A horror drama, The Missing follows three characters’ search for missing pieces of themselves caused by past traumatic experiences. Iris (Ritz Azul) is a restoration architect who is on her way to recovery from PTSD brought about by her witnessing the kidnapping of her younger sister. Job (Joseph Marco) is a fellow architect and Iris’s former lover who seems to have lost himself after the breakup and decides to seek refuge in Saga, Japan. Through Job, Iris is commissioned by her former Japanese professor, Riku Watanabe, to work on the restoration of his ancestral home in Saga. Joined by Prof. Watanabe’s intern Len (Miles Ocampo) who yearns for her missing sister who is an OFW in Japan, together they discover the unspeakable secret of the 109-year old house.
If you don’t know the main Filipino actors, the film can be mistaken for a Japanese film, as they blend well with the Japanese surroundings. The horror definitely gets inspiration from the standard J-horror flicks such as Ringu and Ju-On, banking more on the setting than actual scares. The film also lets us peek into some of uncanny Japanese beliefs and traditions.
The Missing exhibits topnotch production values and the cinematography captures the beauty that Saga is. You can sense the eerie atmosphere and creepy feeling despite the bright gorgeous scenery showcased on the screen. It delivers cleverly executed scares, albeit sporadically. I guess that’s what makes them effective—they are few and far between. While the scares are almost overshadowed by the picturesque view of Saga, the musical score does its job and enchants the audience, evokes drama, heightens the suspense, and reinforces the tension and foreboding danger awaiting the characters. Despite the slow start, The Missing is both exciting (with suspense slowly but effectively built up) and a joy to watch, especially when the house begins to unleash its ghosts lurking within its walls. That Easy Ferrer’s direction is inspired is very evident with each frame well thought-out and executed, from the colorful parade, to the shadows behind the walls, to the chase scene in the woods.
Azul gives a compelling portrayal of a tormented character, showing us authentic fear and her struggling grip on reality. While Ocampo sports a stronger character given her mission, she slowly reveals her vulnerability when she comes close to truth. Marco is generally okay. He does better when alone than having interaction with other characters. As the non-believer, he could still have been more understanding of Iris’s plight rather than displaying outright dismissal of Iris’s ghosts (even if his final scene subtly suggests a twist). All the Japanese actors have done well, particularly Joe Ishikawa as Prof. Watanabe, Seiyo Masunaga as his son Aki, the elderly woman looking for her son, and the store clerk (apologies I was not able to catch their names).
The Missing may not be groundbreaking as a horror flick, but it is still fun to watch.
The Hungry Film Lover 