Missing | 2023 | PG-13 | – 1.5.5

Why is “Missing” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some strong violence, language, teen drinking, and thematic material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few bloody wounds and deaths by gunshot and a stabbing with a shard of glass, a few fights when a gun is discharged, a kidnapping, underage drinking, many arguments and yelling, discussions of drug abuse and domestic violence, and at least 2 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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After a woman (Nia Long) does not return from a vacation with her boyfriend, her daughter (Storm Reid) searches for her using every available tool. Also with Tim Griffin, Ava Zaria Lee, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker and Megan Suri. Directed by Nicholas D. Johnson & Will Merrick. A few lines of dialogue are spoken in Spanish with English subtitles. [Running Time: 1:51]

Missing SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A man gets on one knee and proposes to a woman (we see this on video), and they hug. A man and a woman walk holding hands.
► Teen girls wear low-cut and cropped tops that reveal cleavage and bare abdomens at a party.

Missing VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A man with a gun yells at and threatens to shoot a woman; he shoots her in the abdomen (we see blood on her shirt), she falls to the floor, he then tackles a teen girl in the room and she struggles with him until he is stabbed in the neck with a shard of glass and stumbles out of the room gasping (we see blood and the shard sticking out of his neck).
► A man grabs a teen girl, pulls her out of her house and puts her in the trunk of a car; she is later shown tied into a chair and gagged. A man slams a woman against a wall in a shed, she hits him with a piece of wood, the gun he is holding discharges (no one is struck), and the woman runs away locking the man inside. A video shows a man and a woman being grabbed by men on a street, bags are placed over their heads, and they’re put in a van and taken away. A police raid in Colombia is shown and a man is followed by armed police onto a roof where he is shot (we see him fall; no blood is visible). A teen girl goes into a dark office and searches through the room; she opens a closet door and finds a dead woman inside (we do not see injuries).
► A teen girl searches for her mother throughout the movie and uses electronic connections to try to track down where she went; she tries to access the security footage at the hotel, she uses online tourist destination videos, she views traffic cameras, she enlists the help of a person to help in a different country, and contacts U.S. embassy staff.
► A woman and her teen daughter argue in a few scenes and the woman yells as the teen. A teen girl yells because authorities are not helping her find her mother. A teen girl yells at a man over the phone. A man tells a teen girl that her mother took her away when she was very young. A man threatens a woman over the phone saying, “You will die in a pool of your own blood.” Several scenes show text messages, emails, and photos that include threatening language. A man tells a woman that he has a record and we understand that his crime was fraud. A man talks about having a big argument with his son and that they have not communicated in a long time. We hear about a man suffering from meningioma that led to his death.
► A true-crime TV show shows a crime scene and officials investigating as a car covered with debris is revealed and when the trunk is opened we understand someone might have been inside (we do not see this).
► A man’s nose bleeds and his young daughter seems alarmed. A teen girl drinks a lot of liquor at a party and vomits (we see goo); she complains of a hangover the next day.

Missing LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 2 F-words, 6 scatological terms, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (dodgy, crazy), exclamations (oh gosh, sorry, stay calm, oh no, seriously), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. my God, Jesus Christ, I swear to God, thank God, oh my God). | profanity glossary |

Missing SUBSTANCE USE

 – Teenagers buy a large amount of liquor and we see drinking at a party later.

Missing DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Death of parents, sacrifice, grief, truth, drug abuse, domestic violence, regret.

Missing MESSAGE

 – A mother’s love can withstand extreme threats.