Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth - Review

Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth, directed by Daniel Bowhers, was a surprising hidden gem for me. Tubi recommended it to me one day, and I was surprised I’d never heard anything about it. Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of the film on the first watch. I expected something different than I got and had to readjust my expectations before giving it a second shot. Despite some clunky, inconsistent acting and questionable writing choices, it's a delightful watch.

The movie focuses on Olivia Brandreth, a documentarian who returns to her hometown of Rochester, New York seeking answers about her father, the titular Nick Brandreth, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1997. Olivia, her producer, Chris, and her cameraman, Luke, quickly find themselves in a bizarre rabbit hole of conspiracy, time travel, and cosmic horror.

That’s as much of a summary as I can give without giving too much away. Blue Hour is very David Lynch-adjacent, and I enjoyed it more when viewing it from that angle. The tone is inconsistent, with some characters being earnest and others wholly outlandish and chewing every scene (Detective Captain Lynch and Hank Arboghast, I’m looking directly at you). Characters will sometimes have incomprehensible reactions or non-reactions to events happening before them. The ending is also hard to follow and, if you think too much about it, leaves a lot of questions unanswered. I would liken it to a slightly less campy Twin Peaks, so if you didn’t like that show or other Lynch works, this may not work for you.

For the rest of us, however, we finally get a found footage/pseudo-documentary that has a fresh concept. Blue Hour is fearless in mixing genres and tropes, which work exceptionally well. I enjoy the found footage format, but seeing the same plot devices repeatedly used in dozens of films is exhausting. Blue Hour swings for the fences and, for the most part, doesn’t miss. I especially liked the subtle criticism of the media and true-crime influencers, who use tragedies for their gain rather than helping those most impacted. The criticism doesn’t take away from the overall story, but for better or worse, it doesn't lead anywhere significant, either.

Blue Hour does start to fall apart toward the end, primarily due to how much they try to cram into the last few sequences. Some of the special effects also took me out of it, but I can’t fault that too much on an indie budget. The ending feels rushed and leaves the audience with many logistical questions. The main characters are happy and don’t seem to be too worse for wear from their experience, but that leaves the audience trying to understand it all. I love the unusually upbeat ending, but I wanted more about how Olivia’s documentary would change with the information obtained and how it affected them more than the small glimpses we're allowed to see. We never learn more about the alleged cults or conspiracies that the film's first part hinted at. Perhaps these details aren't important in regard to Nick Brandreth, but from how they were set up I was expecting a lot more.

For what it is, however, Blue Hour exceeded my expectations, and I enjoyed it even on multiple views. It is important to keep an open mind and understand what type of film you're going into to fully enjoy it. Blue Hour has fun with its concept and doesn't take itself too seriously, so you shouldn't, either. Just don't expect to catch me in the woods in upstate New York anytime soon.