“Missing” Movie Review: Thriller Story Told Through Digital Screens

“Missing” (2023)  is a sequel to the 2018 film, “Searching,” which follows the same missing person plot line as its predecessor. Released Jan. 20, “Missing” serves as a stand-alone film in the thriller and mystery genre and has been critically acclaimed for its unique storytelling. 

It follows the whereabouts of an 18-year-old girl, June Allen, after discovering her mother went missing on her trip overseas with her new boyfriend. They do this by displaying video from the perspective of her phone, ‘FaceTime’ screen and even CCTV footage.

Storm Reid, the actress who plays Allen, says to IndieWire that her character ”I actually had no idea about ‘Searching’ before ‘Missing’ came to my plate, but I fell in love with the script while reading it…When I thought I knew everything that was going on, I had no idea what was happening.”

Similarly, The Review Geek commend the movie’s different method of storytelling.

“One of Missing’s greatest strengths is its ability to keep the audience guessing. The plot is full of twists and turns, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, another surprise is thrown your way. This keeps the tension high throughout and makes for a genuinely engaging experience.”

However, a top critic from Little White Lies did not enjoy the multiple plot twists stating, “Unfortunately the film piles on twist after twist until it ends up in dark territory it doesn’t feel equipped to handle, and the mood sours due to the deployment of a serious subject matter as simply a shocking twist.”

The movie has a runtime of 1:55 minutes and the entire series has an MPA rating of PG-13. It earned a Box Office of 45.1 million greatly surpassing its budget which was nearly six times less.

In an interview with Screen Rant, the director, Nick Johnson said, “We were really lucky, and we’re very grateful for our producers and for everyone at Sony for trusting us with a studio movie as our first feature. But I think it was kind of a weirdly natural progression for us because we were so involved in the cinematic language and developing that in the first movie [Searching], so we brought a lot of that knowledge with us.”