Missing (2023)

By: Mike Ward on Sunday, January 22

PG-13 Running Time: 111 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • Fans of Searching and the “screenlife” sub-genre of horror and suspense will likely be drawn to Missing.

  • When managed right, this premise of discovering everything through current technology and “screens,” still can be a funand engaging way to tell a story.

  • Storm Reid elevates this material quite a bit and the film is never boring.

NO

  • Not nearly as clever as it wants to be, from a mystery standpoint.

  • Devolves into increasing absurdity that took me completely out of the movie’s final half hour.

  • By the time we move from screens appearing in front of us, to unmotivated camera pans and swings, Missing has lost the rulebook on the very world it has constructed.


OUR REVIEW

In 2018, Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching was a nifty, low-fi thriller that used the “screenlife” concept to unravel a suspenseful mystery. A single dad (John Cho), desperate to find his missing teenage daughter, only has technology at his disposal to locate her. Told completely through the viewing of “screens,” Cho’s character learns how to use different technology tools as he goes, making the film a journey of discovery for character and audience alike.

With more and more “screenlife” films now produced year by year, Chaganty slides into the producer’s chair for Missing, a standalone sequel to Searching that finds another mystery solved through the use of FaceTime, iMessage, Google, and WhatsApp. Though the premise and concept still hold together pretty well, the suspension of disbelief can only go so far and the film unfortunately cannot sustain a screenplay full of wobbly, and an increasingly silly turn of events.

Storm Reid stars as June, the 18-year-old daughter of Grace (Nia Long). As we learn in a short prologue, June and Grace relocated to Los Angeles from San Antonio when June was very young, after the loss of her father (Tim Griffin) to cancer. Gruff, defiant, and stubborn, like most teenagers often can be, June and Grace have a somewhat acrimonious relationship. Grace parents her daughter too hard and June doesn’t pay attention. June’s voicemail has been full for weeks and she won’t empty the mailbox. Grace doesn’t quite understand how Siri and FaceTime works. The struggle between them is real.

Complicating matters is Kevin (Ken Leung), Grace’s boyfriend of a few months who is taking June’s mom on a romantic getaway to Colombia. This is unfortunate timing it turns out - they are traveling on Father’s Day weekend and June resents Kevin’s increasing presence and her mom for leaving at a most difficult time of year.

Needless to say, when June goes to pick up her mom and Kevin at the airport, they don’t show up and June starts to worry. 

To say much more would spoil the numerous twists, turns, and reveals that writer/directors Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick (Run) have ready in their storytelling toolbox. The novelty of whisking through the various apps and tools, while seeing all the ways Google traces one’s movement is fun, and perhaps eye-opening to those unaware of just how under the microscope we all are in this data-driven world.

In the opening half of the film, Johnson and Merrick’s film moves seamlessly, almost rhythmically, through each scene. There are very few visible edits, and, for a good portion of the film, we are hooked into June’s desperation to find her mom. As we navigate the influx of information June uncovers, we grow increasingly frustrated with an FBI officer assigned to the case (Daniel Henney) who proves to be little help. Yet we also smile when a cheap Colombian courier, Javi (Joaquim de Almeida), is seemingly ready to move mountains to try and help June in her search.

The film stumbles in the second half with a convoluted and over-the-top series of situations that make the film’s required suspension of disbelief only lead to viewers buffering and losing signal strength.

Johnson and Merrick try to not only redirect June’s search, but also force in stilted commentary about how easy it is for people to be swayed by what they read and see on social media. Missing becomes yet one more story reminding audiences how gullible we all are to TikTok theories and YouTube videos. There’s even a running gag involving Netflix true crime reenactment shows that fails to really go anywhere. When Missing tries to be more than it is, and sets its sights on being more profound and insightful than its predecessor, a lot of problems become too absurd to truly ignore.

By the end, when multiple twists finally reveal the truth in what June is searching for, Missing has almost become a parody of itself. Perhaps the joke is on us in some small way: the more absurd and salacious the story, the more we are desperate to consume all that it offers us. While that all may be well and good, I am just not sure Missing has the weight or authority to lecture an audience on anything, much less serve as any kind of “cautionary tale.” 

Then again, I admit I might be overthinking this to some degree. Much of what transpires in Missing is entertaining enough to keep eyes darting back and forth. At times the movie feels almost interactive. However, Missing falters when it takes the movie off of June’s MacBook and iPhone screen and pivots to another perspective altogether. The movie loses its way, struggles with its own premise, and delivers an underwhelming resolution to what is, for a while, an intriguing tech-driven mystery.  

CAST & CREW

Starring: Storm Reid, Nia Long, Ken Leung, Tim Griffin, Joaquim de Almeida, Daniel Henney, Amy Landecker, Megan Suri, Michael Segovia

Director: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick
Written by: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick (screenplay); Sev Ohanian, Aneesh Chaganty (story)
Release Date: January 20, 2023
Stage 6 Films/Sony Pictures Releasing