that keeps the viewer entertained.
The movie follows a seven-year-old girl named Charlotte (Ducky Cash) who gets abducted in broad daylight. Soon after, two people, Jaq (Hayden Panettiere) and Shane (Tyler James Williams), set out on a mission to find her, hearing out about her abduction via amber alert. They end up following the abductor and using Jaq’s clever mind to solve clues in order to find Charlotte.
Going into the movie I didn’t know any of the cast and had not previously watched any movies directed by Kerry Bellessa, but I was surprised at how emotional this movie made me feel and how much suspense and unease it caused. The cast was well picked, and even though I didn’t know any of the actors, they were able to show real and raw emotion. Panettiere did an outstanding job in her role, as she was able to express her emotions well and it made her character, Jaq, very believable. Another actor who stood out to me was Katie McClellan, who played Charlotte’s mom, Monica. She played her part as a terrified mom so expertly, you could tell she had passion for her role. Lastly, Tyler James William played the role of a man named Shane, who was forced into the situation of finding Charlotte. He was really thorough with expressing emotions in the movie. During all the scenes with a creepier setting he was able to express unease and alarm. He was able to effectively portray how he felt through emotions and expressions. The fear was so evident on his face, that it felt convincing and made you feel that the movie was real.
The soundtrack in the movie helped make the scenes feel scarier and nerve-racking. It helped carry the suspense and draw out the scenes. An example where the soundtrack carried was when there was a car chase in the movie and the song helped you wonder “what is going to happen next?” The cinematography was also well set in the movie, especially the lighting and certain angles which really helped me visualize the scenes from different perspectives. Both of those factors helped make the movie creepier for specific scenes with Shane and Jaq looking for Charlotte after she was abducted. In the movie, the lighting was also very helpful because it made the atmosphere more frightening during certain parts.
The costumes in the movie weren’t anything special, and that is why they worked. The movie follows two “average” people, so I understand why the costumes are not the most interesting. There weren’t many costumes in the movie because the movie takes place only one day. Throughout the day, the outfits progressively became more rugged, showing what the characters were going through. A costume that did stand out to me in the movie was Charlotte’s outfit. In the amber alert they described what she was wearing, and it made me notice how important that factor can be when you are looking for someone. They describe her as wearing a yellow dress, pink socks and white shoes. Her outfit also shows how innocent she is and makes you feel for her even more because of how young she is.
The writing in this movie was overall pretty solid, but it could use a few more tweaks to really help connect certain things for the viewer. The movie had a good story line with lots of moments that were intense and action packed. A lot of the scenes brought in emotions that impacted the viewer by making them feel closer to certain characters.
I thought that “Amber Alert” was good, but not very realistic. This could have easily been changed. I do not think that this movie should have been this unrealistic and misleading while touching on such a serious topic. The storyline could have changed a bit more but overall the movie had a lot of potential for what it was and most of it was met. There were just certain areas where it could have been improved like the script. I enjoyed watching the movie because it was very suspenseful but in other parts it was overly creepy and I think they could have toned it down a little bit. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes thriller or mystery movies.
“Amber Alert:” ★★★☆☆
