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Searching

  • 2018
  • PG-13
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
189K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,156
449
Searching (2018)
After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.
Play trailer1:11
15 Videos
99+ Photos
Psychological ThrillerSuspense MysteryDramaMysteryThriller

After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.

  • Director
    • Aneesh Chaganty
  • Writers
    • Aneesh Chaganty
    • Sev Ohanian
  • Stars
    • John Cho
    • Debra Messing
    • Joseph Lee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    189K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,156
    449
    • Director
      • Aneesh Chaganty
    • Writers
      • Aneesh Chaganty
      • Sev Ohanian
    • Stars
      • John Cho
      • Debra Messing
      • Joseph Lee
    • 1.3KUser reviews
    • 255Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 10 nominations total

    Videos15

    Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:11
    Trailer #2
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:24
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:24
    Official Trailer
    IMDbrief: What You Missed in 'Bird Box'
    Clip 3:20
    IMDbrief: What You Missed in 'Bird Box'
    Searching (Vignette)
    Featurette 1:16
    Searching (Vignette)
    Searching: John Cho On Combining Technology With Classic Storytelling
    Featurette 0:30
    Searching: John Cho On Combining Technology With Classic Storytelling
    Searching: Debra Messing On Her Reaction To Reading The Script And Story
    Featurette 0:33
    Searching: Debra Messing On Her Reaction To Reading The Script And Story

    Photos169

    View Poster
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    + 162
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    John Cho
    John Cho
    • David Kim
    Debra Messing
    Debra Messing
    • Detective Vick
    Joseph Lee
    Joseph Lee
    • Peter
    Michelle La
    • Margot
    Sara Sohn
    • Pamela Nam Kim
    Alex Jayne Go
    Alex Jayne Go
    • Young Margot (5 yrs)
    Megan Liu
    Megan Liu
    • Young Margot (7 yrs)
    Kya Dawn Lau
    Kya Dawn Lau
    • Young Margot (9 yrs)
    Dominic Hoffman
    Dominic Hoffman
    • Michael Porter
    Sylvia Minassian
    • Mrs. Shahinian
    • (voice)
    Melissa Disney
    Melissa Disney
    • Isaac's Mom
    • (voice)
    Connor McRaith
    Connor McRaith
    • Isaac
    Colin Woodell
    Colin Woodell
    • 911 Operator
    • (voice)
    Joseph John Schirle
    Joseph John Schirle
    • Jonah Emmi
    • (voice)
    • (as Joseph K. Schirle)
    Ashley Edner
    Ashley Edner
    • Margot's Friend #1
    • (voice)
    Courtney Lauren Cummings
    Courtney Lauren Cummings
    • Margot's Friend #2
    • (voice)
    • (as Courtney Cummings)
    Kenneth Mosley
    Kenneth Mosley
    • Margot's Friend #7
    • (voice)
    Miss Benny
    Miss Benny
    • Margot's Friend #11
    • (voice)
    • (as a different name)
    • Director
      • Aneesh Chaganty
    • Writers
      • Aneesh Chaganty
      • Sev Ohanian
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1.3K

    7.6188.8K
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    Featured reviews

    8yajaira2132

    Edge of Your Seat Thriller

    It's the number of people sitting at the edge of their seat that makes the score a 10/10. It's like riding a rollercoaster whose incline never ceased. Your pulse is pounding and it's well worth the ending, which no one in my group figured out.

    The father daughter relationship felt so genuine. The dad humor was on point, and when things got serious it felt real. It was like "Taken", but if it happened in real life. Google search the hell out of your daughter's life to find her.
    9stuartwoodley-58722

    Get ready for twists turns and tears!

    Amazing thriller- twists and turns. Just when you think the ending is too neat- there's another twist and another. Had me crying in the first 5 minutes and sobbing at the end. Original and gripping. This film is gonna be huge!
    8greenops-43606

    Don't skip this movie just because of the "gimmick".

    I was not planning on watching this but I saw the high rating on imdb and considering how bad most movies with this gimmick are it peaked my interest that people actually like this one. I am very surprised at just how good this movie was. I went in with low expectations despite how well received it was but this movie really did it right.

    First thing first, they managed to get the internet right, or atleast as right as you can expect a movie to get it. It featured mostly real websites and stayed within the limits of reality when it comes to his snooping around the internet for clues.

    Secondly the pacing is pretty good too with a solid story that keeps you engaged and offers surprises throughout.

    While not the best acted movie, the acting is certainly solid enough to get through the movie and they manage to make you care about the characters in a short amount of time.

    Overall I'm pleasently surprised and the high rating is a combination of the solid story and that fact someone managed to finally pull off this concept correctly. It definitely earned a bonus point for its uniqueness and willingness to be something different.
    9Platypuschow

    Searching: I'm not crying you're crying

    When Searching was initially annouced I was excited, a John Cho straight role and in that unique presentation style? Count me in, this was on paper destined to be something special.

    Sadly whenever I hype a movie up like this they tend to fall flat, but not Searching. No, no Searching lived up to my high expectations and the John Cho movie demonstrated that this is one of those guys like Ryan Reynolds and Will Smith who truly can do it all.

    The whole movie plays out through pc windows and camera footage. Yes it has been done before with the likes of Unfriended (2014) but they took the concept to the next level here and it works considerably better than you'd imagine.

    John Cho delivers an emotional tour de force with some of the best written material I've seen in years. It's so clever, so intricate and just when you think you've got it all figured out another spanner is thrown into the works to make you re-evaluate everything you've seen so far.

    As I'm getting older I'm becoming a harsher critic because I've seen everything before. Movies like Searching reaffirm my faith in the industry, it's fresh, it's fascinating and doesn't fall for any of the usual Hollywood tropes.

    By far Searching is the best film I've seen in a longtime, a true unconditional triumph and I applaud everyone involved. Outstanding!

    The Good:

    Very unique cinematography

    Powerful performance by Cho

    Incredibly smart writing

    The Bad:

    Nothing springs to mind

    Things I Learnt From This Movie:

    There is hope for Hollywood yet

    John Cho is one of the most underappreciated actors in the industry
    10Reviewer64646

    Finally a decent tech movie

    This film got it right in the technology department. All real websites, technology and actual examples of how you can search the internet to find information. They had to get this right and as an avid tech enthusiastic i was pleased that they did.

    The storyline was well written, had twists and turns that i did not expect. Decent movie!

    Best Emmys Moments

    Best Emmys Moments
    Discover nominees and winners, red carpet looks, and more from the Emmys!

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    Related interests

    Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014)
    Psychological Thriller
    James Stewart in Rear Window (1954)
    Suspense Mystery
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      For the German, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian and Portuguese versions of the movie, every TV/phone/computer screen was recreated in its respective language, as well as every typing sequence, keystroke by keystroke.
    • Goofs
      While Margot is driving in her a Camry, a sunroof is seen above her head. When the Camry is pulled out of the lake, there is no sunroof on that car.
    • Quotes

      David Kim: I didn't know her. I didn't know my daughter.

    • Connections
      Featured in Projector: Searching (2018)

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    FAQ19

    • How long is Searching?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 31, 2018 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Russia
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Facebook (alt)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Buscando...
    • Production companies
      • Screen Gems
      • Stage 6 Films
      • Bazelevs Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $880,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $26,020,957
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $388,769
      • Aug 26, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $75,462,037
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 42m(102 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Surround 5.1
      • DTS:X
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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