There’s nothing quite like a good mystery to set pulses racing and brains whirring. Indeed, some of the most compelling cinema is created when the main protagonist is kept in the dark. We begin to root for them. Follow them as they try to connect the dots, searching for the truth vicariously through their actions. Sometimes, as David Lynch has demonstrated on multiple occasions, the weirder and more oblique, the better. This is the case with Albert Shin’s new film Disappearance at Clifton Hill.
After the death of her mom, Abby (Tuppence Middleton) returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls and takes up residence in the rundown hotel which used to belong to her family. She reconnects with her sister (Hannah Gross), and the pair recommence and uneasy relationship; Laurie worried about her mental stability. Abby finds herself drawn back into a childhood mystery, which soon turns into a personal obsession.
Disappearance at Clifton Hill is an offbeat neon crime drama about a town which is crumbling at the seams and a community which is still trading on past glories. As the story twists and turns we’re led down an entirely unusual path. Shin throws in a number of curveballs and red herrings, making us question whether we’re being shown the entire truth. The ending is so sudden, you’ll blink and miss it. Disappearance at Clifton Hill is an outlandish tale which takes many risks and profits from its boldness.
Disappearance at Clifton Hill is released on Digital Download by Lightbulb Film Distribution on 20 July and on DVD on 3 August.
