Panic Fest 2020 Short Film Review: ‘Amber,’ Is Every Parent’s Worst Nightmare

Every parent’s worst nightmare is the kidnapping of their child. The short film, Amber, directed by Andrew Wynkoop (To Pierce An Angel’s Wing 2017), addresses this issue with a nightmarish twist. I recently got to watch it for Panic Fest 2020. The film stars Sherill Quinn (Choice 2019), Johnny Gilligan (Blackthorne TV series), and Cassandra Lyback (Proud 2019).

Synopsis:

A girl is kidnapped, sparking a statewide Amber Alert. A private detective on the case discovers something sinister has occurred.

At a crisp eight minutes, Amber doesn’t have a lot of time to get its story across, but it doesn’t need it. The film starts off immediately with the piercing, shrill sound of the dreaded Amber Alert alarm while a mother (Quinn) looks around desperately for her daughter, who is being led away ominously by a stranger.

The bulk of the film revolves around a private detective’s (Gilligan) search for Amber (Lyback), and what he finds will shock and horrify you. Amber is a spooky film that has some creepy moments and one hell of a twist.

Filmmaker Andrew Wynkoop did a brilliant job telling this story in such a short time period of time! I look forward to seeing more work from him in the future. Amber is absolutely worth seeing.