Review: ‘What Happened to Suzy?’ keeps you on the edge of your seat

The thing about What Happened to Suzy? is it’s so enticing that you’re left wanting more. As far as mockumentaries go, it’s good. Like really good. Director James Ersted stages his story in typical true crime fashion: a relative cracks open a decades-old cold case to discover the truth. What they happen across, as in the case of a similarly-themed and structured Hunting Matthew Nichols (2024), is far more sinister than they imagined.

Andy’s (Dylan Nunez) sister went missing 25 years ago. 2000 seems like another lifetime, and yet Andy can’t seem to shake the guilt he feels about her disappearance. With no police help and no leads, he decides to mount a search for her whereabouts. He enlists filmmaker Don (Paul Parducci) and his assistant Cynthia (Kira Omans) to document his research, hoping that a few breadcrumbs will lead Andy to his sister. The only defining clue in the case is his sister’s red, white, and blue pinwheel he uncovers in a secret storage unit of his uncle Richard (Alain Mora), who’s spending time in a psychiatric ward for past crimes. As he traces back his uncle’s footsteps to a man named Frank, he stumbles into a dangerous and intricate web that could break the case wide open.

Andy spends a chunk of time circling the drain. He rifles through boxes of documents from his uncle’s now-defunct YouTube show, hoping to come across something that’ll be the key to it all. Much of the film is set up. That’s a feature; not a bug. Ersted makes meticulous choices to keep you glued to the story, as all good true crime (or loosely based true crime) should do. It also helps that Nunez magnetizes onscreen. He never wastes a single moment or character beat for overacting or undercooked line reads. It all means something.

With help from cinematographer Todd Kappelt, Ersted keeps a crisp look threaded throughout the film, with tech glitches tossed in when appropriate. The glossy veneer pulls you in, tangling you into the story. When visual or auditory cues distort, they serve a purpose to the larger picture. Each narrative puzzle piece falls like a domino into the next, until the film’s twisty finale. What Happened to Suzy? might feel pedestrian for some viewers, but its tried and true approach to familiar territory is part of its magic. It’s quite clear James Ersted understands genre and knows exactly how to hold the cards close to the vest until it’s time to reveal his hand. When he finally slaps the table with his surprising spread, it’s worth every last second.

What Happened to Suzy? is now streaming on Found.

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