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In 2011, writer/director Michael Goi (now known for his work on American Horror Story and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) released Megan is Missing, a graphic cautionary tale about a 14 year-old girl who goes missing after developing an online relationship with a stranger on the internet. The movie was almost immediately accosted for its use of underaged actors and its graphic depictions of assault. It was labeled by many as "torture porn masquerading as a cautionary tale" and was even banned in New Zealand. The Office of Film and Literature Classification stating that "The feature depicts sexual violence and sexual conduct involving young people to such an extent and degree, and in such a manner, that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good."
In 2020, the movie went viral on TikTok with users describing their experience watching it as "traumatizing". It became sort of challenge. Who can stomach watching the "most disturbing movie of all time"?
Now, it's getting a vertical series directed, once again, by Michael Goi.
Megan is Missing was made with the best of intentions. Goi intended to show the graphic and brutal reality of child abduction. Almost every aspect of the movie is based on actual cases of missing children.
Goi has claims that "Everything that's in the movie is based on real cases, there's nothing in the movie that I made up. Everything came from documents, court transcripts, surveillance videos, file photos, all of that from seven different cases."
To a degree, Goi succeeded. There's no question that young viewers of the film walked away acutely aware of the dangers of sharing information with strangers. Marc Klaas, founder of the Klaaskids Foundation and father of kidnapping victim Polly Klaas, endorsed the film as a necessary wake-up call about the importance of protecting kids. However, as film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas puts it,
"Goi's motive was unquestionably positive — he's a good guy who really wanted to save kids' lives — but that didn't stop Megan is Missing from being dismissed as torture porn: ultimately it still looks and feels like an exploitation film."
Michael Goi has even gone on to say that it's unfortunate that the film blew up on TikTok as he never intended for kids to watch the movie. He recalls a time when an 11 year-old once reached out to him:
"She says, 'Wow, now I understand what my mom has been telling me about being on the internet. I didn't understand it until I watched your movie.' And I said, 'What are you doing watching my movie?' There's no way an 11-year-old should be watching this movie."
It's hard to reconcile Goi's motives with his methods. Actual underaged actors are repeatedly put into sexual situations. Megan's character is depicted as deeply troubled, sexually promiscuous, and drug addled at only 14. The actress, Rachel Quinn, has described the filming of some of the scenes as physically uncomfortable and mentally traumatizing. While some argue that, "this kind of thing happens to 14 year-olds–there are 14 year-olds like this," it doesn't explain why the graphic scenes and sexual situations are so protracted and gratuitous.
Goi has somewhat acknowledged that his execution of the movie may have clouded the message, but doesn't go as far as to admit regret.
"In retrospect, the message may have been clearer if the movie hadn't been so frank and brutal. But on the other hand, if the movie weren't so frank and brutal, then it would be basically a lie to what I originally had set out to do or to show."
So it should come as no surprise that he signed on to make a series. Although, he has stated that he "would need to have some perspective on the people who actually conduct searches to find these kids and the emotional toll it takes on them," before he made a remake, it still doesn't justify the release of series.
When discussing the idea of remaking this movie, the intent behind the film is somewhat irrelevant. Now that the movie has been out, we know that people don't watch it because of its qualities as a cautionary tale – people watch it because of the shock factor. They watch it because it's torture porn and it holds all the qualities of an extreme exploitation film.
The story he was trying to tell has been told. The message he was trying to convey was drilled into the skulls of the viewers. That reasoning no longer holds. When we give a platform to these graphic depictions of assault on minors, we are knowingly and willingly making content for the very groomers we're trying to warn people of.
There is no good reason to remake this movie other than to profit off of audiences who enjoy watching the exploitation of minors.
