Andrew J.D. Robinson has released this film for free on YouTube, so as long as it's up, instead of a trailer, I've linked the full film. Go watch it. #SupportIndieHorror
The Breakdown: After a young girl goes missing, the ensuing investigation starts to suggest that there's more going on than anyone bargained for.
Watch If: You want an engaging, atmospheric ramp up from an up and coming creator.
Not If: You need a neat, gift-wrapped explanation of events.
SECONDARY FACTS
Overall Rating: 3.8/5
Length: 1:24
Language: English
Scare Factor: Atmoshperic/5
Gore Factor: None
REVIEW
THE QUICK AND DIRTY
We Are The Missing is an incredibly atmospheric film that only gets better the further it goes, and manages to make utilize the mockumentary format in a way that injects a real and absolute dread, that, even if it doesn't scare you while you're watching it, will claw its way back into your head the next time you hear a strange sound coming from somewhere in the dark. While it starts off feeling a bit clunky, both in writing and acting, the progression of the film paces itself phenomenally, and every aspect of the film just gets better and better. Don't give up in the first five minuted, this one is certainly worth the watch.
PREMISE: 4
This film sets itself up in such a way that any seasoned horror viewer will roll their eyes a few minutes in, thinking that they've already figured it out, that it's just another no-budget trash-fire with the same cookie-cutter plot, but you couldn't be more wrong. What I thought was going to be a sluggish rip of of A Haunting turned out to be a engrossing dive into the town of D'Arcadia, with a constant influx of information that manages to keep the viewer on the edge of their seats.
ACTING: 3
So once you get into the real meat of the film, the acting improves exponentially, with particular props to Gabrielle Banville [April] and Olivia Piercey [Paige]. With so many actors involved in this project, there were a few that felt like "reenactment actors" from old ghost story movies, but more than a few of them demonstrated real talent, and I sincerely hope to see them in more things in the future.
AUDIO AND VISUALS: 3
It is not lost on me that the budget for this film was microscopic, and the issues I found with the editing are fairly nit-picky, but there were a few creative choices that didn't help the film. Granted, none of them hurt the film too much, but still. The first is that there's a repeated editing choice to include upside-down shots of pretty much any landscape in the film, which isn't bad on its own- it adds a sense of being off-kilter to a format that does not lend itself well to visual discomfort. But, man, does it happen a lot.
Other than that, there are a few moments where the sound choices are heavy-handed. Then you've got your basic film quality problems for some of the clips, but again, microbudget, so that's to be expected.
The fact that this film, with all its different cogs and pieces, was edited together in a way that the final product is not only palatable but enjoyable, is something even big-budget films can't seem to do. (Looking at you, Suicide Squad.) The music was good, and what the film lacked in technicality, it more than made up for in everything else.
ATMOSPHERE: 4
The first (and most treacherous) pitfall of mockumentary style horror is that it is how difficult it is to keep an audience engaged. Robinson has not only managed to dodge that problem but has woven his film with a pacing that is masterful for any specimen from the found-footage extended family. The progression of the film is visceral and creepy, with a slow burn that manages not to go out.
Yes, it starts out clunky. The dialogue feels very scripted, the actors seem... unconvinced. And there's a few instances of humor that, while well placed and quite funny, left me somewhat expecting this to be a comedy. Spoiler alert- it's not. But as the film took off, the cheese factor dropped by about 400%, and with the exception of a few sections of the film that seemed a bit drawn out, I was genuinely hooked almost the entire time.
(I could go off about how this is actually an excellent example of the core tenants of traditional cosmic horror, but that would require a lot more than one post, so I'll refrain.)
DELIVERY: 5
I have seen more than my fair share of indie films that Ii had to watch through gritted teeth. This was not one of those. What the individuals working on this film managed to accomplish with a virtually non-existent budget is nothing short of excellent. This is a writer/director's feature-length debut. There's no money behind it, no big names to tie to it, and it was still an interesting and captivating piece, that Hollywood horror could stand to learn a thing or two from.
As for Robinson, if he managed to create this under these kinds of conditions, I honestly cannot wait to see what he will do next.
Starring
Written By: Andrew J.D. Robinson
Director: Andrew J.D. Robinson
Music: Tyler Matthews, Raymond Richmond