MEGAN IS MISSING (2011)
Extremely unpleasant found footage thriller tells the story of Megan Stewart (Rachel Quinn), a promiscuous 14-year-old party girl who is friends with good girl Amy Herman (Amber Perkins). Megan meets a guy named Josh (Dean Waite) online and begins to chat with him. She leaves her home to go meet Josh one night and disappears without a trace. Amy tries to help authorities find her friend, while documenting her own feelings about the disappearance. Unfortunately, this earns the sweet natured girl the wrong kind of attention.
Flick written and directed by Michael Goi was originally made in 2011 and based on some real disappearances. The decade old found footage feature has become a bit of an internet sensation recently when it was featured on Tik Tok. The film in itself is very effective in a few unsettling ways. While like most found footage movies there are some slow parts, it’s the first and last act that are the most disturbing. The first act has some very shocking portrayals of underage drinking and sexual activity amongst kids barely in their teens that is chilling in itself. Then we watch the mystery unfold for the second act as Amy tries to figure out what happened and speaks online to the increasing hostile Josh, who denies he met Megan on that fateful night. It’s the final act that really gets stomach churning as Amy gruesomely finds out what really happened to Megan and it’s not pleasant. There is some shocking imagery and just the thought about what happened and happens beyond what we see onscreen is even more chilling. It’s not only a very unsettling and cautionary tale of online predators, but unchecked teenage behavior as well. BE WARNED…the last act is extremely graphic, brutal and disturbing, especially as the subject is an underage teen girl. Goi maintains the illusion we are watching actual footage and his young leads add to the realism with good and natural performances. Megan is Missing made barely a ripple in 2011, but now has attained cult status due to online exposure and a recent wider release on streaming networks. Megan is Missing can be found on Amazon Prime and Google Play, if you dare. It’s not a pleasant watch and the rating here is for effectiveness alone as, this is not an enjoyable or entertaining film in any way.
-MonsterZero NJ
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 