Amber Alert
In 2012, there was a movie called “Amber Alert” , which can be categorized as a “found footage” type. The concept was captivating but the execution was quite messy (typical of found footage films). A group of children hears an amber alert and sees a car on the interstate. They pursue the car causing a series of unreasonable twists and turns which all happen to be ‘recorded’ by the cell phone cameras. Amber Alert one of the most memorable things I took away from this movie was the sound of people yelling. People fought from beginning to end and it felt chaotic and quite unstructured. Fast forward to 2024, and this time round there is another movie which has the same name as well as the scenario, how original! Quite typical of the found footage genre though. Both films had the same director, Kerry Bellessa. As Yogi Berra once said: “It’s deja vu all over again.”
To return and do a sequel for a film that was originally made over a decade ago is quite funny. Why bother if everything is on the same level? The world has so many narratives to explore.
This one should perhaps not be told again. The 2012 version has clearly been filmed on a low budget and the found footage genre came with all its usual challenges. The one completed in 2024 is much more refined, the acting is considerably enhanced, and in a sense, it is more straightforward, even with its ridiculous last sequence. The premise is slightly complex, but it goes something like this:
While Charlotte is playing hide and seek with her brother, she disappears from the park. Mother is in a state of panic. While recording a video of her infant, she notices her daughter next to a black car in the video. She panics and calls the police. On the other side, Jaq (Hayden Panettiere), a young woman, hails an off-the-clock rideshare. She’s in dire need and is running behind schedule. Shane (Tyler James Williams), a driver who was supposed to get home for his son’s birthday, ends up driving her because it is convenient for him. They receive the Amber Alert on their phones and after some minutes, they believe they see the vehicle in question. They call authorities and then pretty much pursue the zip of the vehicle as it moves.
The setup is intriguing and Panettiere along with Williams establish a realistic attraction even though it is initiated through small talk. Shane seems reluctant to get into the pursuit of the Amber Alert vehicle, but Jaq’s ardor and urgency influe. The police have a horse running with tips that rush in (from Jaq and Shane too) and in the end help the two detectives, doing their work for them practically.
Saidah Arrika Ekulona demonstrates her abilities as the dispatcher who receives the first phone call. She is able to persuade Sergeant Kevin Dunn that an Amber alert is indeed necessary despite not having a car’s registration plate and searching for a Camry (looking for a needle in a haystack). After the section with Jaq and Shane takes up the action, Ekulona is pretty much absent from the film, which is a shame since the film could use her viewpoint. There are a number of quite safe “dispatcher” pictures (with Gustav Möller’s 2018 “The Guilty” being the most recognizable). Ekulona talks through the phone and doesn’t show any discomfort. The human dispatcher operates day to day. Jaq and Shane are evidently actors on set. Each one possesses a back story and, In theory, this makes them sympathetic to the cause of the missing child. All of this is irrelevant and pulls down the work “Amber Alert”. We do not need to listen about Jaq’s history to “figure out” what makes her tick in relation to the missing girl.
The rhythm of the film moves like a well oiled machine and at some points, drone cinematography, by Luka Bazeli also enhances the theme of the small size of the car and how hopeless the searching is. (It is true that drone shots are effective, but I sometimes prefer a traditional helicopter shot as this gives a sense of reality to what is happening on screen. If ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ had drone shots with no helicopter hovering around the characters, it would have been impractical because it would have produced a different result altogether.)
The premise of “Amber Alert “claims to be the amber alert system however in the very last few moments two title screens come up explaining how the system was established and the number of children it has rescued. Towards the end, the film is unable to resist transforming into an episode of ‘Criminal Minds’. Jaq and Shane engage in behaviors that are eccentric and difficult to grasp, and they take extraordinary risks. Instead you get an sense of faux threat that makes it necessary to complete the list of requirements for a ‘thriller’ such as bang, boom and action. There’s many things to be desired and intended with ‘Amber Alert’ but at times it feels like a thriller. But once the final duel begins, there are all the qualities of a script.
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