Secuestrados

Well i was very excited when i went to see this film at the Leeds Film Festival, and being 'Spanglish' i really wanted to like it...

Reading the film summary i believed we, as an audience, would have to endure some very scary, intense and probably uncomfortable scenes before, finally the tables would turn and the family would have their turn to fight back. This was certainly not an accurate summary of the film. The plot was completely different.

The acting wasn't very good. The only decent actor was the daughter of the family. The father and the mother weren't very believable in their acting or their decisions throughout the film. But the worst acting award must go to the the majority of the 'bad guys' who were terrible. Just not scary or believable And the ending? Not worth watching the whole film for. Disappointing overall, i left the cinema feeling a bit cheated.

Jaime (Fernando Cayo), his wife Marta (Ana Wagener) and their teenage daughter Isa (Manuela Vellés) move to a dream house in Madrid and they plan a family dinner to celebrate. Out of the blue, three violent hooded thieves break in their house and hold the Marta and Isa hostage while their leader goes to the bank with Jaime to withdraw money from the family bank accounts in a tragic night of terror.

"Secuestrados" is a brutal and bleak film that combines the storyline of the 1955 "The Desperate Hours" with the disturbing violence of the 1997 "Funny Games". This film is recommended only to very specific audiences, defense lawyers and judges, since sensitive persons or someone who has experienced similar home invasion will certainly feel very bad with the graphic violence of "Secuestrados". Unfortunately we see many similar cases in the news on television every day. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Horas de Medo" ("Freightening Hours")

Tension, suspense, and unsettling scenes when a family is harassed by some dangerous criminals . Three hooded Eastern-European delinquents burst into a gated community home on the outskirts of Madrid , and forcing the father to empty his credit cards. This exciting movie deals about Jaime (Fernando Cayo of ¨23F¨) and Marta (Ana Wagener), a mature marriage with a daughter (Manuela Velles of ¨Caotica Ana¨ by Julio Medem) who holds her usual youth problems . At home they are trapped and locked by an ominous band (Barrientos , Biba, Kupier) . The family is besieged and terrorized by the psycho-killer attackers and then look for some means to getaway .

This spooky picture about some criminals holding the family hostage in its own home contains terror, shocks, suspense, grisly killings and numerous creepy scenes . The film packs terrifying and hair-raising frames and lots of blood and gore . This violent story is filmed in similar naturalist and realist style to ¨Michael Hanake's Funny Games¨, ¨Henry, portrait of a killer¨ , directed by James McNaughton and ¨Rec¨ by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza . Shot in 12 takes with camera over shoulder and Steadicam , including splitting screen . While the look is suitable eerie and frightening, the argument spreads to the breaking point and the ending turns out to be a little frustrating . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by Sergio Moure (Unconscious). Dark and shaded cinematography by Pedro Marquez , shot in Las Rozas , Madrid. The motion picture is strangely directed by Miguel Angel Vivas , an expert on rare atmosphere as he also proved in ¨Reflejos(2002)¨ with George Corraface , Ana Fernandez and Emilio Gutierrez Caba . It's a strong film and quite a big impact, gaining several prizes as ¨Austin Fantastic Festival¨ won Horror Jury Prize Best Director Miguel Ángel Vivas and Best Horror Feature ; ¨Bogota Film Festival¨, Nominated Golden Precolumbian Circle Best Film Miguel Ángel Vivas and ¨Camerimage¨ prizes . In spite of its violence ¨Kidnapped¨ or ¨Secuestrados¨ achieved undoubted success and important reputation .

The home invasion film is a well worn thriller trope, so well worn that any new entry really needs to bring something new to the table or make a harsh mark to leave any kind of a lasting effect. Miguel Angel Vivas' Kidnapped does both of these, and I can see it being a big hit for those who like their thriller cinema to really punch them out. First the something new, Kidnapped is filmed entirely in long takes, apparently 12 in all, capturing action with unblinking intensity and sometimes moving to split screen to show both sides of a particularly intense event. From the start its a great idea, leaving no room for escape or distraction, the focus is as tight as can be. And when the luckless family at the heart of the film are settling into their first day at a new home, unpacking, going through standard family arguments the camera weaves amongst them, we explore their house as they do, we become in these parts a part of their lives, things have the feel of a documentary. Performances are happily spot on, Fernando Cayo the consummate family man trying to keep everything cool and under control, Ana Wagener the stressed, more tired out mother and Manuela Veles standard issue daughter trying to go her own way. These are stock characters through and through, yet they work in echoing a timeless reality to evoke our sympathy. When vicious thieves break in, their hell becomes ours just as their earlier peace became ours and the intensity is genuinely gruelling, both actresses get put through the ringer in effectively harsh fashion and all their screams and crying become after a while really quite emotionally draining. I think the film loses a little bit for its predictability, the villains have a standard loose cannon, the hostages make various efforts to escape of varying success, there are certainly bits where we wish they would do something different, the film goes through standard motions for the typical, albeit very much heightened response. And thats why the film works so much, its incredibly intense, towards the end near heartbreakingly so, and for all that I can say I wish it was gorier (it does have nasty violence though) or more exploitative or weirder, fact is I found it an absolutely astounding ride. Highly recommended, one of the best films I've seen in a while.

Three hooded Eastern-European criminals burst into a home in a Madrid gated community, holding the family hostage in its own home, and forcing the father to empty his credit cards.

The opening scene is creepy and disturbing, with visuals somehow reminiscent of "Timecrimes". While the two films are worlds apart, this just sets the tone for how disturbing everything will be. And "disturbing" is the operative word, as home invasion is the most disturbing horror subgenre because of its realism.

A successful home invasion film feels real, feels like something that could really happen to any of us at any time. It is not a killer in the woods or an alien, but real criminals that can beat, kill or rape us on a whim. Such situations are rare (thankfully), but all too possible. This is, by the way, a successful one, right up there with the best (such as "Funny Games").

The biggest complaint is that there is some poor dubbing at times, especially on the daughter. But if the film is watched in Spanish with subtitles, such a nuisance can be avoided.