Megan Is Missing Director Warns Viewers Not To Watch Movie Alone or in Middle of the Night

Controversial 2011 found footage horror movie Megan Is Missing has found its way back into the public discourse. In large part, this resurgence is driven by TikTok users rediscovering the movie and being horrified by it. Feeling responsible for the psychological stress the film is inflicting on the unsuspecting, writer/director Michael Goi took to TikTok himself to share the same warnings he’d offered to audiences in the past with potential new viewers. “Hello, my friends on TikTok,” he says in the video. “This is Michael Goi, the writer/director of Megan Is Missing, and I got a text from Amber Perkins, the lead actress in my movie, that it was exploding on TikTok at the moment and I didn’t get to give you the customary warnings that I used to give people before they watched Megan Is Missing, which are: do not watch the movie in the middle of the night, do not watch the movie alone, and if you see the words ‘Photo Number One’ pop up on your screen, you have about four seconds to shut off the movie if you’re already kind of freaking out before you start seeing things that maybe you don’t want to see. So, apologies to those who are already posting about how the movie has freaked them out, but fair warning to those of you who are still contemplating watching the film. Thanks.”

Megan Is Missing uses the found footage format to tell the story of a teenage girl named Megan Stewart (Rachel Quinn) who goes missing after meeting a boy she first contacted online. Her friend Amy Herman (Amber Perkins) then launches an investigation into Megan’s disappearance. Though not based on any particular true story, Goi was inspired by numerous real-life child abduction tales when writing the film.

Goi filmed the movie over the course of a week in 2006. He did not find distribution for the film until 2011 when Anchor Bay Films agreed to give it a limited theatrical release. Since then, the movie received criticism for depicting graphic violence against minors and oversexualizing teenage girls. Some call it exploitative, and New Zealand banned the film. Goi maintains that his intent with the film graphic nature was to unnerve viewers and not to exploit the actors.

What do you think of the recent renewed attention given to this controversial horror movie? Let us know in the comments. Megan Is Missing is not streaming as part of any subscription-based streaming platform but can be rented digitally from online vendors.