Le Rapt

This movie has a lot going for it. The plot is simple: a psychotic mountain man kidnaps a young woman while she is out on her morning jog. The problem is the director came up short. Most of the time, the movie tries to focus in on the intensity and insane look in the kidnapper's eyes. There are also a lot of chase scenes in the Canadian rockies. Not much else.

There are some good points. Dan Haggerty plays the madman's father and does a good acting job, but I kept flashing back to his TV series "Grizzly Adams". I half-expected Ben the bear to come trotting out of the bushes at any time. Roberta Weiss at the start of the movie played the role of the damsel-in-distress rather lamely, however she did seem to improve once the madman's cabin had been reached.

The problem is that this movie was not what you'd come to expect from this genre. The danger of sexual assault was there every time Vern got close. However, for a guy that had been out in the woods for two years without a woman, you'd think he could have gotten past the bra. Give this same script to David Cronenberg and you'd have a successful NC-17 movie and a better ending where the hunted becomes the hunter. As is, it is barely PG and not worth renting.

When it comes on Showtime or TNT, take a look if you like Dan Haggerty, as long as nothing else is on.

Well, this was … good, but certainly not what I expected! According to the cover of the ex-rental VHS I picked up, "Abducted" is based on a true story and it even has bits and pieces of authentic Canadian newspaper clippings illustrated on the back. However, I can't find any information regarding this allegedly "true story" on the whole internet. I'm still somewhat tempted to believe the film is at least loosely inspired by true events, though, because the plot and the story twists are just too weird be fictional. "Abducted" is quite unique, actually. It's a prototypic exploitation movie, only it doesn't feature any exploitation trademarks. This movie basically deals with the kidnapping of a young and beautiful girl by a bewildered and socially alienated mountain man, but strangely enough it doesn't feature any sleaze, nudity or rape. Instead, this is a slow-moving and (wannabe) harrowing drama that makes some very unusual twists around halfway and mainly focuses on the breathtaking filming locations and environmental scenery. During her morning jog in the woods, Renee Aldrich is surprise-attacked by a madman. He scares and provokes her and then literally drags the poor girl deeper into the woods – by a rope around her neck – to his cabin. His attempts to rape her might be unsuccessful, but still his behavior towards her grows increasingly hostile. Then the film makes a weird twist when suddenly the freak's father shows up and turns out to be a "one-with-nature" Good Samaritan type of guy. Joe Evans, played by Grizzly guy Dan Haggerty, heavily disapproves his son's acts and even confesses to Renee that the came to live in the remote woods to keep Vern away from people. Grizzly guy also swears to guide her back home, but Vern is not willing to let her go that easy. On their way back to civilization, "Abducted" changes into some sort of educational nature & wildlife documentary, with Dan Haggerty vividly trying to pass on the message of preserving our forests. Undeniably the filming locations are staggering, but if I wanted to see deer or birds, I could always watch National Geographic. The bizarre triangular situation and the continuously present tension between Renee and her aggressor Vern provide a handful of noteworthy atmospheric sequences, but overall "Abducted" is a dull film and a missed opportunity for sure.

I just noticed there also exists a sequel to this film, entitled "Abducted II: the Reunion", which features Vern's resurrection from the dead and three scarcely dressed women on a camping trip. Now, that's all the more proof this film can't possibly be based on a true story, because that would be the ultimate in shamelessly exploiting a human drama. But with a director named Boon Collins, you never know, of course

This is an uneven film that is definitely worth seeing. In expressing women's secret fears and fantasies it goes farther than others and is quite frank about the villain's (King-Phillips) sexual frustration. Any woman watching this film is going to ask herself, as I did, what she would do in the same situation, and perhaps imagine differing scenarios. The irony is that the physically adorable but repulsively abusive Vern picks an insipid snob, one he constantly criticizes ("You wouldn't last out here alone," "City people are soft," etc.) despite seething with passion for her.

As Renee, Weiss is perfectly cast and gives an understated performance that may not seem like acting, since she is playing a an ordinary college student, incurious about the wilderness and unskilled at both survival and ingratiating herself to her captor. Being tone-deaf in her dealings with him ("My family has money,") her character is not very sympathetic either. Her attitude toward the lifestyle of both Vern and his father (Haggerty) literally wrenched a gasp from my throat. Her character reminded me of girls I had gone to college with - knowing only society's straight line, not interested in true freedom or the discovery of being desperately wanted by a man, even if he is not her dreamboat.

Unfortunately, the film shies away from the natural consequences of the intriguing situation it has set up, and veers into cliché and sensation. The ending is simultaneously absurd and hilarious, due to a bravura performance by King-Phillips, while Weiss and Haggerty fall into their steps as stock characters. The depth built up in the male characters is lost in the film's rush to its ending, and feels like a betrayal.

King-Phillip's portrayal of Vern apparently has a cult following, and it is justified. It's just too bad that some of the scenarios that I imagined between Vern and Renee (or me) were not expressed for me in this film.

This is a strange and unedifying twist on the damsel in distress theme. A teenage girl out for a run in the Canadian wilderness is abducted by a deranged mountain man who drags her off to his isolated log cabin telling her that she belongs to him now, and she had better do as he says, or else.

Rather than simply rape her he embarks on a rather bizarre courtship ritual, but before he can win her heart - fat chance - salvation appears in the form of his father. Apparently the old man has long realised his son is three sandwiches short of a picnic, and has chosen this austere existence as an alternative to dumping him in the local booby hatch. The old man convinces his son to see reason and take the captive back to civilisation. Unfortunately, he doesn't see reason for long, and after a helicopter appears out of nowhere - tourists poaching a rare mountain sheep - things take a really tragic twist. The end is fairly predictable, but unless you are into mindless thuggery or the great outdoors, this one is probably not for you.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It turned out to be better than I expected. It comes across like a Lifetime movie (which is why my wife liked it). Those who rent this movie hoping for your typical exploitation "crazy mountain-man kidnaps innocent girl" movie will be disappointed. There is no nudity, a little adult language, and some mild violence.

What I liked about this movie is that it was better than it had to be. The "villain" actually had some depth to his character, as did the character played by Dan Hagerty. The acting by the female lead could have been better, but isn't so awful that it makes the film unwatchable. The scenes between the female and Dan Hagerty are nice and sometimes rather touching.

I recommend this movie for rising above its genre. Its nice these days to be pleased and suprised by a movie, rather than disappointed.