This review is spoiler free.
From the minds that brought us the fantastic Searching in 2018 comes Missing, a standalone sequel that is more than a worthy successor.
If you’ve seen Searching, then you’ll know what to expect in terms on concept. If you haven’t, then allow me to explain, Missing is a “screenlife” film, meaning everything that you see on screen takes place on an electronic device such as a smartphone or a laptop. It’s an interesting visual medium that I was first made aware of when I saw Searching, and I loved it. Therefore, I had very high hopes coming in to this film, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Missing follows June Allen, (played by the fantastic Storm Reid) a teenager who has to try and find her mother, who has gone missing whilst on holiday with her boyfriend. A very simple plot but one that is highly effective in this format, as it becomes apparent as the story goes on that this mystery has more layers to it than you would expect. Much like it’s predecessor, this is a very clever and well-crafted puzzle that led to a few audible gasps in my screening as twists occurred and revelations came to light.
Missing nails the pacing, it never lingers on anything long enough for it to become dull, but it allows just enough time to keep your mind guessing. It’s always difficult for a thriller to keep you on the edge of your seat for the majority of it’s runtime, even more so for a film that is told entirely through technology, however, the fact that everything used to tell this story are things most audiences will use on a daily basis just makes everything feel that little bit more real. Of course there are a few moments where you may need to suspend your disbelief a little bit, but for the most part, it feels like something that could plausibly happen, which makes it all the more unsettling.
There’s not a great deal more I can say without spoiling this film, so I’m going to wrap up and keep this a quick one. Missing is a film with a very simple concept, told in a very simple way, but the execution is absolutely fantastic and the result is an extremely entertaining thriller that I can’t recommend enough.
You don’t need to have seen Searching to watch this one, although I would implore you to do so anyway because it’s brilliant, so don’t let the fact it’s a sequel put you off. This is a self-contained story that stands proud on it’s own and it’s a film that I will watch again and again.
I really dig this kind of film and I hope the team decides to make another one, I just hope it’s not another five year wait!
I give Missing an 8/10.
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