'Missing' Review: A MacBook Thriller Following a Missing Mom and a Dedicated Daughter
Lovers of 2018’s Searching get a new macbook-centred mystery to discover, following a mouse’s clicks and a keyboard’s typing to uncover a disappearance.
Screenlife movies, defined as a genre of visual storytelling where everything is shown on a screen, began gaining popularity in the 2010s, following the rise of the Internet and social media. Some popular examples include Unfriended (2014), Host (2020), and some parts of the film Spree (2020), starring Joe Keery. Often, horror and thriller movies are depicted using this medium, as despite the chance of emotional distance, the POV as if the audience is a part of the film greatly adds to feelings of fear and distress. With lives becoming more intertwined with the Internet and personal electronics, these movies are gaining popularity and acclaim, along with relatability.
In 2018, Searching took the movie-watching community by storm with a screenlife take on a thriller, delivering a suspenseful mystery all via the screen of a MacBook. Along with making a significant amount at the box office, it was critically acclaimed, reassuring that this medium doesn’t take away from the suspense and intensity promised by a typical thriller, actually enhancing it.
Searching follows David Kim (John Cho) as he desperately searches for his missing teenage daughter with the help of police detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing). Searching is full of twists and turns and moments heavy with suspense, but at heart, it’s family-oriented, bringing to the screen the story of a father trying his best to not only locate his daughter, but realize how important their relationship is to him and what he would do to protect it.
Aneesh Changanty, also credited as writer along with Sev Ohanian, made his feature length directorial debut with this film. Now, in 2023, a story from the same minds is here, but adapted and directed by newcomers Nick Johnson and Will Merrick. Even though these movies are linked, Missing acts as a standalone sequel, so while audiences may want to watch Searching, it isn’t necessary viewing.
Missing features a completely different cast and a new story, headed by Storm Reid and a MacBook screen. June (Reid) is a teenage girl living with her mother, Grace (Nia Long). After Grace begins a relationship with Kevin (Ken Leung), they decide to go on vacation to Colombia. After a wild week of partying with her friends, June goes to the airport to pick up her mother and Kevin, but they never arrive. Like Searching, June takes their disappearance into her own hands and, with the help of the Internet, tracks down their last movements, uncovering more about them both than she ever expected.
The beginning of this film is extremely strong, immediately capturing the audience’s attention and giving them a sufficient backstory to already form an emotional attachment to June. The suspense grows, making the viewer hold their breath, as more information is uncovered, blowing theories and ideas out of the water. While the film loses a little steam near the end, it only slightly falters, still delivering a convincing ending paired with a similarly family-oriented message.
While the ending may leave the viewer slightly unsatisfied, it’s sufficient for the story. Many may guess the conclusion before it unfolds on screen, which slightly takes away from this thriller’s shock value. The culprit is almost a cliché, and for fans of the genre, may result in dissatisfaction. A run time of 111 minutes tires the viewer out, and if cut down to a succinct 90 minutes, it would pack much more of a punch. The novelty of the screen is really fun, but after almost two hours of clicks and scrolls, it can get slightly repetitive. Overall, it’s a worthwhile watch, and with a rumoured sequel, may continue to unfold with the support of the audience.
Storm Reid, now known for her role in Euphoria, delivers a very convincing performance. In this type of film, performances take a backseat to the spectacle of technology, but with the viewer constantly watching her face reflected in FaceTime, we see her emotions as she goes through shock after shock. She mirrors the viewer and the viewer mirrors her, making Missing, like Searching, a special experience.
The point-and-click of the mouse and the slow discovery through email searches make the audience feel as if they were in the movie themselves. As a firm believer of films being at their best on the big screen, it’s rare to recommend watching a film at home. However, the nature of Missing’s screen-based storytelling would be best on a viewer’s own computer, adding to that personalization.
So far in the series, Searching follows a father chasing his missing daughter, while Missing involves a daughter and her vanished mother. Family is a central theme in these movies, with home movies and photos working hard to tug at a viewer’s heart strings. Hopefully this isn’t the last installment of this series, as with technology growing exponentially, the opportunity to create more stories using this medium continues to grow, as well.
Lovers of thrillers and suspenseful movies won’t want to miss this, as despite the weaker ending, the twists will have the viewer on the edge of their seat.