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Captivity [2007]


RRP: £17.99
Our Price: £3.99 (subject to change)

Its ok
Review date: 2008-10-08 Rating: 8 out of 10

This film is ok but nothing special.I mean there was like two sickening bits in the film.The story line was good but could of been made a whole lot better and scarier.

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More humdrum torture porn
Review date: 2008-07-25 Rating: 4 out of 10

Captivity is another addition to the torture/gore porn cinema genre pre-dated by the likes of the Saw franchise or Hostel . What is most surprising about this addition is that acclaimed director Roland Joffe ( he directed The Mission lest we forget ) has attached himself to it. Mind you i think he had a different type of film in mind -something along the psychological thriller lines because the head of Dark Films( Courtney Solomon) , the production company behind the film, re-edited the movie adding more gore and violence .Subsequently Captivity is a very nasty film , but rather crucially omits any allegorical evidence ( at least as far as i could see) from the screenplay (written by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura)
The unlikely monikered Jennifer Tree (Elisha Cuthbert) is a catwalk model and cover girl giving vacuous interviews about nothing in particular . Her life seems empty and rather lonely .She resorts to taking her little pooch to a nightclub where she is drugged and abducted , ending up in a basement prison where she is subjected to a series of controlling torturous ordeals including being force fed blended down human body parts. This does,nt go down well in both senses of the meaning.
Hope arrives in the shape of Ben (Pruitt Taylor Vince) a fellow captive who she immediately bonds with as they plot their escape.There then comes a twist , or should i say a supposed twist -except i, and no doubt many others,will have twigged straight away what was going on so safe to say it,s not much of a twist. More of a straight with a slight kink. Then the whole thing gets incredibly silly , if it was,nt already .
I am at a loss to explain what this films central precept is. Is it making a point about vacuity of celebrity? Or is it just extreme torture-porn for the sake of it ? Either way it,s not especially successful . It,s not tense or frightening and if it does have a hidden sub-text it hides it carefully under a clod-hopping script and fatuous characterisation including dunder headed character decision making - a staple pre-requisite of poor horror films.Some ropey acting does,nt help either.
Curiously an alternate ending available in the extras hints at a meaning , not particularly obvious in the standard cut of the film. Not only that it helps explain the opening scene far more clearly . Captivity is not a good enough film that it can afford to pass up these opportunities. As it is someone should have abducted Courtney Solomon from the editing room and let in in someone who understands the process. The subsequent torture is optional.



What next ...
Review date: 2008-07-17 Rating: 4 out of 10

As a big Horror film fan I enjoy settling down to watch the latest DVD release and, even when not hugely entertained, it's rare that I really wish I hadn't bothered to watch something. Captivity just about sits above that bar.

It begins without any real typical Hollywood credits or even opening of any sort which sets the dark tone of the whole movie. The longer the movie played, the more I found myself interested in it but if the running time was 2 hours or more I may well have switched it off - credit due to the makers who edited the whole thing into less than 90 minutes I guess.

Although I'm a fan of the horror genre, movies such as Saw & Hostel are less apppealing to me than a traditional monster/slasher flick. As we head toward the end of the decade I feel there's too many movies that are turning themselves into successful franchises for little else other than quite how sick they are. Was I the only person who thought that Hostel would have been even better and less laughable if the hero didn't run around with half his hand sawed off helping a girl whose eyeball was hanging almost a metre from it's socket ?

This is a major reason for Captivity (and many others) failing and doing themselves an injustice. There's a twist in this movie and an overall sense of menace that could have held my attention a lot stronger than if I hadn't had to witness several scenes of "extreme" horror, in particular the blender scene.

It's blatantly obvious that either the Writers & Directors are seriously warped however more likely that the Executives at the Studios are pushing the film-makers to go way over-the-top in the hope that the controversy created by the content will sell tickets & DVD's. I watched Elisha Cuthbert's interview and she all but admits this herself.

In summary Captivity isn't the worst horror film ever but it's up there in terms of how sick a movie can be which in my opinion has the adverse effect of what the film's makers intended and makes for a far less interesting movie.

one of the worst films i have ever seen
Review date: 2008-06-06 Rating: 2 out of 10

it was so bad i switched off 15 minets in it was that bad.truly horrible repugnent drivel avoid

Not original and not really worth watching
Review date: 2008-05-04 Rating: 4 out of 10

Its a sure sign that a film doesn't work for me when not once during this film was I scared. Sure during one of the torture scenes I wanted to look away, but that wasn't fear, more disgust at the nature of the events going on. Really I can't see much point to a film like this. You see it once, for the 'thrill', and then in my case I've vowed never to watch it again. In that respect its a bit like Hostel except not as good (and Hostel was not that good itself).

The plot was fairly predictable, the acting ok and the music a rip-off of the Halloween theme. All rather pointless in my view. Furthermore to call it torture porn (whatever that means) is really over the top. Elisha Cuthbert is a great looking actress, but apart from one non-torture scene her dignity remains intact during the film.

In summary I would say don't buy unless very cheap, because its not scary, and overall I would say it really isn't worth watching at all.


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Michael Harney
Daniel Gillies
Mark Damon
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Elisha Cuthbert

Creators:
Elisha Cuthbert (Primary Contributor)
Pruitt Taylor Vince (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
EAN: 5055201800817
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-10-29
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 81 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)

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