In this mini Missing review, we explain why Storm Reid’s amateur detective story is a must watch movie on Netflix.
It’s rare that a mystery movie feels new. From the world’s greatest detectives to based-on-a-beach-read thrillers, movies have mined the mystery genre for nearly all it’s worth over the years. Which is why it’s so nice when something like Missing comes along and shakes up the formula a little bit.
Missing is the 2023 follow-up to 2018’s Searching and follows June Allen (Storm Reid), a teenager who never really knew her father and loves (but doesn’t always get along with) her doing-her-best single mom — and she gets along even worse with her mom’s latest boyfriend. Despite that difficulty, when her mom mysteriously disappears in the middle of a trip to Mexico, June jumps into action, using everything at her disposal as an amateur online detective to find her.
This premise may sound simple, but that’s by design. Missing’s real hook is that it’s told entirely through the on-screen displays of the devices that are in front of us every day. Scenes play out in Photo Booth windows, FaceTime calls, security footage played off a computer screen, video chats, or internet browsers.
