Infamous for its grim scenes of rape and murder, as well as its director's unconvincing abuse of the exploitation genre's "PSA" defense, "Megan is Missing" has become something of a viral sensation in the years since its initial release. Neither as brutal as "Cannibal Holocaust" nor as well-crafted as "The Poughkeepsie Tapes", it's a fairly mediocre movie that doesn't really warrant any kind of special attention, much less the strange and at times grossly accusatory reactions it and its director have provoked from people who, to be frank, don't seem to recognize what genre the movie belongs to. For the bulk of its runtime, in fact, it's a bad teen drama that would almost be Hallmark-ready were it not for the stark conversations about sex between its teenage protagonists Megan (Rachel Quinn) and Amy (Amber Perkins). Then, when Megan's meet-up with a guy she's been speaking to online results in her disappearance, the movie shifts to an even darker place, culminating with scenes and images that, while shocking, are at least more effective than the fluff that preceded them. Whether you find any value in the horror that befalls Megan and Amy is another question entirely, but it's worth remembering that director Michael Goi isn't straying so far outside of the boundaries set by exploitation movies past (and this is an exploitation movie) and doesn't really deserve to be roped into QAnon-like conspiracy theories because he made a rather tasteless movie. As for stars Amber Perkins and Rachel Quinn: neither has done much of anything since "Megan is Missing", which is a shame since their performances here are pretty good. The movie itself isn't good, however.
