Megan Is Missing [DVD]

Megan Stewart, 14, and her best friend Amy Herman, 13, though opposites in personality, are best friends. Megan carries the front of being the most popular girl in school, but this masks a lifestyle of hard partying, drugs, alcohol and indiscriminate sex. Amy, unpopular and socially awkward, clings to her relationship with Megan as a lifeline to social acceptance. Together, these two young girls forge a deep friendship based on their mutual needs. Using all the technology accessible for meeting people and chatting, the two girls regularly communicate by webchat cameras or cell phone, and even meet boys online. As Megan seeks friends who are different from her usual posse of hanger-ons, she meets a 17 year-old boy named Josh in a chat room. Megan and Josh bond quickly, leaving Amy feeling a bit left out. One day, Megan goes to meet Josh in person, and she is never seen again. Amy launches into a concentrated effort to find her friend. Josh is initially sympathetic to Amy's efforts, then begins to be abusive to her online. As the media swirls around the story of Megan's disappearance, Amy suddenly disappears as well. The movie plunges you into the hell of the real world as seen through the eyes of a child. Based on seven actual cases, MEGAN IS MISSING is an uncompromising, gut-wrenching view of the world children live in today. Harrowing in its realism, the film uses only fact-based incidences to depict the lives of ordinary kids walking in the midst of extraordinary evil. I saw this film at a screening in New York, and it is simply the most disturbing movie you will ever see. There is a party scene that feels like the cameras just drifted into a real party and recorded all the sex and drinking that kids do when they lie to their parents about where they are at night. It is impossible to forget, and once you get over the shock of what you've experienced (and experienced is exactly the right word, because the movie is filmed in such a way that it makes you feel that it's happening NOW) you start looking at your own life and your own neighborhood in a different way. There are news broadcasts in the film that look just like you've turned on the TV in your house and there's a story about an abducted child. And without giving too much about the ending away (although the very beginning of the film has a title card which explains exactly what will happen in the film, and you are still shocked when it does happen), the final moments of the film leave you feeling so horrified and numb that I forgot to take a breath.The two young actresses in the film, Amber Perkins (who I believe is the niece of actress Elizabeth Perkins) who plays Amy and Rachel Quinn who plays Megan, give such realistic performances that it is sometimes difficult to believe that they are performers and not real people. You never really see the man who is their predator, but his presence is creepy. This is a film about children which is definitely NOT for children to see. It is unrated, but would definitely be an NC-17 or a very strong R. The DVD is widescreen (1.78) and anamorphically enhanced. There are many split-screen sequences in the film when the girls are talking to each other on their cell phones or on the computer, so you can see both sides of the conversation at the same time. The sound is in stereo without prominent surrounds, which is in keeping with the style of the movie. There is a director's commentary track where he talks about all the actual events that inspired the scenes in the film, a producer and cast commentary track where the young actresses discuss how they felt about performing difficult scenes, a deleted scene, cast interviews and a video interview with Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly Klaas was abducted and murdered. He talks about why the film made an impression on him and what parents can do to safeguard their children in this age of electronic communication.

This movie is disturbing. It's cringe-worthy. But it's also reality. To dislike it because it's "explotative" or "pornography" is to essentially turn a blind eye to our children and what they are exposed to during peer pressure. Megan was targeted from the age of 10 by older men who knows she'll give them what they want, because she likes attention - yet, at the core of it, she's a good person. I liked that they gave her character depth and vulnerable likeable personality. She was essentially the popular school party girl, but she had a good heart, and there were reasons she was the way that she was. The actress was also very good. Her friend, Amy, was a little less believable, with the "perfect" family and "virginal" nature. I do understand that she was supposed to be a direct contrast of Megan, but she didn't seem to find that depth. She had an endearing innocence that made me like her character, but the actress wasn't as strong as the actress who played Megan. Still, I thought they were both good. This leads me to think that the other actors in the movie are the ones being criticized (and that wouldn't surprise me because they were pretty bad...) The two main actresses carried the movie. Megan, more notably. The film was grim, but it's a reality we have to face as a society. This is what happens to children when they are the victims of predators. We have to educate them on the dangers of becoming a victim - and in order to do that, we have to face some ugly truths. I applaud this movie for having the courage to give a realistic thriller and not pander to sugar-coating what it means to be a kidnapping, murder, and/or sexual abuse victim. This should make any viewer uncomfortable, or the movie isn't doing its job. If you DO feel uncomfortable, then you aren't ready to face the realities of these topics. That in itself is a danger.

