Movie Review: Missing 411 the Movie

First let me state that I am a big fan of the 411 books. I’ve read all but the last one which was dedicated to missing hunters. I find the topic incredibly mysterious even though the books are not well written and horribly edited. I also enjoy the many interviews the author, David Paulides, has done over the years even though I find him to be fairly insufferable.

Here are two trailers for the movie:





Here’s the official 411 website: Missing 411

I was eagerly awaiting the release of the movie and rented it as soon as it was available on iTunes. I was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Paulides does not appear on camera and his only presence in the film is audio of portions of an interview he did on C2C. The movie was well shot and edited, it was very professional, unlike the books.

Those are the only positive things I can say about the movie. I thought it did a horrible job pointing out any of the major themes of the book series: the amount of missing people, the patterns to the disappearances, the profile of the missing person cases, and the complete failure of the national park system to do anything about it. The movie was basically a true crime story where it looks like the parents were involved in the disappearance.

The only way I would recommend this movie is if you are a fan of true crime stories AND are not a fan of, or aware of, the 411 book series. I give it a vigorous thumbs down.

a reply to: TobyFlenderson

I have always been really facsinated with the missing 411 cases. I've never read the books, but have listened and watched many hours on YouTube. I never had high hopes for the movie, and will probably skip it.

Imo, the missing 411 are some of the most compelling cases ever.

Good to know. I've been tiptoeing around picking up one of the 411 books for a good while now and probably would have gone straight to the movie had I known it was released.

a reply to: TobyFlenderson

I think this is on Netflix but I could be wrong.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

The books are very intriguing. I'd recommend getting one or two. A lot of the most mysterious cases are discussed in the interview but there are still quite a few of interest not mentioned in them. It's simply amazing to me how so many of the organizations involved in the cases simply write them off.

a reply to: Yourmomsentme

You are mistaken. I wish it were, then I wouldn't have had to spend the money to rent it from iTunes.

I also would have preferred less of a focus on one single missing child case, and the exploration of more of the cases discussed in the books for reasons previously stated. On the plus side, I did find some of the outdoor cinematography stunning.

a reply to: Pillywiggin

Agreed on all points.

a reply to: TobyFlenderson

You're right it isn't on Netflix.

I saw the trailer but if it's bad I guess I'll skip it.

If the movie is just a rehash of what DP has already said in his countless radio, youtube and books.... what's the point.

I've been on a few S&R events on BLM land, and sometimes it just feels so strange. I do believe that DP is on to a bonafide mystery.

a reply to: olaru12

It's not that at all. As stated by an earlier poster, it's almost entirely about one missing child case and a case that simply looks more like parental involvement than anything mysterious.

I spend a lot of time in the woods and at times you just get those feelings that are unexplainable. Sometimes I'll enter an area and feel really uneasy, like I'm being watched. Other times I'll enter an area and will feel incredibly peaceful.

originally posted by: TobyFlenderson
The only way I would recommend this movie is if you are a fan of true crime stories AND are not a fan of, or aware of, the 411 book series. I give it a vigorous thumbs down.

I agree with this completely. David had a huge opportunity to introduce a larger audience to some of the very interesting data contained in the 411 books, but instead he chose to make a movie that was more like a routine daytime tv missing-child documentary. It wasn't even really interesting in and of itself, and the way it kept flipping back and forth between the different cases was annoying.
I was dumbfounded that he didn't include the Dennis Martin case, which would have been one of the best examples for him to use. There were also several children who had been found alive and reported that the "bear man" or something to that effect took them and fed them berries. He could've mentioned the game officer who was squeezed to death from behind so hard that his ribs broke and pierced his lung, or the guy who vanished and was found later with injuries suggesting he'd fallen from quite a distance up in the sky.
The movie was a total wasted opportunity. It wasn't like the books at all.

originally posted by: olaru12
If the movie is just a rehash of what DP has already said in his countless radio, youtube and books.... what's the point.

I've been on a few S&R events on BLM land, and sometimes it just feels so strange. I do believe that DP is on to a bonafide mystery.

It isn't even a rehash of that, the vast majority of what he talks about was left out of the movie. It's basically just a handful of generic missing-kids cases.
He absolutely IS onto something. I've had strange encounters myself out in the woods.

originally posted by: TobyFlenderson
I spend a lot of time in the woods and at times you just get those feelings that are unexplainable. Sometimes I'll enter an area and feel really uneasy, like I'm being watched. Other times I'll enter an area and will feel incredibly peaceful.

I know how this feels 100%. I'm originally from PA, and I spent alot of time out in the woods too. There was one particular area where regardless of the time of day, as soon as you get into the woods, you can just feel that something is strange. I actually witnessed two different people on two different occasions break down into total panic attacks and start crying (I actually did once as well). I've had two particularly strong strange experiences up there, among several others. I don't feel like going into detail, but something is definitely out in the woods.

Oddly enough I just happened to listen to a "Mysterious Universe" podcast last night going over the most recent book of the hunters series. That was a very good listen if you are interested OP.

Edit to add to Trollz: the mention of panic attack or severe paranoia was mentioned a lot in this podcast.

originally posted by: onehuman
Oddly enough I just happened to listen to a "Mysterious Universe" podcast last night going over the most recent book of the hunters series. That was a very good listen if you are interested OP.

Edit to add to Trollz: the mention of panic attack or severe paranoia was mentioned a lot in this podcast.

Which one is it? Do you have a link?

I really enjoyed it. Watched it twice. His son made the doc, and I think he has a bit of a different idea of what's going on in these cases than David. In every case presented, the explaination is the same. Nature is harsh, and these parents were unprepared and extremely neglectful of their child. These few cases covered are all most definitely a predator attack. Probably mountain lion. And they focused on the current one so much, because that one is still currently unsolved; they found the bodies on all the others. I especially liked the story where the kid survived. That was shocking.

But, the director clearly doesn't think it Bigfoot or aliens, and clearly cherry picked cases that all concluded the same, the woods are dangerous and parents aren't realizing just how easy it is for their kids to get picked up and carried off by a North American predator. He just has a differing opinion than his dad, and I think that's fine. It's interesting to see different interpretations for the phenomena.

Think of it as more of a psa for parents taking their children (most of whom being way too young to be there) into the woods. It's vast and extremely dangerous for a child to be alone in the woods. That's the conclusion I drew from the doc.

a reply to: trollz


Sorry was on my way too work last night and didn't have time to look for the link. Anyhow here is the Link to PODCAST

Or if you do a search, it was episode 17.16

Hope this helps

Boycott the movie...it is TPTB using their juice to deflect diminish and detract from the impact of this fellas exposing of the murders of soooo many people and the organised coverup suppressing this from the masses.

TBTB used to primarily use Publishing to do their majic now they have been trimmed down and desperately rely on Movies and their controlled censorship position in context of global distribution.

a reply to: onehuman

Before I scrolled down enough to read that you linked the episode. I went through their list. Thanks!