Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
Missing
(Stage 6 Films/Screen Gems)
By Lucas Allen
In 2018, “Searching” redefined the thriller genre for the tech-obsessed generation, similar to what “Unfriended” did for the horror genre. It took a couple of years, but we finally got a sequel (or a new installment to this new cinematic universe of sorts) with “Missing” that has new characters and new situations. Although some may decry this as a retread, it’s not entirely that way. In fact, this film marks the writing and directing debut of Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick, who previously served as editors on “Searching.”
Grace Allen (Nia Long) is going on a week-long getaway to Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung). Her teenage daughter June (Storm Reid) wants nothing more than be home alone and partying with her friends, especially since their mother/daughter relationship is straining from the death of June’s father, James (Tim Griffin). On the day her mother is supposed to return, June realizes she’s missing and tries to get help from the police. The FBI’s Agent Park (Daniel Henney) reassures her that he’ll do everything he can to try to get her mother back and advises her to just wait it out.
Desperate, June reaches out to a Colombian resident named Javi (Joaquim de Almeida), who helps her retrace her mother and boyfriend’s steps of the past week. As the investigation intensifies, she learns more and more about Kevin’s felony history and how her mother got involved with him in the first place. The missing report soon becomes a kidnapping situation before news outlets begin picking up the story making things more difficult for June to understand. But the deeper she digs, the more dire it becomes when she starts to learn the real truth.
Much like “Searching,” this movie is structured and stylized from the point of view of the main character’s desktop as well as the smartphone, GPS, and the addition of a smartwatch. And like before, it goes above being a gimmick and becomes as engaging and suspenseful as any good thriller. There are questionable morals involved in this story, especially when it comes to using technology to peek into somebody’s identity, but you do get the determination of the main character to try to find answers. Not to mention, the drama helps to enhance how deadly this situation has gotten.
Interestingly enough, there’s also an underlying bit of satire sprinkled throughout about how the media can portray any situation like this. There are social media influencers jumping to their own conclusions like it’s “real news” as a way to get famous, while there’s a fictional Netflix crime series that recreates the events of the previous film. It’s the kind of humor that flips the script on the news media cycle as a whole.
The acting is top-notch, with the actors showing believability while essentially just talking to the screens all the way through. Reid carries the heavy load as her character goes through an interesting arc from bratty teen to competent young woman. Long is your basic mother character, but she’s good in a handful of scenes. Adding some much-needed levity to this film, de Almeida leaves a smile on anyone’s faces as well as a tear in the eye in all his scenes.
While “Searching” remains both fresh and thrilling, “Missing” is still a worthy follow-up that continues to remind audiences the different values of technology. It contains a very suspenseful story full of twists and turns that’ll surely keep you on edge. Whether or not they’ll make another follow-up is anybody’s guess, but there’s so much you can do with each new technology that the line between reality and fantasy will continue to be stretched to its limits.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for some strong violence, language, teen drinking, and thematic material)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
