The Best Mystery Movie of the Decade – “Missing”

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Myles De Jongh, Cub News Writer

What would you do if your parents went missing? For 18-year-old June, in the recently-released Missing, it included a series of strategies in which she completely focused on her hunt to look for her lost mom and stepfather. For some context, June’s parents went on vacation in Colombia. June was told to pick them up when they arrived back in Los Angeles, where June currently lives. When June went to the airport to pick them up, her parents were nowhere to be found. As June waited and waited, time continued to pass, yet they didn’t show. Once June arrived home, she used a Find My Phone app to track where the two may have been, but their location went off a day before. This is the moment when June feared that something may have happened to her parents. 

The entirety of the movie is viewed from June’s MacBook computer. The director, Nicholas D. Johnson, uses this point of view to engage the viewer as the mystery builds up with every click of a tab. Through technology, June uses video chat, messaging, emails, and ultimately the internet to gather information that can get her closer to finding where her parents may be. Many wondered how far June would go, and the truth is that she went as far as possible. 

June’s development in the movie from a stubborn, sassy, young adult to a loving, determined, mature daughter is an example of how loss affects a person over time. In the beginning of the film, we see June’s lack of respect towards her mother and stepfather related to the passing of her father when she was younger. On the night June’s mother and stepfather left for Colombia, June is given money to use for emergencies but chooses to use it to buy drinks for a party she is throwing. As a result, the drinks make June drunk and vomit. She is shown to make wrong decisions, but in the panic of her parents missing, she must trust herself. June goes on a journey of self-discovery in the process. 

The plot twists of the movie came as a surprise because it was never what it seemed. This is definitely a movie you are going to want to pay attention to. The various secrets accompanied by the intensity of the climax made this movie a must-see. This is the type of movie that one can watch over and over and find more hidden twists and turns.