Captivity

Originally posted on Sept 30, '07, at slangards.multiply.com

I'll be honest. The only reason I picked this up on my weekly DVD run was because I've got a crush on Elisha Cuthbert.

You'll probably know this as the film whose poster campaign was banned because it was an image of Elisha being buried alive in a glass box. Trailers even played this up, saying that it was so "controversial" it was banned. It wasn't.

While the poster campaign (which ran mostly in bus shelters to get the most of the girl in a glass cage effect) was really great, and it was true that the posters were taken down, the movie isn't all that. It's basically a long CSI episode. Girl is kidnapped, girl makes a friend in captivity, friend turns to lover, lover turns out to be in cahoots with the kidnapper. Really all very predictable.

The camera work does nothing for the film either. The shots are pretty boring. Flat. Static. There's no real effort to give the film a claustrophobic feel, which would have brought it up a notch. Maybe create some suspense. There's a sub plot with the cops looking for leads to Elisha's whereabouts, but that's basically useless and doesn't further the story or the atmosphere along any. There isn't even any interesting procedural drama to catch your attention. These are some pretty dumb cops.

There's also no real pathos to the schemes Elisha is put through, no motivation, no purpose. Sure the kidnappers are psychos, but even Freddie and Jason had reasons for their sprees. Apparently, these guys just kidnap girls so they can film a private porno collection. The kidnappers are never really more than cardboard cutouts; demented dorks, who have to set up elaborate traps to get laid.

It's all very off-putting if you ask me.