I can't believe I spent $3.99 on this. It's rare that a movie is so awful and boring that it genuinely makes me mad that I watched it. I've never even written a review on here but this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life. I would give it negative stars if I could. I love horror, I love found footage, I have a pretty strong stomach and can handle disturbing movies so that's not why I'm giving this such a low review. It's just a BAD movie. TERRIBLE acting, TERRIBLE writing, boring as all hell, just not worth anyone's time or money or energy. There are so many better found footage movies you could watch instead of this piece of garbage. Go watch [REC] or Blair Witch or Gonjiam instead (or literally just go watch cat videos on YouTube because that would be a better use of your time, I promise). The fact that it was so awful in every way made the gruesome scenes so infuriating because it was clearly just shocking for the sake of being shocking. The disturbing parts added NOTHING because it's such a horrible movie, so I honestly felt creepy watching it. I can sit through a scene with sexual assault if the movie is good. I can sit through torture scenes, and even appreciate them, if the movie has something else to offer. In fact, Martyrs is my favorite movie of all time. But this movie has absolutely NOTHING TO OFFER. The ONLY reason I even finished it is the sunk cost fallacy because I had already spent the money. I've seen hundreds of movies on Amazon and this is the first one ever where I've genuinely wanted my money back because it was so bad. Please please please do yourself a favor and watch something else. Anything else. Literally anything at all.

I realize this was a very low-budget film, but there were some really poor casting choices and either the actors themselves or the direction, or both, were severely lacking. Until the last sequence Amy was... bad. I know what they were going for with her but this was some of the most jarringly unnatural performances, I almost think they only kept her because she really looked the part. Megan was a little better, but there were still moments where I think a better director would have coached her. There were some absolutely bizarre choices made otherwise, like the clearly 30+ year old guy who came to the first party. The fact that these kids who were barely 14 were doing coke at this party which was also in what seemed like an abandoned house? Who agrees to video chat with someone they don't know when that person isn't also on camera? who calls video chatting "web-ing" it's always been shortened to cam! This movie is set pre-facetime I believe yet ALL these kids are video calling each other. There's never any ring-time or even ring-tones! The other girls from the school were also pretty bad, and that scene where they confront Amy was a big oof. Idk there was something off about the movie and not only in the way they had intended it. I could go on but I digress There were some good beats too though. Megan's interactions with her mom were really realistic. Amy's desire to make a video-diary with the new camera she got was a very good justification for a lot of that footage. The placement of the cams and the bedroom sets were all pretty solid. When Josh starts stalking Amy, and begins to turn on her, that tension begins to build.. even though Amy does not help this. When Josh comes into frame that first time she's under the bridge, that was a solid unsettling moment. It also successfully laid the groundwork for the abduction shot there - even though that moment itself handled kinda laughably. The camera being found near where she was abducted is a conflicting decision, because this guy pretty seemingly doesn't want to be caught but throws the camera in the trash at the scene he abducted her? Hmmm....... The end sequence is disturbing, I think Amy does a halfway decent job in it though it's very apparent she's acting throughout. the r*** scene was probably the best executed from a technical and acting standpoint. It was horrible to watch. Though the blood on his hand was a little excessive at the end. Not out of an unrealistic sense just it looked like someone had obviously dribbled a little fake blood on his hand. The choices of how to show Megan briefly post-abduction were really well done as well. It was scary. These were quickly flashed so you couldn't get a real sense of the film production on them. It doesn't release any tension instead it heightens it, because you don't know what else you're about to see but your mind will fear worse things to come. Even the shot of her body at the end, just frames of the film, creates a real horror as you hear Amy being stuffed in there as well and are forced to imagine what she's experiencing, and the morbid terror of her being entombed in that small space with her friend's corpse. *shiver* But.. I'm conflicting about the very very last part of the "uncut" segment. It goes on a bit long though I understand the sense of realism they wanted here. But this is where Amy's weakness I think re-surfaced. It's not the choices made by the director here, its how disingenuous she comes across in what she's saying. I just don't buy it. It's not until she's tipped into the hole that you really get any urgency or panic in her voice. Even as she's pleading with him, It's just not great. But again the choice to show that scene is a real shocking one, it simultaneously ends the tension because again you are pretty confident he's not letting her go. This is it. But you're also forced to listen to this, in an unbroken shot. there's this plateau of tension until her voice disappears and you're left with this completely eerie quiet. They don't even give you a real villainous voice to shift onto with him. This killer's identity is never known. That would be what would traditionally break the tension, I would argue. This sense of villainy. The anonymity is beyond spooky. All in all I think it is a great, terrifying premise. Sort of serves as a warning though the innocuous nature of the killer at first is really unnerving. It's even hard to justify screaming at the screen "this guy is a creep just stop talking to him!" when he does a really good job of coming off like a typical HS bro. It's "based on true events" is a little misleading, it's really just inspired by real abductions, there's no real-life case it's based on as far as I know. I'd recommend it to people who are more into like.. true crime and not turned off by disturbing themes and imagery. Not so much a fan of "horror" genre. For straight up horror that's along these veins I'd recommend the Unfriended movies. They do a really good job of blending realistic scenarios with supernatural or fictitious horror elements. Vengeful spirits or the games of murderous global darkweb conspirators. But having seen a ref to this on Tiktok I just wanted to see for myself if it lived up to that hype. It was okay. It was disturbing.. but not great.

