Susie Searches

I really didn't know what to expect with this film. On the surface it seemed like a very tame little mystery-adventure film possibly aimed at teenagers and that general age-range. Delving a little deeper though I could tell that not everything was as straight-forward as it seemed. There was an oddly talented cast who weren't going to sign up for just anything. Also Alex Wolff was involved with the project, and I've noticed he likes to take on roles in darker-themed movies. It was all a bit baffling.

And somehow despite all this I was still kind of surprised by what the actual story was. I liked it though. It was far from being as straight-forward as I feared it was going to be. There were some twisted moral dilemmas and some very dark and sinister characters in the mix.

The other thing that I liked was that I really didn't know how it was going to end. It found a fun little way to surprise me in that sense. This was a good one. 8/10.

I didn't have much hope for this movie at the beginning. As it went on, it actually got worse. But, then it reached a point where the twist and turns started to be both interesting and good. It was pretty obvious early on who the actual kidnapper was and although it seemed that it was much too early in the movie for this reveal, it turned out to present a lot of opportunities for suspenseful events. This is one of those movies that you have to pay close attention to everything that is said and that occurs from the beginning until the absolute end. This movie is categorised as a comedy and a mystery and it did contain both. Although I probably wouldn't watch this again it was a fun and entertaining movie to watch.

Sophie Kargman has written/directed a little masterpiece. The editing, music, sound effects, and the occasional very long take, keep you riveted to the movie. Kiersey Clemons plays the true crime podcaster with tremendous care, she's doing some very odd things very matter-of-fact-ly, very calmly. The twists and turns make it impossible to say much about the plot - indeed, you'll have the most fun watching if you know nothing about it. I found myself wondering a few times, now that I know that, where are we going? Oh...there! The arcs and the lively editing, music, and sound effects kept me glued to the screen, saying what? At times, and laughing a few times.

Clemons delivers a stunning performance here, and the supporting cast is also very strong. I really enjoyed the way the movie plays with genre tropes from both amateur detective stories and slasher flicks. It's almost painfully awkward to watch at times, but that's the point. And while we may struggle to like certain characters at certain times, most are treated with empathy. It's the kind of movie where you realize a moment before the twist what's going to happen, which for me was satisfying rather than predictable. It feels fresh and yet the story holds together and has a consistent tone. Deserves a better rating!

Since childhood, Susie (Kiersey Clemons) loves reading mysteries with her mother. As a part-time college student, she takes care of her sick mother, interns at the police station, and does her mystery podcast but no one actually listens to it. When popular student Jesse (Alex Wolff) goes missing, she sets out to solve the mystery.

The reveal needs to be shown much later in the movie. The audience needs to suspect Jesse of kidnapping himself for the attention. They need to start a list of possible suspects before the movie does the reveal. Some other minor changes include killing off the uncle to delete him from the suspect list and Jim Gaffigan needs to be smarter to ramp up the tension of possible discovery. He's only smart for the last scene which made me wonder where that character has been throughout the movie.