Enjoyed the movie, but.. The cops, man...

I agree about the cops. What TRULY bothered me was when they were outside the house and Nate said that line about the Amber Alert being canceled... WHAT? And what happened to the cop who was supposed to be trying to catch up to the guy?

As for the scene in the gas station... The cops were supposed to be on their way but they'd taken forever. Yes, they probably should have called but odds are the guy would have been gone by then. I think Sam was hoping the guy would have stupidly left a door unlocked or that the child would be able to open the door. I think it was a smart idea to check the car with Nate on the phone watching for the abductor but I found myself wishing that she'd broken a window, opened the door, grabbed the girl and hauled butt back to their car. I know it'd be a stupid idea in real life and I really don't know what I would do in that situation, but it seemed like a good idea. But then, one of the things I really liked about the movie was the realism of it so...

The abductor talked a great talk. I was even almost convinced! To be fair to Sam, she DID see through it but I think she just finally got tired of fighting Nate. (Not to mention that I feel pretty sure had they actually tried to call the police or told him to go get the little girl that they'd have all died then.)

The biggest plot hole that I found was the mic. I thought it was weird that they picked it up when he was at his house. Who keeps a kidnapped child in the car when they're at home? And I still don't understand his motivation for placing the mic in the room with the little girl instead of just destroying it, unless he was just worried about them going to the police with the footage. Oh, wait... Maybe that's not really a plot hole now that I think about it, lol.

I found it hard to enjoy the movie mostly because of the cops. I know that when watching a movie you are supposed to be able to suspend some amount of disbelief, but this movie was made in the way that you are supposed to believe that you're watching actual events (like Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, etc.), so this glaring lack of police effort is all the more bothersome.

First, the 911 operator told her that they could follow the car at a safe distance if they wanted to, and then hung up. What's the point in that? If she had been on the line with the 911 operator the whole time she could have told them every turn they were making and the cops would have found him in no time, especially once they stopped off at the gas station. Second, it could take 15 minutes for them to get there because they have a lot of calls? What? An Amber Alert isn't their first priority? Then when they call the cops and tell them they've found the hideout of the kidnapper they're told the Amber Alert has been called off? Whaaaat? It hasn't even been a day! And they've given up? Not only that, but even if they had legitimately stopped the search after a more significant amount of time, this person is calling with new evidence and saying that the child is alive! They're just going to say, "Nope, we've given up on that child; pfft, we don't care." And what in the hell took them so long to get there after they were called? They never did show up. It's like all this film is really just evidence of why everyone on that police force should be fired.

Also, the part where they were pulled over to the side of the road, I have no idea how they fell for his story. Sure, he talked a good talk, but they had a mic in his car! And at this point he didn't know it yet. He told them that he just gotten off the phone with the cops, clearing this whole thing up. Why did not one of the people who had just been listening to his phone conversation with the cell phone company not say to themselves, "He did not just get off the phone with the cops"?

You really think cops just magically appear? Kinda naive. One time in Chicago I heard a neighbor screaming. She was screaming "Stop! Please stop! Oh God, no!" Stuff like that. I could hear things being broken. A man yelling. I called the cops. They came two hours later.

What really bothered me about the gas station scene was all the bystanders within 10 feet of Sam! All she had to do was alert one of the two people pumping gas next to her (I believe one was a man in a pickup truck) or tell the gas station attendant and they can all gang up on the kidnapper!

Aren't the cops supposed to pull BEHIND vehicles and not in front? The deputy pulled in front of them...anyway, can't believe I watched this Blair Witch oh this really happened wanna be..I wanted to shoot the girl in the car and tell her to STFU!!!!

That was all rather thrilling. Anything more cinematographic could scarcely be imagined.

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It is hard to phathom. The problem is they kept hanging up. They changed roads so many times, there is no way the cops could ever find them. The dispatcher each time needed to keep them on the line. Any dispatcher worth their weight in salt would.

Apart from that, they were annoying idiots. Yes, people in real life might be that annoying, but when you are telling a story to people, keep it entertaining. Don't annoy your audience.