Do you feel that the crime genre is getting a bit too samey? Well Prime has recently added 2018’s Searching, a unique take on the genre that was lauded by audiences

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Matthew MooreSenior Evening Writer

7 days agoApr 7, 2026, 4:55 PM GMT+1

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Crime films are some of the earliest known genres of the medium, with some of the originals dating all the way back to the early 1900s. As such, it may feel that every avenue has been explored, but in 2018, the film Searching took the genre in an entirely different direction.

Set entirely across smartphones and computer screens, the film followed single dad David Kim (John Cho) as he attempts to solve the disappearance of his teenage daughter, Margot (Michelle La). Although initially conceived as an eight-minute film, it was expanded to feature length to great critical and commercial success, earning $75 million against an $880,000 budget.

The film’s synopsis reads: “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.”

The success of the film, which is now available to stream on Amazon Prime, launched a trilogy, set within the same universe, all using the same technique. The stylisation of such films is tricky, and when done badly, can be awful, like the recent War of the Worlds remake, however, Searching manages to triumph with its limited sets.

WATCH: See the trailer for Searching

Searching ended up nominated for five awards, including Best Thriller Film and Best Male Lead, and the flick has a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score in both the critical consensus and the audience approval ratings, with critics giving it a 92% score.

Reception

As we mentioned, the film was a hit with critics, with the consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reading: “Searching’s timely premise and original execution are further bolstered by well-rounded characters brought to life by a talented cast.“

Writing for Roger Ebert.com, Christy Lemire said: “Til the end, though, we’re deeply invested in these well-drawn characters, and whether they’ll find their happy ending both online and IRL,” while Empire’s Olly Richards opined: “The smart visual trickery lifts what might otherwise have been a fairly conventional thriller, but it also lets [director and writer Aneesh] Chaganty say some interesting things about our online lives.”

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Much of the film took place on screens

Meanwhile, We Live Entertainment enthused: “Nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece.”

One viewer wrote: “I was just utterly entertained and delighted by this film. Because it was just SO well done. Its innovative cinematography was not presented at the sacrifice of a well-crafted and compelling story,” while a second posted: “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.“

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The film won over both critics and audiences

However, praise wasn’t universal. In The Guardian, Simran Hans gave the film a two-star review as she complained: “The film doesn’t understand what mode it wants to operate in; serious thriller with emotional stakes or contrived, cynical satire (a set piece around a Twitter hashtag seems to suggest the latter).”

Who stars in Searching?

Due to the way it tells its story, Searching has a very small cast. The film is led by John Cho (Star Trek), Debra Messing (Will & Grace) and Michelle La (After School).

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Michelle La joined the likes of John Cho and Debra Messing in the film

 Also featured in the cast are Sara Sohn (Furious 7) and Joseph Lee (Beef).