Megan is Missing
I hate when I am looking through the countless new videos on Netflix Instant Watch and come across something that tickles me in a way I am not comfortable with. While being scared to see what this movie is about, the description seems to call out to the horror movie fan in me and I am helpless to not press the “add to instant queue” button to watch on some future date. I can only say that with some of the stuff coming out today, I am glad I am not the impressionable young kid I was when I first saw such campy horror movies as Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. The current trend in horror is to make a movie that seems like it could be real, says it is real and then suckers you into believing that it is real although when you think about it as you are hiding under your blankets from the evil spirits trying to kill you that if this was real, the movie would not be able to show it. Your logical mind can tell you all this and you will be able to tell yourself that it is true but when it is coming to the gruesome end, you begin to doubt it yourself.
For weeks now I have been staring at the poster pic above for the movie “Megan is Missing” and wondering how well done the movie is. Do you believe it? Does it make you sad to watch the build up to what you assume is the end to two 14 year old girls? Why do I want to watch it? Will I feel like a accomplice in watching such a movie in which two girls are preyed upon by a skilled predator and then snuffed out of existence? They are missing. So why I clicked the button to watch the movie today I cannot really tell you. I wanted to see the movie, the premise was great but some part of my mind held me from watching it. I think it may have been the part of me who wants to believe in the genuine good in people. After this, you doubt that.
“Megan is Missing” is a true story or so the director/writer Michael Goi would want you to believe. The story is compiled of video evidence, webcam chats, Iphone video chats, news reports and hand held videos made by and of two teens, both of whom will “go missing” weeks apart. Megan is a party girl and even at 14 she is a modern teen who has done and seen a lot. She's been molested, abused and has a contentious relationship with her mother. Her stepfather is in prison, maybe for molesting Megan, maybe not. That is not important. Despite her life, Megan is a straight A student, well liked and looking for a new start to her life after the trouble of before. Her best friend Amy on the other hand, is unpopular and seems to orbit Megan like she was the sun and Amy was the Earth. Megan lights up Amy and Amy in many ways brings out the best in Megan. As the two go to parties together and talk about boys and some of the things Megan has done, it is clear that Amy is the “good girl” of their pairing. She has a together if slightly absent family but loving. She is squeaky clean and counts Megan as her best friend when in fact she may have been her only friend. Megan’s friends don’t understand why Megan hangs out with Amy or why she keeps trying to include her in their life. Indeed, Amy does not fit the party girl lifestyle and seems awkward and alone for much of the movie.
Megan dreams of escaping her life and moving to Texas (not for any specific reason but because it seems far from L.A.). Amy plans to go with her and for a moment you believe that Megan going missing will simply be her and Amy running away. Then enters webcahtter Josh, who seems to be a great guy (aren't all the predators) who goes to the other school in town and skateboards behind the diner Megan and her friends frequent. He plans on meeting her at a party but when she shows up, Josh is not there. As a viewer you can test your "daddar" (or dad radar) by seeing if you feel there is something odd about Josh. His voice on the chat is both sinister and pleading. Both older than he says but still young enough to be plausible. Is he a boy who wants to be with Megan or is he a terrible predator? The dangers of the internet are all too real in Megan is Missing and could serve as a cautionary tale of what can happen in the the world where a 40 year old man can be 15 again. Yet, as a parent, you cannot watch everything your child does and while you may not want to ruin the innocence of your child’s lives, you need to prepare them for the real life predators out there. Chris Hanson is not gonna automatically come out wherever child molesters go and ask them what they are doing (as I secretly hoped he would do during the last 22 minutes). “Megan is Missing” is a lesson in parental absence. The parents are present in this movie but they are away from the danger, almost unheard, almost always blurry and out of focus. They are not a part of their lives as parents sometime become in the teen years. Amy’s parents may seem more involved but Dad is “not home much” but he is always there for all the important days like birthday and holidays.
Is “Megan is Missing” real? Not at all. If they say written and directed by, I doubt the sincerity of the movie. It could very well be based on real events. A story I heard from William H. Macy from the set of Fargo goes like this. He arrived on set and asked the Cohen Brothers for the actual case evidence because at the beginning of the script it says “This is a true story.” The Cohen Bothers laughed a bit and said “It’s not a true story, we made it up.” William H. Macy was dumbfounded and said “But it says at the beginning of the script that it is a true story.” They nodded and William H. Macy realized that the Cohen Brothers had indeed made up the entire movie including the “this is a true story” part. To which he said “You can’t do that.” and the Cohen’s said “Why not?” It is a great question and one that I think applies to “Megan is Missing”. The story could be real. It is something, an urban legend of the technology generation, that someone has heard about it happening to a girl or girls in their school. Finding the actual Megan or Amy probably can’t be done but they certainly could be real girls who made a mistake and trusted a “Josh” who turned out to be a really bad guy. What makes this kind of movie effective is that while you are watching it do you believe it? I did. The “news footage” is a bit overdone and somewhat cheesy but you overlook it. Perhaps the most chilling scene (before the last 22 minutes which tested my tolerance for violence) is when Amy sits in her room, all alone, at night and “Josh” mocks her and tells her to shut her fat mouth. You can feel the isolation and complete fear that Amy has yet there is nothing she, a 14 year old, can do. She could tell her parents and they could call the police but who can stop a voice in a computer coming into your room and threatening you?
This movie, and I say this only hours after watching it, stays with you. I’ve told myself that it isn’t true. I’ve made my peace with the fact that the police probably aren’t as impotent to catch the predators out there. But this is one of the possibly the most horrific and truly scary films I’ve ever seen. Simply the fact that I know that “Josh” probably does exist can put that fear in me and that he could be a guy I met at work, or at a restaurant or in the line at the supermarket. Predators are everywhere and that scares the crap out of me. I can’t guarantee that this movie will affect you as it has me. Maybe you’ll think this is stupid but give it a shot. For what it is, Megan is Missing is a superb and disturbing movie. I bet most of you will have a “why is Mikey in corner?” moment from Blair Witch when you come upon Josh’s lair. This movie scared and disturbed me and I mean that in a good way. After all, I signed up for it.
Mr. Unhappy sez: I’m not letting any daughter of mine on the internet or out of the house or out in public or near any men.
Updated 3-29-12: Following the disappearance of Sierra LaMar in Morgan Hill, CA I am reminded of this movie. Megan is Missing, sticks with me to this day when the sight of a missing teenager taken from her webcam or phone, brings me right back to the blue barrel. <shiver>
