What I do know is that there is not much on the foundation's site other than gratuitous offers to find out more about his film, and zero information regarding this actual abduction, save for a poorly done video of "documented footage of his arrest" (which, seriously, looks like Andrew bribed his buddies with a pan of pizza rolls if they'd come over one Saturday afternoon and help him put together some "evidence"). Add to all of this the continuous rhetoric on the director's commentary track about how he was given access to all this classified information, and he couldn't reveal his sources, and all the bizarre things that happened during the making of this movie, and etc... Do I sound a little suspicious and jaded? It's because I am.
My review of the gimmick/conspiracy portion of the product is... well, not very good. I'd give it a C-. Since I could find no public record of his disappearance (no local papers care that a director has been missing for a year?) except for a site that, oh yeah, is also trying to sell a movie... And I have quite a few doubts that government officials would be doling out a lot of classified information to a first-time filmmaker. On the other hand, I do appreciate the indie spirit and trying to separate your offering from the rest of the herd. So I'll meet him in the middle and just call it "unfortunate" but not "horrible."
And the film itself? For what it is, I don't think the film is all that bad. It definitely struggles in some areas, but the idea is intriguing and provides some food for thought. Keeping in mind that most indie films are developed on a shoestring budget and must be completed in an amazingly short amount of time, it's certainly commendable. Yes, it has that "Lifetime movie" look and feel to it, but the occasional strong performance give it enough reality to hang its hat on that you can sufficiently get lost in a Saturday afternoon matinee. Overall, it's a good enough renter.
Edited: [GH]
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