There's a lot that's done well in the movie, and a lot that isn't. I'll start with what doesn't work: The acting is forced and unnatural throughout the movie. The most natural actor is the one who plays Megan, and even then she's only teetering on believability for the duration of the movie. I actually don't think the actors are to blame for this, though; I think the acting being universally bad is a sign of weak direction. There are other things that are a little odd, and took me out of the movie while I was watching... there's some moments where the characters seem to be FaceTiming, but there's no interface or call sounds as they do that. Did FaceTime even exist in 2007? I don't think so. Even if it did, why are all the FaceTimes recorded? So there's a lot of suspension of disbelief required to get through the movie. Now onto the good: The writing is phenomenal. There's a scene where Megan describes a trauma that happened to her when she was 10, and it's genuinely gut-wrenching because of how real her description is, and how real her perspective around the incident sounds. It's clear that whoever wrote this really researched the victims that Megan and Amy represent, because even in spite of bad acting there's a sense of realism that comes through. Further on the writing, the movie has an incredibly sinister undertone because the theme of exploitation, which is explored through the two vulnerable main characters, is executed in many subtle ways, not just in the big way at the end of the film. The film is setup to show the many ways in which the girls are isolated and seeking love and comfort, but instead running into people that want to take advantage of them in some way. The film is essentially a constant escalation of that theme, taken to the extreme at the end. No spoilers here: the ending scenes are horrific, of course, and really don't need to be expounded upon because they do exactly what they intend to do, which is to shock and horrify you. I suppose that means that they are done well! My only problem with them is that the last shot goes on for too long, because the tension dies entirely. But I believe the directors wanted us have time to question what we're watching, which brings me to my final thought: The film does ultimately make a point about consuming violent, exploitative media which I think is interesting. Yes, part of the purpose of the film is to give us a look into the lives of people that fall into these predatory traps (not just the murderous predator, but all of the ones we meet throughout the film), but I think its brutality and unabashed darkness is also meant to make the audience question whether or not they really wanted to consume this for entertainment. Was it entertaining? Did I enjoy seeing the characters brutalized? I believe the creators of the film are aware of what they made, and want us to ask these questions. And they are interesting questions... there's no other time in film history when this could've been made and been released so widely to the public. What does that say about our current media landscape? Overall, it's a good movie. It accomplishes what it sets out to do, despite bad direction. The writing is truly what shines. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless I know that person is ok with hardcore horror, and if they are then it's a solid watch.

