One of the main reasons why the mystery thriller is never going to go out of fashion is an incredibly simple one. Viewers love to watch along, put forward and discuss their own theories, and see if they manage to uncover the identity of the real culprit before the rest of the characters do, or hit that occasional sweet spot where you can predict a huge twist long before it reveals itself.
It’s one of the easiest genres to lose yourself in, which must be why unsung Canadian movie Disappearance at Clifton Hill has surged back into the Netflix Top 10. As per FlixPatrol, the well-received whodunnit has become the fourth most-watched feature film in the United States overnight, not a bad return for a project that initially scored a quiet release over two years ago.
Tuppence Middleton stars in the lead role of Abby, who returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls after she’s bequeathed a family-run motel in the titular district after the death of her mother. However, it doesn’t take long before old and unwanted memories begin to resurface, with the determined protagonist setting out to piece together her fractured remembrance of a kidnapping she’d witnessed as a child.
It’s an engaging enough premise that’s executed with precision by the cast and crew, and enough cylinders were firing to propel Disappearance at Clifton Hill to a strong 74 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Middleton’s performance coming in for particular praise. There are plenty of unexpected turns to be found in the narrative, then, but Netflix subscribers are hoping to solve them first.
