Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
When her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers... and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.
Missing is a slick, propulsive screenlife thriller that executes its high-concept premise with impressive craft. The plot is genuinely twisty and keeps escalating with well-timed reveals that subvert expectations — earning a strong 4. The acting is competent, with Storm Reid carrying the film effectively, though the format limits traditional performance depth. Cinematography in the screenlife format is inventive but constrained by design — it works well within its self-imposed rules but isn't visually transcendent. Novelty sits at 3 rather than higher because it's explicitly a spiritual sequel to Searching (2018), which established this exact screenlife-detective formula; Missing refines and escalates it but doesn't reinvent it. The ending lands satisfyingly with its final twist, though the accumulated revelations strain credulity slightly by the finale.