Highlights
- "Searching" is a clever thriller that tells a story entirely through a computer screen, making it a standout example of the screenlife movie genre.
- The ending of "Searching" includes a twist that impresses even seasoned horror and thriller fans, adding to its compelling and thrilling nature.
- The movie explores the love between a father and daughter and the lengths a parent will go to find their missing child, resulting in a satisfying and emotional conclusion.
The 2018 thriller Searching has a clever ending and is a perfect example of how well a filmmaker can tell a story entirely via a computer screen. While many great movies are part of the found footage horror movie genre, including Hell House LLC which has deep lore, it's rare for a horror or thriller film to use this device without feeling gimmicky. Instead, Searching intelligently explores the love that a father has for his daughter and the path he goes down when trying to locate her when she disappears.
Searching stars John Cho as a parent whose worst nightmare has seemingly come true, and every moment of the thriller is fascinating and clever. The ending of Searching includes a twist that impresses even the most avid and seasoned horror and thriller fans.
How Does Searching End?
The end of Searching wraps up what is a smart and pulse-pounding mystery that never becomes boring for a single moment. David Kim (John Cho) is looking for his teenage daughter Margot (Michelle La) and realizes that Detective Vick (Debra Messing), who he thought was helping him, is actually at the heart of the mystery. This great plot twist is one reason why Searching is a more compelling and thrilling movie than Missing, which was released in 2023 and serves as a sequel (although the plot isn't connected).
Searching is an example of the screenlife movie genre and is considered by many to be the best and most well-crafted example. The film's ending is intelligent and includes a twist that no one can forget. David learns that Detective Vick wanted to work on the case of Margot's disappearance so she could cover up for her son Robert. Vick framed Randy, a convict whom she met when he participated in a program that she oversaw.
David solves the mystery when he sees the photo of a girl on a funeral website and realizes that it's a stock picture and not actually Margot's friend Hannah. Robert liked Margot and pretended to be Hannah. Robert felt bad about asking for money and wanted to meet Margot at Barbosa Lake. Instead of this being a romantic moment, Robert pushed Margot into a ravine, thought she was dead, and hoped that he could get away with it.
Writer And Director | Writers: Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian Director: Aneesh Chaganty |
|---|---|
Cast | John Cho, Michelle La, Debra Messing |
Release Date | August 24 2018 |
RT Critic Score | 92% |
RT Audience Score | 88% |
Where To Watch | DirecTV |
David tells the police, who locate Margot. Thanks to a storm that took place not too long ago, she was able to stay alive by drinking water that washed into the ravine. Searching ends with Margot looking forward to the future when she will study piano in college. David says that her mother Pamela would have loved to see her succeed, which is one of the most emotional moments of the movie. David and Margot have repaired their bond, which is a sweet way to wrap up the story.
What Is Searching About?
Searching follows David Kim's investigation of his daughter Margot's disappearance. The movie opens with a heartbreaking sequence that shares that David and Margot lost their wife and mother Pamela to cancer a little while ago. The sequence brilliantly shows that David and Margot are struggling to connect and that their relationship is nothing like it used to be.
If Searching was told in a more traditional format, this opening wouldn't be as moving. John Cho liked the beginning of the movie and explained in an interview with The Verge in 2018 that he felt that telling the family's history in this way worked well. The actor said:
"Well, I read it, and I thought the story itself was really exciting, and it was a great whodunnit. I couldn’t guess the ending until I read it. I thought the characterizations were really right there, on the page. The opening sequence of the film, if you recall, that sort of digital family-photo-album sequence was very affecting, even in its abbreviated form on the page."
Just like Unfriended is a unique teen horror movie thanks to the fact that it all takes place on a computer screen, Searching makes the most of its format. The characters are well-developed and the action is thrilling.
What Did Critics Say About Searching?
While horror and thriller fans often praise Searching for its creative storytelling, not every critic liked it. However, the movie did get several positive reviews. While The Guardian published a two-star review, Rolling Stone gave it four stars and complimented Searching on its ability to keep audiences invested throughout the entire runtime. Several of the reviews shared on Rotten Tomatoes praised the movie for making sure that audiences feel compassion toward David and Margot. The best Blumhouse horror movies about technology have character development and emotion along with scares. Searching uses a computer screen to tell a moving story about a sweet father and daughter.
In 2018, John Cho spoke to The Independent about Searching's unique storytelling device. He praised the movie:
“As a species, all these emotions that we used to experience, albeit exchanged face-to-face, are now happening inside the computer. What he did was go inside the computer so that he could then reproject it onto the big screen. And make those interactions inside the computer feel as big as they feel to us internally. That’s what I loved about it.”