Megan Is Missing is not your typical horror movie—it’s raw, unsettling, and emotionally intense. The found-footage style adds to the realism, making it feel more like a documentary than fiction. It’s hard to watch at times, especially because it deals with very real and scary dangers teens face online. While the acting and production aren’t Hollywood-level polished, the message about internet safety is powerful and timely. This film is definitely for mature audiences who can handle its graphic content. If you want a cautionary tale that sticks with you and sparks important conversations, this movie is worth watching.

I love and collect horror movies. I thought that is what this was- I couldn't have been more wrong! I particularly enjoy this genre- the ones that are filmed as though they are real (Willow Creek, Black Water Vampire, Chernobyl Diaries, The Fourth Kind, Open Water- you get the idea) I suppose this technically qualifies. It is, in my humble opinion, an excellent movie. There is nothing remotely fun about this film, it starts off that way, but takes a turn as dark as anything I have ever seen on film- maybe witnessed would be a more accurate term, because at the conclusion of this film, you discover you don't want to be there. It is utterly devastating, another viewer described it as gut wrenching- it is all of the above. It is the starkest example of what some individuals in our society are capable of that I have ever "witnessed." The acting is exemplary, I don't know how they did it! This is certainly a cautionary tale about teens who think they are invincible, and a grim reminder of what could and no doubt has happened before. It has the potential to save lives but also drags you to a place you would NEVER want to be.

I love horror. I love found footage. And I love movies that help me process my anxieties about real life. And Megan is Missing is, well.... found footage? Look, I get it. I really do. Teenagers especially need to be careful about what they put out on the internet. Teens today aren't inundated with all the internet safety measures I was told about growing up, and I think teaching them to safeguard their privacy and keep a healthy amount of distance from strangers is a good thing. The 5-star reviews laud this for being the wake up call we needed. But a wake-up call to who? Are you showing your children this movie that contains a three minute rape scene of a girl in a torture dungeon? Did YOU not already know to teach your children internet safety? Megan is Missing isn't reality. It's fear-mongering. It's making everyone a potential victim and does nothing to empower these children it cares so much about. In fact, just about the only thing it does foster anxiety in stressed out parents watching the movie. And on top of that, it has the audacity to be BORING. (spoilers below) The final shot of Megan + the photos were the only shocking or effective scene in this movie. The final ten minutes can be gut-wrenching, but watching someone do nothing but dig overstays its welcome fast. After a point I done feeling anxiety over the main's inevitable fate and was just on my phone waiting for it to be over. The infamous final act was uncomfortable to watch, but not for the reasons I'm sure the director wanted. It was a pornographic and fetishistic portrayal of torture that just seemed to be there for the sake of being shocking rather than actually showing the horror of a young girl's rape and final moments. I was uncomfortable because it didn't feel horrific to me; it felt like it was shot with the intent to titillate. Rape scenes are rarely done well, and this was no exception, and was just an eyeroll-worthy moment in a series of consecutive eyerolling. To anxious parents watching this: stop watching horror films about evil strangers on the internet and actually communicate with your child. Help them establish a healthy relationship with the internet instead of assuming everyone on there is out to find a way to drag your kid into a torture dungeon. If you come at them from this stupid angle, they won't take anything you say seriously -- and I can't blame them.

Unable to watch in australia Waiting to return passed the return date..need help

This movie will terrify you, Director Michael Goi did a perfect job making this film If its your first time watching this movie and you find it boring do not skip to the end!! If you do it will not scare you one bit! Buy this movie before the price rises!!

It was good I loved it

bittere Pille!!!

C'est une zone 1 donc illisible en Europe. Mentionné nulle part. Vraiment pas cool