THE CHILDREN OF BLACK VALLEY
by Evan Kilgore
More than a decade after a boy goes missing, his brother also vanishes.
When Riley disappears, his mother Ann takes to drink and his dad Sam concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other at his middle-management job at CW Medical rather than parenting young Daniel. Years pass. The marriage dissolves, Ann sobers up, but Sam is barely holding on to his job. Then a mysterious intruder tries to snatch Daniel, injects him with radiation poisoning and a new nightmare begins. Who wants Daniel, and where has he been taken? Two of Sam’s coworkers step into the nightmare, which picks up speed and chaos with the smash-mouth ferocity of a Bruce Willis epic. Ann is concussed. Sam is tailed. Only one cop is on the family’s side. The only glimmer of hope is the intervention of CW Medical honcho Clayton Wesley. But if Wesley’s really a good guy, why does he whisk Daniel off to Africa and imprison him? Cue more car chases, grenade launchers and buzzing red lights as the plot writhes its way to a crash-bang finale.
A male Had-I-But-Known melodrama in which every road taken is the scariest. Kilgore (Who Is Shayla Hacker, 2007) probably has a decent career ahead of him writing action films. Nuke the popcorn and wait for the movie.