Ahh Megan is Missing. People have been telling me to watch this movie for a long time, that it was the creepiest thing they had watched in years. So this weekend, I sat down and did just that.
This movie isn't your typical horror movie. It doesn't rely on jump scares or things that go bump in the night. This movie is a psychological horror that creeps under your skin and into your subconscious and makes you think about it long after the credits roll.
Amy and Megan are best friends forever and although popular Megan tries hard to involve her more innocent and slightly dorkier friend in her social circle, Amy is universally mocked by all the cool kids. The girls show us their world through their web cam chats, cell phone videos and video blogs. The start of the movie explains this is the true story of the disappearance of Megan and Amy, so we have a fair idea where the film is going.
The writer and director Michael Goi uses the girls recordings and video chats to bring us into their lives, we see their Skype sessions where Megan tells Amy about her childhood abuse and compare her home-life to Amy's' home videos of her idyllic family life. The first hour of this film is similar to Thirteen, with Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed. We watch these thirteen and fourteen year old girls call each other bitch and whore while they casually drink and take drugs and give out sexual favours to pay for their buzz. The way the girls speak in this film is frighteningly true to life even if the acting of some of the supporting actresses leaves a lot to be desired.
Megan is introduced to a new on line friend called Josh. They Skype but Josh has no picture on his broken web cam, but it's OK, he proves he's legit by sending Megan some snapshots of himself. Megan arranges to meet Josh behind a diner, but never comes back. Michael Goi uses fake TV and news channel footage to document the search for Megan, which brings a further sense of realism to the story.
If you've got this far, you're probably wondering why this movie is being reviewed on a horror website, surely this is more lifetime movie than a horror film? I thought so too, but the last twenty two minutes of the movie document what happened to Megan and then to Amy, at the hands of Josh. It's graphic and disturbing on many levels, mostly because of the use of the handheld camera footage and (SPOILER ALERT) that picture of Megan.
Michael Goi made a very interesting and thought provoking film Although it has a slightly dated feel, (It was released in 2011) this movie feels like something that could really happen. Amber Perkins (Amy) and Rachel Quinn (Megan) both give solid performances, although it is hard to believe that they are thirteen and fourteen years old.
But is it the true story it claims to be, I hear you ask. Well, sort of, but not really. Michael Goi claims that the script is based entirely on true occurrences, but he actually took elements from seven true life incidents and spliced them together to make Megan is Missing. Worryingly, he also claims that there is not a single incident in the film that he made up from thin air.
Verdict
Megan is Missing is worth a watch, if only for the last 20 minutes or so of graphic horror. The main actresses perform well, but some of the younger actors can be slightly wooden. Michael Goi skillfully weaves the story of the two missing girls using found footage camera work but his claims it is a true story is slightly embellished.
Have you watched Megan is missing? Let me know your thoughts is the comment section.
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