Movie recap from Thanksgiving break
With the 4 day break from work, I was able to catch up on a couple movies on netflix. Here’s a quick recap.
- Megan Is Missing (2011) http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1087461
I had read about this film on AICN a while back and was intrigued. I have mixed feelings about found-footage films: the rapid increase of them can seem gimicky and phony (CC: 8213: Gacy House & Paranormal Entity). However, when done right in the horror genre they can convey a creepy level of realism that blurs the line between reality and fiction (CC: Lake Mungo & REC). Megan Is Missing is a parents worst nightmare. It focuses on two young teen girls, Amy and Megan. Both girls are best friends. Amy is the innocent, baby-faced teen who is struggling to fit in and keep up with the faster crowd her friend Megan belongs to. Megan is the more experienced and popular of the two. The film starts off with the introduction of the modern role that technology plays on youth and relationships. Amy is given a video camera and a majority of the film is shown through the footage. The girls are shown chatting with strangers online and partying in abandoned houses. It’s explained later that Megan was the victim of sexual abuse as a child and without going to Freud, explains her desire for male attention. Megan begins chatting online with a supposed skater named Josh. After a couple conversations online, Megan decides to meet up with Josh (giving a guy a bj’er at a party wasn’t cutting it for her any more I guess). After one failed meeting, Megan decides that Josh deserves another chance. It turns out to be a fatal mistake. After meeting Josh behind a diner, she disappears. Local news footage is shown of her being pulled by an unknown man off camera, never to be heard from again. Amy begins to worry. The girls talk every hour and Megan hasn’t called or shown up to class. Amy confronts Josh online and her fears about her friend are intensified after a brief but unnerving conversation. Amy trusts her instincts and goes to the police with her concerns. Next is the eerie threat from Josh. The film takes a disturbing turn when it shows two pictures sent in to the FBI that were distributed on a fetish website. The pics show Megan entrapped in a head device. Things are not looking good. Next its explained that following Megan’s disappearance, Amy is now missing as well. Now let me start off by stating that it is EXTREMELY rare for me to see a film that disturbs me. I’ve seen so many genre films and have I suppose been descensitized to most shock and horror in films. That being said…this film fucked me up. I saw this film two days ago and I still can’t get this out of my head. The last 22 minutes of the film is the “footage” from Amy’s camera after she is kidnapped. These scenes are incredibly hard to watch. Anyone who doesn’t wince at this has no soul. I don’t want to give away too much more, but it’s not a happy ending.
The thing that made me the most upset was that “Josh” gets away with everything. There is no justice. Nothing. This film is a cautionary tale for parents and teens. THIS is what could happen. THIS is why online chatting and social networking is dangerous. Parents need to use this as a way to open up conversation with kids about the dangers of giving away personal info online and chatting with strangers. It also will get parents to monitor their children and their online habits. The parents in this film are the worst- blind, dumb, and in denial. Writer/Director Michael Goi holds no punches. He doesn’t shy away from the subject matter. He aims the camera and let’s the horror that you are watching build and build. Watching this film once is enough for a lifetime. I would be interested in seeing a sequel “Megan’s Kidnapper Is Missing” only if it involved “Josh” being tortured for his sins. Where’s Dexter when you need him?
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