Missing Kenley (2022) User Reviews

Frustrating, disappointing and overly long

[backofthevan · 5/10 · 7 August 2023]

***SPOILERS***

Missing Kenley becomes a bit of a shaggy-dog story in that it rambles on and on, full of speculation and rumour that ultimately go nowhere. All the "maybe's" and "what if's" get tiresome and just add confusion that must have been heart-wrenching for Kenley's mother and sister.

I quickly got the impression that the filmmaker was an amateur who really didn't understand the requirements of a good documentary and was just "flying by the seat of his pants" throwing everything at it and hoping something would stick. I was very surprised to learn that he had also directed "The Call of the Wild" doc about Christopher McCandless's ill-fated Alaska excursion, which I thought was very interesting.

It is difficult to understand why this series was even released when it had no resolution or real answers for Kenley's family. Highly speculative throughout, but naming names nonetheless. I can't begin to imagine the fallout for the family who blatantly pointed fingers at one of their own, naming that person as Kenley's murderer. The person may well be guilty, but we still don't know, and it seems highly irresponsible to name and shame without proof.

Are all small-town police as stupid and incompetent as the bunch on display here appear to be? Clues handed to them on a plate that they don't bother to follow up on. It's like the Three Stooges or Inspector Clouseau without the laughs. I once read that applicants for the police force are given IQ tests and anyone who measures over 104 is disqualified as being too smart and likely to become bored in the job. I can well believe it, seeing the blatant stupidity of this bunch. Then it turns out that the RCMP officer in charge is a cousin of the main suspect! Where on earth is this okay? Apparently in Wolfville, NS!

So much speculation, so many red herrings, so many unanswered questions. A great deal of time is spent talking about the "chicken pit" then the owner of the property says this alleged pit does not exist. Does anyone bother to go and find out? No. Including the police, who are told that is where Kenley's remains can be found, with no follow up.

Kenley seems like an amazing young man, full of intelligence and potential. Murder is horrible at any time, but to be murdered for the alleged reason suggested here and thrown away like trash compounds the horror. I don't know how his mother and sister have survived the dreadfulness for over 30 years now.

One more thing. The relentless soundtrack that didn't know when to shut up (do we really need background noise when people are talking?). I can hardly call it "music", as it was constantly drumming into the viewer "this is tense", "you should be on the edge of your seat now and if you're not, this "music" will put you there". Yes, it put me there in annoyance. Relentlessly hammering at your viewers is not helpful, does not move the narrative along, and just gives me a headache!

I did watch the whole thing but kept wondering when it would finally be over. I also thought "they better find Kenley by the end" to make this all worthwhile. I should have known better. It could have been half as long and twice as effective with it.

More of a reminiscence for the family than a string of clues

[mdcollinsbarracuda · 6/10 · 11 January 2023]

Not being familiar with the story, I wanted to see if there was the standard cold case format. As a clairvoyant, I often have senses about these but not enough to call the local authority usually. This series meanders through what his friends think may have happened and how his family remembers him. It feels a lot like watching someone's home videos most of the time but with whom you're unfamiliar. For that reason, I've decided not to continue beyond E2. But it is a sad experience for the family and we can only hope that Kenley's death was swift, if that's the case; or that he's happy despite what ever amnesia or other mental failing took him so abruptly. I chose not to be the 1st thumbs down on the only other review here so far from Nov 2022, but the rambling disappointment in that review was clearly based on expectation and not the actual content. This isn't a cold case file or attempt to point a firm finger. It's a series of events leading to the disappearance and what they could mean along with memories of Kenley and what hidden personality traits may have contributed to that final sighting in Sept 1992. There's literally no forensic evidence although i'm not sure if they retrieved the ad cut out of the paper, because that's obviously the key to his disappearance. No one takes $20 and leaves $200. So it's either death or amnesia or a sudden onset of something psychological that caused him to want to cut all ties with no trace, but that last one is doubtful. When someone abandons a life it's usually a spouse and kids that they feel they've failed or a life that's become unbearable in some way. The other thing that is common when college kids disappear is that some prank was played that went horribly wrong and then was covered up. That was my initial thought and my true belief. Someone knows and I pray this family finds answers before it's too late.

