Captivity

Elisha Cuthbert was perfectly fine in the recent House of Wax (which was the same kind of role), but occasionally seems totally adrift here. This is the fault of the director (Roland Joffe - who was once a decent film-maker), but it's hard to single him out for criticism as every single aspect of this film seems to be just as lousy and half-arsed as the next. The look of the film, the story, the characters and the dialogue have no personality or life of their own and instead are clearly uninspired wholesale rip-offs of those found in the likes of the Hostel and Saw films and then reassembled into this dull, turgid, mess. If you want an example of an inept, unloved, souless, studio-funded zeitgeist cash-in flick then here it is. Avoid.

I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have gone to cinema to see this film if it wasn't for all the unneeded controversy surrounding it's marketing campaign in the USA, but I guess that's a good thing as it shows that the people who initiate that sort of thing usually just end up helping the film in question to reach a wider audience. I have to say that whoever it was that made such a fuss about the posters did me a favour, as while Captivity isn't exactly a modern masterpiece; it's certainly a decent little horror thriller, and I'm glad I went to see it. The film focuses solely around Jennifer Tree, an actress who is abducted and thrown into a basement dungeon from which there is no escape and she is continually watched over by the psychopath who abducted her; a man who also enjoys putting her through all manner of sadistic and brutal torturing. Hope arises when she finds a man in the cell next to her, and together they attempt to escape from the dungeon. But as they face more sadism and torture, it turns out that the situation isn't all it seems.

This film is obviously catching on to the 'torture porn' film type that seems to be dominating the horror genre recently (films such as Hostel and Saw being at the forefront), but while this doesn't add anything new; it is entertaining to watch, and that is really all that is important from this sort of film. The film is, surprisingly, directed by experienced director Roland Joffé, whose only other film I've seen is the Oscar nominated "The Killing Fields" - and this is nothing like it! (Though I'd say that's a good thing...). The screenplay was written by the great Larry Cohen, who you can always count on for an entertaining thrill ride, and while this isn't one of his best attempts; I'd pretty much say he delivered (it's better than Cellular, too). The twist in the middle can be seen coming a mile off, but that's not important either as the handling after the twist is good and with this, Cohen succeed in racketing the film up a notch. Captivity is very short at just 85 minutes, but I'd rather it be on the short side than feature a bucket load of filler like many films these days do. Overall, I won't say this is brilliant or a classic; but it's a more than decent horror thriller and I definitely recommend seeing it.

I'm a fan of the Saw series, and Hostel (not of Hostel 2). I enjoy these types of movies and I'm only a tad ashamed. Call me a dumb, violence seeking goon but these movies are entertaining.

What's this got to do with Captivity? Well, nothing really. I was drawn to this movie because I thought it was going to be another retelling of this sick sub-genre of horror that I do so love. I was sadly disappointed because this absolutely is not a "torture porn" movie. It would have been much more honest of the production company, After Dark Films, to say it was a thriller with slight torture porn inklings (very slight).

Maybe, the folks at After Dark didn't actually see the movie. What I saw was psychological in nature and dealt much more with assaults on the mind of those captive than it did with actual assaults on the bodies of those captive. Yes, there is some blood and some nasty gore but nothing like Saw or Hostel or even Touristas.

Understand that if you don't like Saw, Hostel etc., then this is a good choice for a horror/thriller to go see this weekend.

Now that that's out of the way I'll just say: It's not a great movie but adequate. A solid B-movie endeavor. Fun, kind of stupid at times, pretty good acting by the luscious Elisha Cuthbert (for the guys-your girlfriends might get jealous) and the director, Roland Joffe (best known for The Mission, The Killing Fields), imbued the entire film with a look that worked very well to be creepy and ominous. It moves fairly quickly, lags a bit in the middle and ends with a slightly predictable twist but really you don't care at that point because, surprise, you've been entertained. Well, at least I was even though my hunger for gore was only slightly abated.

B-

'Torture porn' is one of the most tedious trends to happen in horror for years, but I do love me a bit of Elisha Cuthbert, so into the player went Captivity, another supposedly 'brutal' and 'gruelling' entry in this redundant sub-genre distributed by the usual culprits, Lionsgate Films.

The beautiful, pillow-chested star of TV's 24 plays Jennifer Tree, a successful young model who winds up imprisoned in a grimy, booby-trapped dungeon after her drink is spiked at a nightclub. There she is put through a series of terrifying and disgusting ordeals, before meeting and falling for fellow prisoner Gary, whose suffering helps her find the strength to fight back against their tormentor.

Captivity, from once respected director Roland Joffé, is clearly intended to outdo the Hostels and Saws in terms of shock horror and depravity, and to its credit, it is extremely revolting at times, even managing to make me gag during one scene involving body parts and a food blender; however, once the film leaves familiar torture territory and attempts to introduce a few plot twists, it completely falls apart due to its sheer predictability.

Most viewers should be able to guess what is coming way before it happens, and the film's major revelation is so bloody obvious its hard to believe that even a vacuous, image-obsessed model like Jennifer would be surprised by it (and it's even harder to believe that such a hackneyed script came from seasoned horror veteran Larry Cohen).

As the end credits rolled, I noticed that this film was produced with the help of director Courtney Solomon, the 'genius' responsible for such garbage as Dungeons and Dragons and An American Haunting; seems like he's no longer content to just direct crap films—now he assists others with the making of them too!

I had pretty low expectations for this, so when it turned out to be not that bad (almost, dare i say, pretty... good?) I left the theater extremely enthusiastic. It delivers, believe it or not, a complete, if not well-rounded story. Here it is, in a sentence: Jennifer Tree is a beautiful young fashion model getting things she doesn't deserve and deciding she needs to get the hell out. Elisha Cuthbert plays the lead, and she looks phenomenal. Even while she is being held captive, her "damsel in distress" act makes great cinema. Always nice to see a girl that's been passed off as a dumb blond get up and kick some ass. I know there are people that feel otherwise about this movie but hey- I liked it! So there!