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Trapped (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:56
Fresh:10
Rotten:46
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: With its plot about child kidnapping and endangerment, Trapped is an exploitative thriller, more queasy than suspenseful.
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis:
The perfect crime is, perhaps, the crime that is never reported.
Some criminals seize control of their environment so convincingly, and cover their tracks so effectively that they leave nothing...
The perfect crime is, perhaps, the crime that is never reported.
Some criminals seize control of their environment so convincingly, and cover their tracks so effectively that they leave nothing but terrified victims-- so shocked that they retreat into silence, grateful to have their lives back. These are the unfortunate victims of Joe and Cheryl Hickey (Kevin Bacon and Courtney Love), who along with Joe's cousin Marvin (Pruitt Taylor Vince), have orchestrated and refined a foolproof plan to extort money from wealthy families. They've preyed upon helpless families with confidence, skill, and success.
But this time, they picked the wrong family - a family that chooses to fight back and take control of a terrifying ordeal that is spiraling towards an unthinkable outcome.
Will Jennings (Stuart Townsend), a young anesthesiologist, and his wife Karen (Charlize Theron), a rising textile designer, share their beautiful Portland, Oregon home with their daughter, six-year-old Abby (Dakota Fanning). When Will leaves for a medical conference in Seattle, Karen and Abby return home, and within minutes their comfortable lives are shattered.
When Abby is abducted by the Hickeys, the relentless 24-hour plan is set in motion that will test the limits of everything the Jennings' take for granted. Trapped in different cities, Will and Karen discover how far each will go to get their daughter back.
Three locations, three kidnappers, three hostages - one family and a chilling, breakneck 24 hours until it's all over. But as the tables are turned on the Hickeys and the 'perfect' crime unravels, so does a shocking history that changes everything. Based on the novel "24 Hours" aka "Trapped" by Greg Iles, the film is a harrowing thriller about a family that turns the table on their captors.
A Columbia Pictures presentation, Trapped is directed by Luis Mandoki (Message in a Bottle), who produces with Mimi Polk Gitlin (Thelma & Louise). The executive producers are Mark Canton, Hanno Huth, Neil Canton, Glen Ballard and Rick Hess. The screenplay is by Greg Iles. Carsten Lorenz, Nathan Kahane and Michael McDonnell co-produce. Music by John Ottman. Columbia Pictures will distribute in the United States and Canada, with Senator Entertainment handling the foreign distribution. Trapped will be released nationwide on September 20 and, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for violence, language and sexual content.
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love, Dakota Fanning, Pruitt Taylor Vince
Director: Luis Mandoki
Director: Luis Mandoki
Screenwriter: Greg Iles, Don Roos
Producer: Luis Mandoki, Mimi Polk Gitlin
Composer: John Ottman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Trapped
Plays better than your standard kidnapping thriller, thanks to Luis Mandoki's taut direction and writer Greg Iles' compelling twists and turns.
For a good chunk of its running time, Trapped is an effective and claustrophobic thriller.
Entirely suspenseful, extremely well-paced and ultimately... dare I say, entertaining!
Trapped won't score points for political correctness, but it may cause parents a few sleepless hours -- a sign of its effectiveness.
This one is probably best seen as a rental. From the looks of things, it shouldn't take that long to make it to the video store, either.
I don't mind admitting that the movie, for me, became about Courtney Love. That's the effect she has...
What might have been a tight little thriller is ruined by excess plot contrivances and a badly bungled over-the-top conclusion.
Latest News for Trapped
August 19, 2005:
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