Kidnapped (AKA Secuestrados) 2011

After a flurry of home siege movies, Kidnapped is a new Spanish offering, that has more than a passing resemblance to some of the big genre classics. A family move into a new high security house, but rather amazingly become victims of a home siege on the very first day they move in. While the husband and one of the captor’s head out into the night to get cash, the Mother and Daughter are left to cope with the more dangerous assailants.

Kidnapped (AKA Secuestrados) has a lot to it, a lot that is slightly different, including some nice split screen storytelling made famous by Brian DePalma’s Carrie back in 1976. The use is well placed, not over the top, and a nice way of keeping the movie in real time, in periods where much is going on.

Sadly however it just does not really quite do it, it’s a little prolonged, and while being dragged out slightly, you never actually really get to make any bonds with the movies victims. Yes they have been held captive, yes they are innocent, but that is about as far as it goes, nothing really happens to anyone captives or captors to make the characters progress.

While being relatively short, with a running time of around 80 minutes, there are moments where you wish it would just get to the point. There is also a fair old whack of stupidly ridiculous behavior on the Mother and Daughter, who despite the warning of death seem to go out of their way to be as annoying as they possibly can to the kidnappers.

What does really work for the movie however, is it’s ending. In some ways it’s a conclusion that you never really saw coming, and it’s just that factor that makes Kidnapped worth a shot.