A movie that makes you think long after you've stopped watching it

[alsobillanderson · 7/10 · 27 August 2023]

I watched this partly because I live in Nova Scotia and vaguely remember when this happened in 1992 as we had just recently moved here. The reviews here range from 1 to 10 and everything in between, so you know when that happens it's a must watch

The film does manipulate the viewer a lot and I think purposefully. First you think this and then you think that and then wham something else. After the first couple episodes I was thinking wait a sec these people met Kenley what for three weeks 30 years ago and they have all of these very detailed memories of him and their encounters. But then the police bungling takes over your emotions and then the Greenpeace turn comes around the bend only to be ultimately a dead end in the plot. And then the final twist. It was a worthwhile trip and you'll do good to finally remember that these are supposedly read events not a made up Hollywood story. I hope there is a sequel or even a 1 hour followup.

Deep documentary dive into the disappearance of Kenley Matheson

[rwest92 · 10/10 · 12 February 2023]

This documentary is one of the best unsolved series I've ever seen. Not only does it have all the kinds of twists and turns and cliffhangers that you would want and expect in this kind of docuseries, it is unlike most true crime series I've ever seen in that it actually humanizes the victim rather than exploits them. In fact, the series dedicates an entire section (part 4 in episode 2: "The Seeker") to Kenley's full biography, going back to his childhood and taking it through to his time traveling before college, all of which also helps to create a victimology of sorts that ultimately provides audiences a deeper understanding of what could have happened to him, and why. The film, true to the genre, ups the stakes in episodes 4 & 5, and we experience the case playing out in real time, as a quarter-century old family secret emerges and new evidence comes to light. I found it so engaging, so meticulously detailed, so thoughtful, and yet so heart-wrenching, I binged it straight through.

Terrible in every way...

[moorek · 1/10 · 18 November 2022]

This documentary is wrong in almost every way. It is an example of how to NOT make a documentary. There are almost no facts in this documentary - just speculation. None of the key point make sense.

1) The series is too long with too much filler. Because of so much filler, the few potential facts presented get lost in the clutter. It is hard not to think this was done on purpose.

2) The majority of the observations are speculation without any factual basis. That would be fine if this was a hypothetical case about unknown persons but the speculation is often directed at real people named in the documentary.

3) There is a section about the potential of Kenley going off on his own for some other adventure and friends and family talk about this. Yet there is nothing presented as evidence that he did this or why he would do it without contacting his sister or mother that he loved. Or why he just left his dorm room intact.

4) There is a section about potential sightings of Kenley after he disappeared but none of them are credible. An uncle who walks by his nephew, who is reported missing, but doesn't immediately recognize him. A man who was randomly standing in line and said Kenley started talking to him and asking if the man knew Kenley's cousin. For some reason Kenley is hiding his disappearance and just decides to ask a random stranger about his cousin? A woman who just happens to be related by marriage, sees a picture of Kenley and remembers him as the man who came to her door in a different province months before canvassing for Greenpeace. A woman who also trusts her psychic abilities as much as her actual observation.

5) There is a large section that focuses on three fellow university students (Todd, Tom and Kirsten) who knew Kenley. This is the longest and most foolish part of the documentary. They knew Kenley for only 3 weeks or less - THIRTY years ago. The fact that they make mistakes now in this documentary is often implied as potential guilt.

6) There is conjecture in the documentary that some students might have hurt Kenley and then returned to his room to remove items to make it seem Kenley had gone. This is accompanied by a dramatic recreation of hands placing some of Kenley's things in the backpack and removing it. Yet there is no evidence this happened.

The only reason we even question the backback is that Kirsten says she saw the backpack there when they went to room one night to check on Kenley. However Kirsten is a terrible witness. She doesn't remember what year all this took place. She doesn't remember having gone to the police station to drop off Kenley's hat which he had left at her parent's house. Yet the film maker just accepts her observation that the backpack was there when she visited. Even when the two students who Kirsten says were with her, don't remember that visit.

7) Oddly one important conjecture is not discussed. The only known things missing from Kenley's room were a facecloth, towels (plural) and shaving kit. What does that mean? Sounds like he was planning on going somewhere overnight. Combined with the fact he only took $20 from his bank's ATM and might have been seen heading for the bus station then it seems logical he might have been going some place overnight. This is never pursed.

