Missing (2023)

Missing (aka MISSING) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Missing is a film that takes place entirely within a computer screen environment. I’m not writing that to make it sound like it’s the first film to do this (it’s not) or the first one to do it right (see Searching). But it is a decent dose of a missing-person thriller told effectively through a landscape we all use.

June Allen (played by Storm Reid) is a teenager excited about having the house to herself. Her father passed away years ago, and her mother, Grace (played by Nia Long), has traveled to Columbia with her new boyfriend. It’s the perfect opportunity for June to throw a party with her friends, something she sneakily hides from her mom’s lawyer friend, Heather (played by Amy Landecker). But when the party ends, June can’t get back in touch with Grace, right as she’s starting to miss dear old Mom. To her surprise, Grace doesn't show up at the airport as planned. Worried, June reaches out to the hotel and discovers that her mother and boyfriend never checked out. It’s not looking good for June’s quest not to become an orphan.

Twists and turns abound for June in her search for Grace. Some hacking, which feels more authentic than silly, reveals the secrets behind Grace and her mysterious boyfriend. A host of apps are effectively used to make this situation and investigation believable. Aspects of Google Translate, doorbell alerts, WhatsApp, Google accounts, and webcams are utilized well. There are also sweet touches of emotion in the staging of chats that June has with her mother before her goodbye and getting in contact with strangers that might lead her to the next clue.

What’s more fascinating about this film than its mere relation to the previous screen-life thriller, Searching, is how solid it becomes as a concept that has grown over time. There was a time when these types of internet boogeyman scenarios would’ve been mocked by the populace more inclined to know about how webcams and tracking IP addresses work. Now that more of the public is informed about technology, films must either evolve with them or remain stuck in the Boomer’s version of a tech nightmare. It probably helps that there’s no goofy renaming of applications or making up extra technobabble to rationalize this thriller scenario. The fact that some strong performances came out of this assembly is also incredible, showcasing just how much further this sub-genre can go.

Missing is a screen-life thriller done right. It keeps the tension high throughout, the twists are numerous, and the performances shine, even when boxed in by the desktop staging. There is an aspect of questioning true-crime scenarios being framed as entertainment that exists less as satire and more like a fake-out moment. There’s a whole other topic to explore there than just being a visual ingredient of this browser-based tale. That aside, it’s still an intense thriller that better connects with our world to showcase tech’s limitations and strengths when investigating through this lens.