This mystery unfolds like a wheel with numerous connecting parts. The story begins with a strange situation: seventeen children all leave their comfortable homes at exactly 2:17 am and then disappear without a trace. Law enforcement is stumped, and the parents are filled with doubt. About what? It turns out these kids were all in the same class as “Justine” (Julia Garner), and the only other student to show up the following day was “Alex” (Cary Christopher). What has she done with them? What does she understand? Initially, we hear the story from her viewpoint, then it shifts to the perspective of concerned parent “Archer” (Josh Brolin) as he contributes his piece to the puzzle; police officer “Paul” (Alden Ehrenreich); her employer "Marcus" (Benedict Wong); and finally, the perspective of the only remaining student who has recently had his quirky aunt “Gladys” (Amy Madigan) move in—a woman seemingly on her deathbed and somewhat distracted when he arrives at school. Is this because his classmates have vanished or does he possess more knowledge than we realize? To be truthful, there isn't a great deal of mystery here, but the acting is generally quite good, and for roughly the first hour, there’s a palpable sense of suspense. The presentation of each individual’s story allows us to see similar timelines relating to the central problem, but without unnecessary repetition. Each character has their own struggles; they are linked to some others but not all, and as the truth comes out, it becomes more about examining close-knit communities, beliefs, and traditions before shedding its horror elements and becoming somewhat hasty and foreseeable. Garner, Christopher, and Madigan perform admirably, although Brolin is about as engaging as a support beam, and his increased presence toward the conclusion makes you almost wish he would share the fate of the missing children. It’s among the better films in the genre so far this year, but it still fails to maintain that unsettling “Pied Piper” feeling right through to an ending that feels familiar.

Source on TMDB