The Tall Man (2012)

The rural town of Cold Rock has been dying a slow but irreversible decline ever since the local mine closed down some six years ago.  It's a bleak, soul-crushing inch toward oblivion for the town.  And just in case that wasn't enough, things are made even uglier by the frequent disappearance of young children.  One vanishes every few months, without any culprit ever being identified.  The police and federal authorities seem stymied but the local rumour mill has an answer: "The Tall Man", a shadowy figure that some claim to have seen near where the children disappeared.  Who or what this figure might be is a subject of hot debate.  Child molester?  Supernatural menace?  The Devil himself?

One of the few people who seems to be trying to keep the town from freezing up entirely is Julia Denning, the young widow of the town's former doctor.  A nurse herself, Julia has kept her husband's clinic running, though as the locals are fond of telling her: she cannot fill his shoes.

One night, after returning to her isolated home and playing with her son David, Julia is disturbed by loud noises from downstairs.  She investigates, just in time to see a dark figure bundle David into a truck and start to drive off.  With no-one else to help her, Julia chases the truck, determined to recover her boy ...

That's the opening act of this film, and the only part the trailer addresses.  Without spoiling things too much, though, I will say that this is not the straightforward "mother tries to protect her child" film that it appears to be.  There's a pretty big and I think potentially very interesting wrinkle that changes the premise dramatically.

Unfortunately, while the wrinkle itself was intriguing, eventually the film has to explain it, and on that front I feel it fumbles pretty badly.  The truth behind it all was not convincing or compelling to me.  On that basis, despite that I think are good performances and an intriguing shift of expectations, I can't recommend the film.  Particularly if you're looking for a "mom vs monster" film.  (Which if you are, I suggest The Babadook).