by Hannah Boggs, Arts and Style Editor
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
After going viral on TikTok, a 2011 horror movie sparked a large rise in views due to its terrifying plot and disturbing graphics. The plot of this true story movie surrounds a young teenage girl named Megan, who begins talking to a stranger online that appears to be a teenage boy. However, this communication ultimately leads to her getting abducted and murdered, along with her best friend. Although some may argue that this movie spreads awareness and promotes caution for teens, it’s possible that the horrific graphics and unsettling plot may just invoke terror and fear among its viewers.
The plot of the movie begins relatively harmless by showing the daily life of a teenage girl who has a few struggles going on with her family and friends. However, once Megan is abducted the movie begins to get very graphic and is by no means for sensitive or impressionable eyes. Ava Battistelli (12) says that “movies this graphic cause unnecessary fear instead of spreading awareness about safety”. She explains this reasoning by mentioning that movies like Megan is Missing focus “more on the storyline rather than giving tips and advice on how to stay safe”. Although this movie is based off of multiple true child abductions, it’s very apparent that one of its main purposes was to cause fear rather than to promote caution in young teenagers due to its lack of safety tips and its emphasis on gore.
Due to the fact that Megan is Missing is based off of multiple different child abduction cases, it may be necessary to involve the amount of disturbing graphics in order to show the reality of the situation. Simone Dy (12) comments on this by pointing out that the “over exaggeration on the graphics is a good way to let people know that this is reality”. She says that “there is no limit on gore when things like this do occur in real life”. The images in Megan is Missing are not for sensitive eyes or stomachs, but they most definitely allow the viewer to understand the severity of the situation that is being portrayed through the screen.
The level of gore and violence that is seen throughout this movie can definitely upset its viewers. However, how different is it really from other horror movies? Although the gore is much more realistic considering that it’s based off of a true story, it may just open the eyes of young teens and help them to see the reality of these situations. Mrs. Riggs says that “if creating a graphic movie helps young people to be more careful than [she’s] all for it”. Unlike stereotypical horror movies that use gore to invoke fear into its viewers, Megan is Missing utilizes gore in order to communicate reality.
Even though Megan is Missing is an extremely graphic and horrific movie, the overall message of staying safe while being online is apparent. It is possible, however, that the movie could have used a little less gore and disturbing graphics in order to focus more on safety tips for teenagers who are strongly active on the internet. Overall, Megan is Missing captures its viewers by portraying the reality of abductions and the true fear that victims face. It’s no shock that this movie gained the attention that it was looking for.