Anna Daniels
Albert Shin’s Disappearance At Clifton Hill is a curious Canadian case of kidnapping, repressed memories, and the maddening effects of Niagra Falls. IFC Midnight nabbed distribution rights after positive reactions came out of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, praising the film’s nu-noir aesthetic. I’ve yet to watch it myself, but an earlier trailer paints an underbelly small-town vibe as one woman attempts to make sense of questions from her childhood. The answers, I can only assume, are neither easy to suss out or particularly reassuring given the tragic nature of her haunting recollections.
Today on /Film, we have an exclusive clip from Shin’s film, which features David Cronenberg in a rare spot acting in front of the camera. Check out the scene below.
Disappearance at Clifton Hill Clip
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tQzJOi_fDk?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
What I assume we’ve just witnessed is Abby (Tuppence Middleton) and Walter’s (Cronenberg) first meetup, Abby being the woman who returns home and is sure she remembers witnessing a kidnapping. Now it’s years later, and we can only presume Walter – who refers to himself as the “town historian” – will aid in her sleuthing as puzzle pieces fit into place. Who knows, maybe she’ll even guest on his podcast, “Over The Falls?” Isn’t that how all good friendships start? Er, if Abby and Walter end up being friends and not adversaries given the town’s supposed unsavory past.
Granted, this is but a taste of Shin’s mystery. Where David Cronenberg spends his time scuba diving for sunken relics of older generations. Where one-eyed boys once roamed, where local bars invite seedy patrons, and where everyone finds their way back home. Maybe for a reason, if that reason is long-overdue justice and clearing an unhealthy conscience.
Disappearance At Clifton Hill will see its release on February 28, 2020, both in a limited theatrical capacity and across major VOD platforms.
Check out the full synopsis below:
Following the death of her mother, Abby (Tuppence Middleton, The Imitation Game, Downton Abbey), a troubled young woman with a checkered past, returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls and the dilapidated motel her family used to run. While there, she finds herself drawn once again into a mystery that has haunted her since childhood: what happened to the young boy she saw being violently abducted in the woods twenty-five years ago?
As Abby sets out to find out the truth, she must confront both a shocking, long-buried conspiracy that runs as deep as the falls themselves as well as her own inner demons.
Bristling with an air of surreal menace, this mood-drenched thriller is a tantalizing psychological puzzle box that unfolds in the hallucinatory realm between reality and perception.
Cool Posts From Around the Web: Written by: Slash
