Searching

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Searching

PG-13

2018

1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

260 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

David Kim becomes desperate when his 16-year-old daughter Margot disappears and an immediate police investigation leads nowhere. He soon decides to search the one place that no one else has -- Margot's laptop. Hoping to trace her digital footprints, David contacts her friends and looks at photos and videos for any possible clues to her whereabouts.

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Critics Consensus

Searching's timely premise and original execution are further bolstered by well-rounded characters brought to life by a talented cast.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

09/14/2022

A mystery that’s far meatier than its virtual framing would suggest.

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Andrea Gronvall

Chicago Reader

03/20/2020

Shot mostly with iPhones and GoPro cameras, the movie is visually drab and a little too gimmicky - ultimately it's a stunt, albeit an engrossing one.

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Roxana Hadadi

Chesapeake Family Magazine

09/21/2018

3.5/5

Searching follows Eighth Grade as another thought-provoking film about the intersection between teens' lives and their presence-and reliance-on social media.

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Ankit Ojha

Cinema Elite

07/09/2024

4.5/5

Going against the Heightened Realism 101 rulebook in films of this kind, Chaganty underlines his storytelling with a terrific score and appropriate rhythm-heavy editing.

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Kate Boyle

InSession Film

07/08/2024

The writing is amazing, the use of technology is great, and it doesn't feel cheesy as it has in past films.

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Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews

07/24/2023

A

A tremendously unique style of filmmaking elevates an almost seamlessly written mystery, containing constant twists and puzzling clues that leave the audience captivated throughout the entire runtime.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 5d

Low budget, bad acting, terrible directing. Watching someone copy and paste, access sites using forgotten passwords etc is not entertainment. Plot becomes increasingly absurd. This is a chore to watch. Saw it on Netflix.

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Joe W

@jwwincz 6d

I'm sorry but I couldn't get past the first 5 minutes with all that texting and screenshots! Maybe some of you guys like that stuff but for me it was a big turnoff! I kept waiting for the movie to start but THAT WAS THE MOVIE! I'm not Hi-Tech to begin with but this was really way too much for me to deal with! It was very annoying!

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And 5.

@Kitty55 Mar 23

This was a very original story, very relatable to our world of computers and tech today. Surprising twists and turns that kept the suspense flowing, with very good actors..

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Ranman C

@Ranman3554 Mar 22

Other than the usual, overused trope of the panicked father going too far and getting violent on a couple of occasions I'm hard pressed to find fault. And the final twist to it all blew my mind. Hands-down, this is my new favorite John Cho film.

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William L.

@LiveFromNYC Mar 10

Fantastic viewing of family values and love

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Alain E

@AlainE Feb 19

The first 19 minutes is mostly the father typing emails and texts searching for his missing daughter. As exciting as hell. And I always enjoy the realistic 555 phone numbers. Sayonara!

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Aneesh Chaganty

Director

John Cho

David Kim

Debra Messing

Detective Vick

Joseph Lee

Peter

Michelle La

Margot

Sara Sohn

Pamela Nam Kim

Searching: Official Clip - What Did You Do to My Daughter?

3:57

Searching: Official Clip - Crazy Dad Theater Attack

3:31

Searching: Official Clip - Mommy's Gonna Make It Better

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Searching: Official Clip - Detective Rosemary Vick

2:28

Searching: Official Clip - Stock Photo Killer

2:55

Searching: Official Clip - Finding the Killer

4:16

Searching: Official Clip - fish_n_chips

3:46

Searching: Official Clip - You Told Me She Ran Away

2:27

Searching: Official Clip - You Don't Always Know Your Kid

2:06

Searching: Official Clip - When We Were a Family

1:43

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Synopsis

David Kim becomes desperate when his 16-year-old daughter Margot disappears and an immediate police investigation leads nowhere. He soon decides to search the one place that no one else has -- Margot's laptop. Hoping to trace her digital footprints, David contacts her friends and looks at photos and videos for any possible clues to her whereabouts.

Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Producer: Sev Ohanian, Timur Bekmambetov, Adam Sidman, Natalie Qasabian
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Screen Gems, Stage 6
Production Co: Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, Bazelevs Production
Rating: PG-13 (Some Drug References|Language|Some Sexual References|Thematic Content)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 31, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 13, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.0M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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