When audiences get tired of all the "standard" movie fare, production companies start looking for something different. This is normally where the gimmicky movie comes into play. The Blair Witch Project was a gimmicky movie - that worked. It gave birth to Paranormal Activity and, in my opinion, that worked even better. However, the gimmick then launched the actual "found footage" genre. It didn't necessarily extend only to horror movies. All genres got into the game with films like District 9, Project X, Chronicle, Trollhunter, End of Watch, etc. Well, a few years ago, a new gimmick was introduced into the movie world - the "computer screen" movie. In Unfriended, a movie that takes place entirely on the computer screens of different people, a high school student has been killed and comes back to haunt her remaining classmates through their technology. The movie is ONLY on computer screens and somehow manages to make it work and provide enough scares and story to keep the audience interested. And while there was an abysmal sequel (that didn't work), filmmakers have introduced another entry - searching. And just like Blair Witch was a precursor for Paranormal Activity, Unfriended made it possible for searching to improve upon and fine tune the genre. And while the gimmick of seeing only what's on a computer screen is great in this film... I do worry about the evolution of the genre if the gimmick finds a rise in popularity.
David Kim (Harold and Kumar's John Cho) is a widower to Margot. One night she goes missing without a trace. David, along with the lead Detective on the case, Rebecca Vick (Debra Messing), use all of the technology available to them to piece together the mystery and hopefully locate Margot. David searches all of her social media, contacting all of her online friends and discovering she's an outcast. Through email he discovers she's stopped going to her piano lessons. And through her online bank account (and Venmo) he learns she's been depositing her piano money into her account. Little by little David starts to understand that he didn't know his daughter at all... which complicates the mystery altogether.
Without giving anything away, searching is a very clever movie. Sometimes the gimmick is just that - a gimmick to put asses into seats (you know like movies that are converted to 3D just for the fuck of it and never needed it in the first place). However, searching uses the gimmick as a major piece of the plot. Even moments that seem innocuous - random clicking on websites, pictures, videos, sites that seem to lead nowhere - are integral to the mystery and to the plot. It's one of those movies you'll need to watch several times in order to pick up all of the hidden clues peppered throughout the entire movie. The other part of a gimmicky movie that seems to get in the way is explaining "unreal" situations. A lot of "found footage" movies come into question when the heroes are running for their lives as they're about to be killed - yet they never drop the camera. When you start thinking about moments like that, they tend to pull the audience out of the film and become less effective. searching has almost none of that. Due to our current technology, there's literally a plausible explanation for everything that happens on screen. I may have to question just how often people in the film overuse FaceTime for nearly every conversation, but that's the extent of the "problems" with the movie. Everything else is thoroughly thought out, logical, and sly enough to catch the audience from the get go.
I can't imagine how difficult it must've been for the writers to actually write a movie like this. How to keep up the suspense, yet never detract from the computer screen. And when I started to wonder how the next scene would even play out (based on how the story was moving), I was surprised by the answers the writers/director would provide. What's also impressive is that even in home videos, FaceTime conversations, brief on-screen interactions - we have a full cast of three dimensional characters. Margot is missing for the majority of the movie and by the time the film ends, we understand her as a character. We empathize for David, not just because he's missing a child, but because we saw his backstory. We saw the battle his wife had with cancer and the fallout with David and Margot. We get a window into his psyche, which again, because the film is totally on a computer screen, is no easy feat. I applaud the creators of the film for being able to craft a deeply moving, as well as thrilling, film. And there are thrills. Every time David stumbles upon a new clue, you as an audience member try to piece everything together yourself. I can tell you this-- the movie may actually outsmart you. I know it did for me. And on top of everything else that already impressed me with the movie - the conclusion was probably even more impressive. It wasn't just that I could think back on every single scene and see how it is, indeed, a clue for the ending, but how fooled I genuinely was with the ending. Normally, I would tell you not to go in there and try to figure it out yourself because you'll only let yourself down. However, this time I say go for it - because I just can't see how anyone will be able to piece together this taut, crafty mystery.
searching is just a fun movie to watch. You'll get wrapped up in the suspense, while also marveling at the way the story is being told. The cast is solid, especially John Cho, who should've been a Hollywood leading man a long, long time ago. He's able to steer the movie confidently and realistically and keep the audience engaged. It's nice to see an original thriller like this. It deserves all the money it makes - but what it shouldn't do is give the green light to several other inferior movies trying to copy its formula in order to cash in on the newest popular gimmick.
A-
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