Zach Cregger is an actor who mainly did comedy television in the early 2000's. His 2011 debut feature was an adaptation of his series The Whitest Kids U'Know (2007). He pivoted in his sophomore feature. He created a horror film called Barbarian (2022) and despite the genre switch, a sense of humor was still very much present there. The same is such here. This feature is also a horror film, but Cregger still employs a wicked and very dark sense of humor at various times. He manages to craft an overall creepy tone and atmosphere. He sprinkles a good amount of gore here and there, nothing that's overwhelming or makes this anywhere near as gross as it could have been. There are jump scares, but this film wouldn't necessarily be described as close-your-eyes terrifying. It's more disturbing than anything else.
The structure of the film is a bit odd, but if one considers that Cregger comes from the sketch comedy world, then maybe it makes more sense. The film is divided into six sections, each section focusing on a distinct character. Much in the way a sketch in a sketch-comedy show focuses on a distinct character. As with any sketch-comedy show, some sketches feel more vital than others, whereas some feel like padding. There's one character in particular that feels like he exists only to be comic relief in the end. The villain in this film also feels like comic relief and comes across as funny at times or ridiculous.
Julia Garner (Inventing Anna and Ozark) stars as Justine Gandy, an elementary school teacher. One day, she goes to class and finds that all the children in her class are missing, except for one. Despite the fact that there is video evidence that the children woke up in the middle of the night and ran away, all of the parents blame Justine, thinking that she possibly kidnapped them. How that makes sense doesn't make a lot of sense. For everyone to blame her and her alone seems odd. For starters, out of all the kids disappearing only one remains, and apparently none of the other parents finds that suspicious. If everyone thinks that all the children disappearing from the same teacher's class is odd, then why wouldn't the one child not disappearing also not raise suspicions as well towards that child?
Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame and No Country For Old Men) co-stars as Archer Graff, the father to one of the missing children. He's also a contractor that works on building homes in the town. After his son vanishes, he hounds the local police chief, demanding answers, but there are none. Archer suspects Justine and even stalks her to some degree. He's hyper-focused. He even starts his own investigation, trying to find where the kids went because again there's video evidence that they all ran away and weren't necessarily kidnapped. It's likely a Pied Pier situation, but it's a question of who's behind it. Yet, Archer's investigative skills never wonder why the one little boy not taken wasn't also taken and what could be the reason for that.
I'm also not sure if there is a central idea that Cregger is attempting to interrogate. It seems as if by the end, he's simply weaving a kooky tale that's filled with desperate people. The only thread that seems even remotely common is that of addiction. Justine perhaps has a drinking problem and is borderline an alcoholic. Archer doesn't seem to have any addictions ostensibly. His addiction to solving the case might appear reasonable, given that he's a worried parent, but it could also come across as borderline problematic. Later, in the narrative, there's a character who is a literal heroin addict.
Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer and Solo: A Star Wars Story) plays Paul, a police officer who is the ex-boyfriend of Justine. He has a new girlfriend, but he can easily fall back into bed with Justine. He also appears to be a recovering addict of some kind, most likely alcohol but possibly other things. He seems to be teetering on the edge because his current girlfriend constantly nags him about maintaining his sobriety and making sure he goes to AA meetings. With so many characters dealing with addiction in one way, shape, or form, it gets to a point if Cregger isn't trying to manifest some kind of addiction metaphor with what eventually turns out to be a supernatural tale.
Without spoiling it, perhaps the supernatural element here is meant to represent what addiction can do to not only individuals but also to an entire community. It could also be interpreted as what addiction can do to a child. By the end, we do get to know the one little boy who wasn't kidnapped. His name is Alex, played by Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives), who gives a really great performance for such a young performer. If this film is a so-called metaphor for how addiction can affect a child, it's perhaps effective in that it puts the child in the position of having to take care of things around the house and in some instances take care of his parents, despite the child being under the age of 10. If that is the metaphor at hand, the film is intriguing.
Yet, the structure of jumping around to these different characters in sketch-comedy fashion doesn't work for me. It ends up focusing on characters whom don't really matter, or giving them time that ultimately doesn't matter. At the same time, it short changes other characters that could've had more time. For example, Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange and The Martian) plays Marcus, the school principal who is Justine's boss. It's revealed that he's a gay man with a husband. It's rare to get those kinds of characters in a major motion picture and major Hollywood horror film. We get some significant time with him, but more about him and his marriage would have been more appreciated.
Oscar nominee, Amy Madigan (Carnivàle and Field of Dreams) rounds out the cast as Gladys, the aunt to Alex, the little boy who didn't get kidnapped. She gives a bonkers performance, which again can probably be traced to Cregger's comedy roots. Strangely though, she reminded me of Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance in The Dark Knight (2008). Her makeup here is also quite similar to Ledger's in that film. How he was both silly and scary, she also embodies, culminating in an over-the-top ending that is again quite disturbing, yet one can't help but laugh at it.
Rated R for graphic violence, adult content and language.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 8 mins.
Available on HBO Max.