I am not sure if it’s refreshing that, with people putting their work on YouTube and other video-sharing platforms that there are more opportunities to get films out or if it shows how cutthroat the industry as a whole has become. While some filmmakers are shooting films with no greater desire than to have their work seen, some aren’t able to do that. They have investments, both personal and business, in their work, as well as a cast and crew, and simply dropping the movie onto a streaming platform with little chance of recouping that investment makes the chances of them making a follow-up slim.
Sure, if the movie gets a million views it might be able to get some monetization but it’s rare. The fact is that the streamers have closed their doors to independent filmmakers.
While I can appreciate the desire for quality, the fact is that it doesn’t take long to scroll and see that this isn’t much of the case. They just don’t want to let people into their gated community. And yeah, there’s a lot of garbage that gets made, films made solely to cash in on this trend or another, and beyond the bad there’s a LOT of mediocre, but the fact is that it’s 1. Content and 1. Not all bad.
Point in case, WE ARE THE MISSING, a film that, while it has its issues, is better than a lot of recent found footage films I have seen.
WE ARE THE MISSING is done in a ‘mockumentary’ style that finds a filmmaker telling the story of a young woman who had mysteriously gone missing. Her family had thought Mackenzie was simply in her room but found she was gone, having even left her phone and shoes behind. The film interviews the parents and a close friend of the young woman with the hope of delving into the story and finding a clue as to what happened to her or who took her. As the story unfolds though and the leads begin to dry up there is a new wrinkle when the parents of the woman disappear as well. Suddenly, several people connected to the woman and many that weren’t begin disappearing and what had been a contained incident spins out of control as the filmmaker and community grasp for answers. Slowly though, the pieces of a larger puzzle begin to be revealed, hinting at otherworldly forces that have been insinuating themselves into people’s lives and siphoning off their life force for unknown reasons. As far-fetched as it may seem, something sinister is happening and there’s no way to stop it.
As I mentioned previously, this is a definite cut above what you’d expect to find on YouTube. I mean no disrespect to other filmmakers but this is a feature-length film that is well made, is effective, and doesn’t do anything to tip how much or how little was spent on the movie. The ‘mockumentary’ aspect is handled very well with the only flaw being some acting choices that are questionable. The build-up is well done and they do a good job of peppering the ‘reveals’ throughout the entire film. There are moments where the editing of the film becomes very apparent but this breaking of found footage rules can simply be explained away as part of what the documentary filmmaker did.
The biggest issue I have is that the last fifteen minutes, give or take, are FILLED with information and possible reveals that begin to explain in part what is happening. Sadly, as much as we are given it doesn’t really tell us much of anything. We get an IDEA but not the whole picture. Which is fine, I suppose. The other thing that irked me was that there’s a number thrown out about how many people are going missing in the town and it’s SUCH an outrageous number that pushes the film well past believability. I think people don’t realize that if you had even say, ten people disappear in a short amount of time the state and probably federal government and police would be involved. With the real fear of trafficking out there and the concern about serial killers, there’s no way a LOT of people can just disappear and not have it a national/worldwide story. And if THAT’s the case then it changes the entire complexion of things.
That’s the big issue here if I am honest, is that they wanted to tell a HUGE story that was better served by being more intimate. While the BIG story is scary, it loses credibility when it forces itself into being too big.
It’s a very well-made, creepy movie with a lot of great ideas. It’s well worth a look and will find its fans. One of those that ALMOST nailed it, but not quite.
3.5 out of 5
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11537730
MOVIE
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 