Chained

For some reason I had some trouble tracking this film down but I was finally able to get my hands on a copy and boy am I glad I did, anything starring Vincent D'Onofrio always peaks my interest (I mean come on, have you seen his work in The Cell?!) and he is one of my most favored actors. D'Onofrio showcases his talents best when portraying the villain who I have to admit, I always find myself secretly rooting for. This film is well acted by all who participated and the grand twist at the end is a real shocker, it just goes to show that you never really know who you can trust. This was the first encounter I have had with Eamon Farren but I was very pleased with his acting, this film has a good story line that will hold your attention until the end and as gruesome as it was at points I just couldn't look away...that is how you know you have found a good film. I give Chained a 6 out of 10 stars and would recommend giving it a shot, it really is a KILLER film. ;)

The nine year-old Tim (Evan Bird) goes to the movie theater with his mother Sarah (Julia Ormond) and his father Brad Fittler (Jake Weber) tells Sarah to take a cab to go home. After the session, Sarah and Tim take the cab of Bob (Vincent D'Onofrio) that abducts and bring them to his isolated house. Bob kills Sarah and shackles and gives rules to Tim, nicknaming him "Rabbit". Along the years, the psychopath serial-killer Bob keeps killing women and Tim cleans the house and the blood, buries the women and eats Bob's leftover. When Tim (Eamon Farren) grows up, Bob decides to treat him as his son and unchains him, but Tim is reluctant to accept him. One day, Bob brings the gorgeous teenager Angie (Conor Leslie) expecting that Tim has sex with her and kills her. What will Tim do with Angie?

"Chained" is a disturbing, twisted and depressing loss of innocence of a boy kidnapped by a sadistic and deranged serial-killer and with a surprising plot point in the end. Vincent D'Onofrio is a scary psychopath with a twisted mind. The fate of Angie is omitted in the movie and this is the weakest part of the cruel plot that makes an ambiguous conclusion. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Acorrentados" ("Chained")

This is a really excellent film, a real psychological horror, no gore but you get the idea and have to use your imagination, and the performances are superb...the twist is brilliant, totally caught me off guard, jaw to the floor! But then again, I have watched Surveillance so should have expected something...if you haven't do!

CHAINED starts off giving you the impression that this could be just another torture fest where a young boy and his mother get kidnapped by a taxi driver who is really a serial killer and taken to his home. There the boy's mother is murdered and he is made to live with the killer and do whatever he says.

After all that the plot actually becomes more intriguing with superb character development and it is very disturbing and comes up with some very unexpected moments and the final half is what raises this film above many others in the same genre.

The performances are excellent, Jennifer Lynch certainly found the ideal actor to play the serial killer in Vincent D'Onofrio and even the actors with the smallest roles manage to shine.

Overall, CHAINED is a very impressive film although not for everyone but the final half is sure to impress anyone who sees it.

Dark, psychological thriller. Well fleshed out. Personally I think Rabbit would have been a better title, as he's an interesting character. Nicely done and claustrophobic.