Posted by 
We live in the age of the internet. Social media, news websites, chat rooms; there is an endless amount of information that can be accessed through the internet. Searching takes this concept and structures a smart and innovative thriller around it. Directed by Aneesh Chaganty, Searching tells the story of David Kim, a family-man who mourns the recent loss of his wife. His grieving time is cut short when his sixteen-year-old daughter suddenly disappears. After watching the police struggle to find any information on Margot Kim’s whereabouts, David decides to turn to the final place she could have kept her secrets- her computer. It soon becomes apparent that David Kim did not know his daughter as well as he thought he did.
From the opening scene, it’s obvious that this movie is not going to be a typical thriller. The entire film is presented through the point of view of a computer screen, a style that was previously brought to the mainstream through the horror series Unfriended. What was unexpected was how well this technique could be adapted to a crime thriller. By only presenting information through the same computer screen that the protagonist is using, the audience is thrown headfirst into the investigation, and there are several times where I felt I was discovering information along with David rather than watching it simply happen on a screen. This sense of involvement is extremely engaging, and David’s desperation to find his daughter carries the film along at a steady pace that hardly drags in its hour and fifty-minute runtime.
Much of this engagement is owed to John Cho, who plays the character of David with so much pain and at the same time determination that it carries the whole film. And it has to- Cho is our gateway into this terrible situation, and for most of the runtime he is the only actor that we can see or hear through the computer’s FaceTime camera. A nice home video introduces us to the Kim family, and the film manages to hold onto audiences’ emotions in order to deliver some truly heartbreaking and hold-your-breath moments.
Overall, Searching is a unique and engaging thriller that capitalizes on the prominent everyday use of the internet. The premise alone would make for a decent film, but its presentation through the computer screen enhances its ability to connect with its audience by allowing them to play part in the investigation. I can’t recommend Searching enough, it is seriously one of the most innovative thrillers of the year and will undoubtedly leave a mark on the genre as it moves forward.
Grade: 9.3/10
Searching is rated PG-13 for thematic content, some drug and sexual references, and for language – now playing in theaters.
Written by Zackary Townsend (@themoviebuzzz)