Disappearance At Clifton Hill

We all experience trauma in many different ways. It might have been something we experienced as children, or if we lost someone close to us. Some might have gone through an abusive childhood, or a horrible marriage as an adult. Trauma can change our life completely, especially if you have experienced something horrible. When it comes to films that are dealing with trauma experiences, there are a lot of titles to choose between. And i could easily pick films that are not too old, but i decided to go in another direction. Let´s go back 19 years in time to the year of 2001, when the psychological thriller Don´t Say A Word was released. Directed by Gary Fleder ( who directed the wonderful crime film Things To Do In Denver When You´re Dead ), this film tells the stort of Dr. Nathan R. Conrad ( played by legendary actor Michael Douglas ) who is asked by Dr. Louis Sachs ( played by legendary actor Oliver Platt ) to examine a " disturbed " young girl named Elisabeth Burrows ( played by actress Brittany Murphy, who will always be remembered ). It turns out that Elisabeth may be the only one who can save a kidnapped girl, with a six-digit number that only she knows. Don´t Say A Word may not be a masterpiece in any way, but as an psychological thriller, i have to say that this film feels effective, especially thanks to the great cast. I suggest you pick this film up on DVD or Blu Ray, and please listen to the commentary track. You do get some interesting details about making this film, and the vision that director Gary Fleder had making this film. I recently came across a thriller film on VOD i have not seen called Disappearance At Clifton Hill. I noticed that this film is directed by Albert Shin, who directed the really good film In Her Place, released in 2014. Is this a thriller that could please a lot of fans of this genre, or is the Disappearance At Clifton Road a film that no one will notice at all ?

When Abby was a small girl, she witnessed a kidnapping while fishing with her family. Many years have gone by, and Abby ( Tuppence Middleton ) return to her hometown of Niagra Falls, to find out what happens with her mother´s motel, as she and her sister Laure ( Hannah Gross ) to find out about their heritage. Laurie is not interested in the motel at all, while Abby can´t imagine letting that place go. While Abby remember the kidnapping she witness as a child. She diecides to invetigate what really happened back then. The further she digs into the evidence, the more she realise what lies behind the real truth.

If you enjoy old school thrillers that takes it´s time to reveal the truth, then you should enjoy Disappearance At Clifton Hill. It is like going back to the 90´s, when you saw those thrillers that took place in a small town, where secrets have been hidden for many years. In these days when a lot of thrillers try to be more modern, while this film tries to go back to the roots of how thrillers used to be. And i appreciate the effort, since i think we need thrillers, that heads toward a more traditional concept. One of the things that especially make this film interesting, is that this film becomes an investigation of a child who witnessed a kidnapping, and she is now as an adult trying to find out the truth. When the main character Abby digs deeper into the case, the film manage to balance the story with a realistic portrait of a woman who have lived with trauma for a long time. Lead actress Tuppence Middleton ( who i am sure that most of you have seen in the Netflix TV series Sense 8 ), gives her character Abby a very interesting personality. You can sense that she is struggling with her past, knowing that she is sure that she did witness a kidnapping. One of the characters that i really feel give this film a lift up, is thanks to the performance of legendary actor / director David Lynch ( director of Scanners and A History Of Violence ). His character Walter have been searching for evidence on this case for a long time, so you do find out some interesting details through him. I will say that the only negative i can say, is that the film is a bit slow in some scenes, and you need to have patience to find out the truth. Director Albert Shin have clearly felt inspired to make a film, that brings back the thriller genre back on it´s feet, with a simpe but effective story. If you don´t want CGI effects, and no expolsions, then i have feeling that Disappearance Of Clifton Hill should probably be a good choice for you. 

Rating: DDD