Missing Review: A Child's Worst Nightmare!

From the brilliant minds behind 2018's Searching, this standalone sequel delivers a new story, new characters, and a new heightened level of fear. In Searching, we follow David Kim (John Cho) as he desperately searches for his 16-year-old daughter, Margot, who mysteriously ends up missing. The POV is told through the use of a computer screen, as he searches for clues on her laptop. The countless twists this film takes leads us closer to shocking discoveries, mirroring the reality of every parent's worst nightmare. We're even introduced in the beginning of Missing to a TV show, Unfiction, practically dramatizing the events of the first film.

Missing takes a similar approach reversing the roles, following our main character June Allen (Storm Reid) who is on the hunt to find her mother Grace Allen (Nia Long). Her mother goes on a much needed vacation to Colombia with her new boyfriend, Kevin Lin (Ken Leung), who June is not at all too fond of from the start. The POV of the movie is also told from technological devices, mainly through a computer screen, yet often a phone or watch as well. We also get a look at June's childhood, adding some complexity to the plot. We learn she lost her father at a young age, and Grace raised her as a single mother.

Once Mom is away, June gets to play. A montage shows her partying with friends, incoming messages her mom sends from Kevin's phone, and an epic party at June's house. The next morning she wakes up to a crazy post-party disaster, realizing she has to pick up her mom and Kevin. Once she enlists in a housekeeper to clean everything while she's out, she waits at the airport ready to greet Grace. Minutes to hours go by and there's no sign of the two. She facetimes her mom and there's no answer, sending her into a panic and contacting the authorities. As she is miles and miles away, June takes her creative sleuth and tech skills into her own hands as she investigates her mom's whereabouts using all the resources accessible to her.

June is also aided with the help of her mom's best friend Heather (Amy Landecker), BFF Veena (Megan Suri), and Javi (Joaquim de Almeida), a Colombian man she befriends who assists tracking down certain locations in the surrounding tourist areas. The investigation raises so many questions as we dive into Kevin's past along with Grace's. Once the investigation gets deeper and the story goes viral on the news and internet, the twists began to turn and the secrets unravel. June definitely finds more than she bargained for after cracking passwords and hacking various accounts leading to shocking revelations.

Storm Reid carries this movie with her outstanding performance, along with the talented Nia Long, as both are a terrific pair on screen. Missing is the perfect thriller that blind sides you with red herrings and leaves you guessing until the truth is uncovered. With this movie being the directorial debut for both Nick Johnson and Will Merrick, I hope more anthology movies like this are in the works. Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian are also no strangers to this movie, prior to working on the first film. This mystery-thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat with your jaw dropped to the floor!

Missing is now playing in theaters. Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, language, teen drinking, and thematic material with a runtime of 111 minutes.