Today I managed to catch a screening of The Disappearance of Alice Creed at the Tribeca film fest. It’s a really solid little thriller that has the single greatest opening sequence of any film at the fest thus far. In it, we watch as two guys run around doing errands- errands that indicate that they’re clearly up to no good. We see them steal a van and change its plates, pick up drills and soundproofing at a hardware store, installing locks and bolts on a door and blocking out windows in an apartment. And then with no warning, no idea of who they are or why they’re doing what they’re doing- they grab a girl and kidnap her. They bring her back to the prepared room, strip her and handcuff her to a bed, and lock her in the room.
It just gets worse from there.
You might note that there are only three names in the poster on the right, and that’s because there are only three actors in the whole film. It’s to the actors’ credit that it’s such a tight thriller, because this is a very “couple of people talking in a room”-type film, and it’s only because of their performances that it manages to be so captivating.
It’s also, however, a film that relies on the twists and turns the story takes, which makes it sad that the just-released trailer for the film gives so much of the story away. Watch it at Apple at your own risk.
Anchor Bay will be opening the film in NYC and a few other cities on August 6th. If you can, catch this one without knowing much more about it.