Growing up, it was part of my daily routine to watch crime TV. I remember watching a variety of shows with my sister and gaining an interest in crime-centered media. I had low expectations for “Missing” after viewing the trailer because it looked overly cheesy, but I greatly underestimated this movie.

The film came out Jan. 20 and follows June (Storm Reid) as she searches for her mother, Grace (Nia Long), after she embarks on a trip to Columbia with her boyfriend, Kevin (Ken Leung), and goes missing. After digging into the case, June uncovers family secrets and realizes there is much more to the story.

The entire movie is shown from the point of view of either June’s computer or phone screen, and admittedly, I was wary about whether or not I would enjoy it. When movies or shows use the social media outlook, they tend to make it cringey and hard to watch by making it clear they’re trying to reach a teenage audience. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the creators didn’t try too hard to appeal to a singular age group by modernizing the language.

I didn’t expect the amount of plot twists this movie would have, which made the experience so much better. As each twist came, it had my friend and I jumping out of our seats. The emotional scenes, which centered around the familial relationship between Grace, June and her late father, James (Tim Griffin), added a wonderful balance of suspense and emotion.

The variety of messages displayed throughout the movie were really impactful. There were topics not frequently addressed in the film industry, and I thought the film showed the reality of these difficult situations well and has potential to have an influence on its audience.

An aspect that overwhelmed me was how confusing the plot twists became as they went on. They were interesting and I loved what they added to the story, but I was lost toward the end. I only wish there was more clarification on how the story played out.

The overall acting of this film was decent. There were some parts in which Long lacked emotion or felt awkward, which made the scene hard to watch. Considering the situations characters faced, it didn’t feel dramatic enough and took away from the realistic experience. However, Reid’s acting was fantastic – I loved how her character’s turmoil was obvious and how emotional all her scenes were; I found myself tearing up.

Ultimately, while I was wary of this movie at the beginning, I enjoyed the emotion-filled experience. The crime genre was done justice with this influential film.