UHM - Review - Captivity

Released in other countries this past Spring, the film underwent additional shooting after negative screenings proved that some scenes needed to be reworked, so a reported four new torture sequences were added to amp up the gore, while other scenes were shortened and extended. The first version of the movie was essentially just a psychological thriller with zero gore or torture sequences, and just followed Elisha's character as she tried to endure the mind-games that the killer was subjecting her to. These new gore scenes are obviously just there for no reason other than to shock the audience and please the fans of the torture sub-genre and offer nothing to the overall story. However, some of the additional non-gore sequences sped up the pace and added a little story and edge that was missing from the first version. The movie went under some pressure when a billboard was posted near a middle school that depicted a series of images with the words "Abduction, Confinement, Torture, Termination" above it. The MPAA also gave the film a hard time in receiving its R-rating, which led to the delay in the release by a couple months.

The movie attempts to combine two essential films that started the torture fad -- Saw and Hostel -- but the poor script proved too dumb for a Saw clone and surprisingly enough, has even less of a story than Hostel. In this flick we follow Elisha Cuthbert's character (a fashion model and new "it" girl), who has been abducted and is now being held in a small room, where she's subjected to various mind-games and torture by an unknown assailant. While there, she meets another victim who's being held in the next room. The two communicate through a vent, where they learn more about each other, and through the ordeal, grow to have feelings for one another. The sub-genre has sunk to a new low with this film, which is essentially nothing more than a few pointless torture sequences and a paper-thin story. At least with Hostel the victims are tortured thanks to a shady organization and a group of rich people who pay to get their hands dirty. Even in Saw Jigsaw had a well thought out plan and picked his victims for a reason, but in this film? Let's just say the killer was just a little too lonely.

Since the movie pretty much just centers on Elisha's character, we're given a break now and then by following a couple detectives as they try to track down the murderer. Though, their screen time has been shortened in this new version of the film, but replaced by the new gore-scenes, where the torturer would pretty much just get Elisha to witness or do something disgusting. Aside from that, she spends a good portion of the film passed out, as the killer would constantly drug her, so he can move her around and set up the next mind-game. As for the "twist" towards the end -- I predicted it within the first 20-minutes, and I'm sure anyone else that has watched horror films the past handful of years can as well. On the plus side, it kept me interested and I thought the high-end technology that was apparent throughout the confined area was a nice addition. It's clear that the guy who orchestrated the plan covered all the possible angles of escape.

It's obvious that for a film like this, director Roland Joffé (The Mission, City of Joy, The Scarlet Letter) was the wrong man to go behind the camera, because he's used to delivering dramas with an actual storyline. Hence, why the first version was more story than pointless torture and guts. Thanks to the premise and promotion of the movie, it got the Hostel audience, which also explains why they went back and added the torture scenes. Even though they had eye-candy Elisha and newly-added gore and sequences that helped speed up the relatively slow pacing, it still couldn't save it from being a bad and overall pointless movie.

OVERALL

Predictable and pointless; if you're looking for a another Saw or Hostel then look elsewhere, because this is neither. The premise is almost non-existent and the torture scenes are poorly edited into the film and are clearly only there to shock the viewers and keep the pace going. If you're still intent on seeing the movie, I'd recommend waiting for the DVD release, otherwise, skip this mess.

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The Universal Guardian :

Posted 224 days ago

I guess the same twist you did, in about the same length of time. As for Elisa Curthbert, she's delicious visually...but her acting was sort of bad, imo.

Boomstick :

Posted 234 days ago

Horrible film. Some little things that took place in this film left me scratching my head as to how the people involved could be so stupid as to let it slide. 1, when the two first meet the guy scratches "who are you" into the glass that was covered with something. This was than seen by her. This would mean that the glass was fogged on his side of the room but the she scratches is too. How can it be covered on both sides yet be scratch completly through on either side. 2, when you find out about the guy being involved (saw it coming during the previews of the film) they show you him being molested by his drugged up mom who he then kills. They watch this whole thing like a home movie. It's not a flash back. Who the hell was filming that? Those things seemed to bug me. Well them and the whole movie itself.

Robin Bigg :

Posted 254 days ago

The movie was terrible, BUT there was one exception. ELISHA. she was fine especially when he made her take her clothes off. Two thumbs up to that. but two thumbs down to this wanna be horror flick. Why did she end up killing people? anyone know

cody :

Posted 268 days ago

i just got done watching this movie and it blew me away ecpecilly the end.and great acting by the fantastic elisha cuthbert

Werewolf Hunter :

Posted 344 days ago

I'm pissed. I saw a tv spot for this once, and in the beginning of the spot, "The Most Controversial Movie Ever" was labeled across the screen...I honestly felt putting an ax into the TV! A title such as that doesn't deserve to be associated with this faggy little excuse for a horror movie! Now personally, I think the title of "Most Controversial Movie Ever" belongs to Ruggero Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust".

london :

Posted 355 days ago

hey i wanted so bad to see the movie and i went and it was great

frightie :

Posted 356 days ago

Poor Captivity.

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