8) Tom especially is portrayed negative in this story. Yet since he has a diary of his actions then he is likely the least suspicious. The film makers try to make him look suspicious on numerous occasions when he is not clear on items in his diary. Anyone who has kept a journal, knows much of Tom's observations are natural. We can have written summaries of things we did but have no memory of doing those things.

9) The worst example of a skewed documentary relates to one point attacking Tom and his diary. In one segment they ask him when did he and Kirsten first start wondering where Kenly might be. Tom finds the section, read the date and the relevant text of the journal. He is asked to do this three times which he does. The narrator points out very clearly that even though Tom was given three chances to point out that he also cleaned out his car that day, he never mentioned it. Clearly wanting the viewer to think something is wrong by his omission.

This is pathetic. Tom was asked a very specific question and answers it each time. He doesn't read out the section about cleaning the car as he was never asked that. If you freeze the frame you will see that the diary is displayed in the background, You can see that he did many things that day such as meeting an attractive girl and taking his camera into the shop for repairs as well as cleaning his car.. He didn't mention those other things either. He read the section that answered the questions he was being asked. If the filmmakers wanted to ask about the cleaning of the car then they could have asked him. But of course they didn't because it wasn't important. They knew that if cleaning the car out was to hide evidence, then why would Tom have written it in his diary in the first place?

10) The private investigator is fairly useless in the documentary. The worse example is when he seems to have found some new witnesses and evidence. Yet as we see these first interviews happening, the statements of the two sisters and the brother do not match each other. There is no continuity in their stories. Yet even with this conflicting information he still goes to the family and to the police to tell them a story that the witnesses don't agree on. Also it is clear to the viewers of the documentary that none of these witnesses, especially the brother Randy, are reliable witnesses.

11) They leave out another line of conjecture by not following up on the potential of Randy's guilt. He remembers the disappearance from 30 years ago in conversation with his sister. He gives conflicting witness statements. He appears to have had substance abuse issues. He has knowledge of the family members and the family property, where it is possible the body is hide. A far more possible candidate than the first year university student they pin it on at the end.

12) The end segment about Erin and a potential murder, is the outcome the series wants you to accept. Certainly the sister says that she thinks that is the outcome. That being the case then that makes the first three episodes redundant. All the misleading and superficial discussion about the students, possible witnesses, Kenley taking off on his own, etc becomes moot if the documentary wants you to believe he was locally murdered.

The above are just the most obvious flaws in the documentary. It is so easy to question so many points that are just left hanging. Some examples:

A. Kenley is seen going in the direction of a confectionary store that also is a bus station but there is no evidence he was going for a bus.

B. No real discussion about Kenley possibly going somewhere like swimming considering his towels were missing. There are many lakes and rivers around Wolfville to swim in. They are miles of shorelines albeit with dangerously high tides.

C. They question why Kenley was walking along the dykes outside of Wolfville? This is something that townsfolk and students have been doing for years.

D. They actually wonder if someone else took money out of the ATM without any indication of how someone else got access to his debit card and password. Nor was there any discussion of someone checking the ATM camera to see if it was anyone other than Kinley.

E. One weak witness said she went to a Greenpeace office to see if Kenley might have worked or volunteered for them. They couldn't say but there is no reference to police following up on that.

F. Comments about how "convenient" it was that Tom entered the gym and didn't see where Kenley was heading. Tom said he was going to the gym and when he got there, he went in. Duh!

G. No clarification over the discrepancies about the potential and the reality of the chicken pit. It is implied it could be a potential place to hide a body yet we are told it is not a pit but a large flat area.

H. No clarification why the "remote" ravine had very clearly used trails through it.

I. No question about why someone would dump a body on his family's property, ravine or not, right in the town of Wolfville. There are so many roads up on South Mountain that there are many places where a body could be hidden.

