The Betrayed

The first word that comes to mind after watching The Betrayed is "Wow." I'll admit that I wasn't expecting much from this film, but I was more than pleasantly surprised by the end of this suspense-filled thriller. Amanda Gusack does an incredible job. Her script grabs you in a head-lock, while her direction repeatedly punches you right in the brain. I yelled "Hell Yes!" at least 7 times during this incredible movie.

Melissa George stars as Jamie Taylor, a young mother who mysteriously wakes up as a captive of a very dangerous crime syndicate. They want information about her husband, and they're using her son's safety to get it. Can Jamie unravel the clues about her husband's secret life before times runs out? Is there any way to assure her son's safety and her life? Is there anyone she can trust? The answers to these questions will shock you!

This kidnapping film will kidnap your heart, hold your brain hostage, and take your nerves for ransom. Melissa George does an incredible job as Mrs. Taylor. The gritty nature of this flick works perfectly with the dark script. In a film in which nothing is sure, there's one thing you can count on, and that's thrills. Watch this movie.

For whatever reason I put The Betrayed on because I mistakenly believed it to be a horror, rest assured it most certainly isn't.

Starring Australian actress Melissa "30 Days of Night" George it's a thriller and a very routine one at that. It tells the story of a woman who is kidnapped and interrogated for information she doesn't have. She must find it in herself to rise above her captors and find a way to escape.

So, nothing even remotely new. Her methods, the antagonist, the plot in general is timeless, cliched and very predictable stuff. I assumed multiple times throughout the film that it was about to throw me a curveball and it couldn't possibly be this generic, but it really is.

Also starring Oded "Resident Evil" Fehr and Alice" Borg Queen" Krige if you're watching for the latter let me warn you you'll not be happy with her contribution.

The Betrayed isn't bad, it's just so unoriginal and so overwhelmingly cookie cutter it's almost offensive. Like a filmmaker just decided to throw something together and whip a movie up fast for a timed release.

The Good:

At least you'll know exactly what to expect

The Bad:

George simply isn't leading lady material

Incredibly unoriginal stuff

A woman named Jamie (Melissa George) wakes up on the cold floor of a warehouse, wondering how she got there and why. A mysterious man (Oded Fehr) begins interrogating Jamie, using intimidation, violence, and a twisted sort of "kindness" to extract information.

This setup works well for about the first third of the film. Then, when neither the scenery nor the conversation seems to change at all, it gets a bit tedious.

Not only is this film's modicum of action limited to the warehouse, but most of it takes place in a single, small room. While this does add a bit of a claustrophobic atmosphere, it also makes things static, which would have been more effective in smaller doses.

Ms. George is as strong as ever, and Fehr comes off as genuinely menacing. During the final 20 minutes or so, Alice Krige makes her appearance and things pick up considerably.

So, though it tends to drag in the middle, the rest is pretty good...

The police find a crashed car but no one is inside. An injured Jamie (Melissa George) wakes up in a grim locked room. She's desperate to find her diabetic son Michael. Her captor (Oded Fehr) interrogates her for money stolen by her husband from criminals.

The first thirty minute is great. It's a solid indie starting premise. It's essentially a two hander inside a grim room. It starts going a little wrong over time. I was hoping for a small horror which uses the room and stays with mostly the two characters. It could have been super inventive with a twist. First I don't like the tapes. They keep the flow static as the movie is forced to listen to them. With each additional turn or each new character, the plot slips away from where I want it to go. It's a functional crime thriller but it's set up for something more special.

Pretty clearly dealing with a low budget, this film manages to spend the money wisely, on script and actors who know how. A woman is abducted with her child, by people who want the money her husband stole from a crime syndicate. She thought he was just a struggling restaurant owner. What can she believe, and who can she trust? Set almost exclusively in the room in which she's detained, this turns into a pretty nifty little drama. There are a few plot holes, but they're minor, and didn't drive me out of the movie. The acting is occasionally stereotypical of a "type", but most of the characters are believable and well-portrayed.

This is considerably better than some big-budget stuff I've seen lately - well worth a few hours of your time.