Missing
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2018 director Aneesh Chaganty brought the film Searching to the big screen shot completely on a variety of devices including phones, webcams, Go Pros and more. Directors Will Merrick and Nick Johnson stepped in for the stand alone sequel in their feature film debut Missing, once again written by Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty and starring Storm Reid, Nia Long, Joaquim De Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, and Daniel Henney. Could this film offer up more intriguing mystery or will it not be worth finding?
Missing follows June’s search for answers that is hindered by international red tape when her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers…and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed Searching as well as the Hulu original film RUN that is actually in the same universe as Missing. They are all stand-alone films, but if you watch closely you see little connections that let you know they are all a part of the same world in clever ways. Have no fear if you miss them, the film stands on its own, but does make it a bit more fun seeing it all connecting.
Much like Searching, this film uses the varying technologies to solve the mystery of the missing person in some fun realistic ways. Sure there are elements that are questionable in execution, but it works well enough to buy into it and get you all in for the case to find the truth. Storm Reid has
to carry the majority of the load for the film and does a good job brining the different layers of emotion and personality she needs as the film unfolds.
There are just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout that gets you further engaged as it points in one direction and then veers quickly away from what you might think. There are some elements that are not that hard to figure out in this case and some fight solve it all early on, but it doesn’t make it any less compelling and enjoyable to watch. These are clever fun ways to deal with this genre and makes it more relatable to the current times we live in as well as make it a bit more scary.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including deleted scenes, Easter Eggs, featurettes and more. Join the search and grab your copy of Missing available now on digital and then on Blu-ray and DVD on March 28th.