From the director of Barbarian, comes this mysterious tale about school children who go missing at 2:17 AM by running out of their houses like deranged anime characters. As with Barbarian, it’s much better if you go into the film not knowing much about the story. Part of the fun is how it unravels and you, as the viewer, get to piece together the bits.

Like Pulp Fiction, the narrative is not told in a strictly linear way. You think it is going one way, then it resets, and you get to see things from a slightly different perspective. While I don’t think the director was trying to push a specific theme or message, I do think there are some clear allegorical tie-ins to real world problems. To me, that is always the best kind of horror when it connects on multiple levels and leaves you pondering for hours, days, even weeks after.

The performances were top notch, especially Julia Garner as the teacher of the disappeared children and Josh Brolin as the dad of one of the missing kids. Then you also have Benedict Wong as the school principal, who is more loveable the more you get to know him.

My only real complaint was there were a few times when the dim “natural” lighting of a room made it almost impossible to see what was going on. I’m all for darkness to set a mood or build tension in the viewer. Directors like David Fincher knew how to do this and still maintain the integrity of the scene. This movie fell a little short with the murky scenes that felt like you were stuck in a foggy bog.

Even still, you aren’t going to find a better horror movie than this these days. So thank your lucky stars and watch it in a dimly lit room in the middle of the night.

Rating: