Horror is Home for the Holidays in Screambox Original Anthology Night of the Missing (2023)

Title: Night of the Missing

First Non-Festival Release: November 28, 2023 (Digital/Streaming Platforms)

Director: Samuel Gonzalez Jr., Matthew Hersh

Writer: Samuel Gonzalez Jr., Gigi Gustin

Runtime: 73 Minutes

Starring: Meredith Thomas, Jill Awbrey, Gigi Gustin

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

A woman (Jill Awbrey) wanders into a police station to confront the Sheriff (Meredith Thomas) about the number of missing persons cases. From there, she tells the tales of four different people. In “We All Scream,” a boy is visited late at night by an ice cream truck. A woman has a strange phone conversation in “Nite Flirt.” Two women outrun a mob of angry suburbanites in “Minature.” Lastly, a drug deal goes wrong in “You Promised.” These tales intertwine with the heated conversation between the woman and Sheriff regarding the validity of the woman’s claims. 

Empty anthology horror failed by lack of creativity; Night of the Missing is a tedious affair in supernatural horror.

 An anthology film is as great as its weakest segment, and unfortunately for Night of the Missing, most of them are bland. “We All Scream” is a relatively short shot of horror that depicts its very simple concept of a young boy getting visited by an ice cream truck with sinister intentions. It isn’t awful but doesn’t do much with its concept to create tension. In “Nite Flirt,” a phone call is drawn out over the course of its short runtime before ending in a rather dull and obvious note. Rounding it off, “You Promised” has the energy the film sorely needs but does not cohesively fit into the film’s overarching premise of missing persons cases, as the entire short film suggests that the characters would be found. It’s not that any of the shorts are insultingly bad; they are just kind of there.

The high point comes in the form of “Miniature” which sees two women evade a small city full of people chasing after them like a horde of zombies. As the duo fights for their lives in this chaotic world that seems so unnatural to our own, clues can be discerned on what exactly is happening. While predictable, it is a nice change of pace from the more stagnant sections of the film. Additionally, it is always nice to see a horror film shoot primarily during the day and pull it off with any amount of success, so props to the crew on “Miniature” for achieving that.

Another confusing element of Night of the Missing is its dragging wraparound segment, which kills the pacing of the film while simultaneously muddling the point of it all. The woman and Sheriff have little chemistry with each other, and neither performer is giving what they need to make their scenes believable or compelling. Screaming in a dimly lit police station has all the tension of a bad day at the office before the wraparound veers off into cartoonish territory. Additionally, there are implications that the Sheriff is responsible for the events that happen in the other shorts, which is confusing to say the least given that the audience witnesses them as they are recounted to the Sheriff. It all just feels so rushed and poorly planned.

While its mostly a miss, there are some cool moments within the project that demonstrate the potential for more. Some interesting shots throughout the film showcase a propensity for memorable imagery. This is especially true in the climax of “We All Scream” where an arm extends further and further from the ice cream truck to get closer to the unsuspecting child awaiting a sweet treat. “You Promised” features the most suspense out of any of the stories, which comes from the more direct approach to violence rather the other film’s more supernatural bases.

Poorly paced, written, and acted, Night of the Missing doesn’t offer much beyond a few cool shots and some interesting ideas in its holiday anthology framework. While this Screambox original does try to make the most of its scant production, there is only so much it can do to save the awkward dialogue and story choices. It isn’t the worst film in the world, but it wouldn’t be a tragedy if Night of the Missing went missing from your streaming queue.

Overall Score? 4/10