I'm not sure who thought this series was a good idea. It is amateurish in so many ways. If it was just amateurish then that would be fine. But it is also manipulative in various parts and in the wrong way. There is an absolutely cringeworthy segment where various people read different lines of a Jack London quote. Sadly even the sister and mother read some lines. It's bad since the people saying the lines were interviewed in different locations and at different times. Meaning this was planned out. Yet it was unnecessary since it is part of the documentary about Kenley maybe getting wanderlust. One of the segments that are redundant and filler by the end of the documentary when they want us to accept Kenley was murdered locally.

I'm sorry Kenley has gone missing and presumed dead. Sadly this documentary has assured that anyone with any connection to the story, regardless of how peripheral, will likely never agree to speak to the subject every again. Talk about burning your bridges.

A thought-provoking start, compounded by a captivating finale!

[gillisgail-70569 · 9/10 · 9 June 2023]

Excellent docuseries! A story of many tangents, regarding the dissappearance of Kenley Matheson, a young man with a promissing future, just two weeks into his 1st year at Acadia University in smalltown Wolfville, NS. Ron highlights the web of chaos from obtuse tales by peers and authorities which manipulate the narrative. Why? To generate awareness about this shameful cold case, giving Kenley and his family a voice for the first time in 30+ years. Thanks for producing this series and making Kenley's story more relevant to us all, education on "what not to do" during missing persons investigations. Someone knows where Kenley is; let's hope they find compassion to connect the dots and officially grant his family peace. We are, in fact, missing Kenley. 💙

Boring

[etd-61366 · 1/10 · 7 November 2023]

"I want to be a filmmaker. What is the least interesting missing persons case that I can possibly find, and how can I make a film about it that is as long as possible?" Disappearances generally are interesting, but this one is not. At the end of the first episode, I was asking myself, what is the point of this? Sadly, there seems to be no point. I made it about 15 minutes into the second episode before giving up. I am sorry for Kenley's family, but this "documentary" does nothing at all to foster interest in his case. Move along folks, there is nothing to see here. Nothing else to say but to meet minimum character limit.

Must watch

[jeffgray-69212 · 10/10 · 14 July 2023]

This is a very sad story that occurred in a small town in Nova Scotia. Kenley's family did an amazing job explaining what happened and keep trying to find out what happened to Kenley! Living in Nova Scotia only 40 minutes from Wolfville I'm quite surprised I did not hear about this in 1992 which unfortunately tells you that the search to uncover what happened to Kenley has too many missing links. Kenley's mother and sister have done an amazing job putting this documentary together for everyone to watch. Please take the time to watch this well made documentary, you won't be disappointed. Bring Kenley Home!

Appalling

[veronikave · 3/10 · 5 September 2023]

I gave it 3 stars to give credit to the tech guys and gals working on this "documentary" in the background. However, I find this piece an absolute joke. The first thing they taught us in Journalism (and never stopped repeating) was that the number one rule is objectivity. The wat this "documentary" ran with absolutely ridiculous accusations by an obviously nutty family (there's no better way of putting it) unsubstantiated by ANY facts and accused people ON TV for everyone to see makes me sick to my stomach. Using a hypnotherapist? Where did all the common sense and decency go? Numbers before feelings? The first episode was very good and it went down the hill from there. Do yourself a favor and go for a day hike and do something good for your health instead of watching this "documentary". Very sad you used a disaapearance of a man like this.

Too long, too repetitive, too much credence given to "evidence"

[jdkeane-94222 · 1/10 · 2 January 2024]

Really frustrated by this one. Not only is it waaay too long, it introduces many misleading pieces of "evidence" and acts like its one of those true crime docs that finds new clues and nearly solves it. It doesnt. It finds one new thing, and that thing is absolutely ridiculous. I cant believe how many people are buying into it. Extremely irresponsible.

They take peoples recollections of events from 25+ years ago and act like the minor discrepancies mean anything. After all of this time is just plain exploitative to act like one guys memory of what hat someone was wearing is meaningful. Or one gals memory of a backpack being in the room or not. Or one bigoted uncle's memory of his sister telling him something she thinks her daughter said she did.

When the police dont do their job people think that they can just fill in the blanks. Thats not how it works. The police screwed up and the evidence is gone. No ones memories of backpacks or hats or edgy comments is going to be enough. All they're doing is making people look suspicious for the content. Just gross.

Moorek's review pretty much covers it.