Shubhabrata Dutta
Abduction is traditionally a subgenre of thriller films, though it can also fall under the horror and exploitation umbrellas. The protagonist can be any of the people intimately involved with the case – from the abductees themselves to abductors to bereaved family members to the law enforcement officials investigating the case. It all depends upon the story a given filmmaker wants to tell. With an extensive library of films belonging to every subject imaginable, HBO Max offers its audience a wide variety of stories, including movies centered around a character landing themselves in a pickle when they are abducted.
7. Dead of Winter (2025)
Brian Kirk’s ‘Dead of Winter’ features Emma Thompson as Barb, a grieving widow out to scatter the ashes of her husband up in the north as he wished. She ends up getting stuck near a lake in northern Minnesota due to a chilling blizzard. While seeking shelter, she comes across a couple (Marc Menchaca and Judy Greer) living in a secluded cabin. Soon, she realizes that they are holding a teenage girl (Laurel Marsden) hostage inside. Now she, too, is at risk along with the girl and must find a way of escape before the murderous armed couple does something harmful. How Barb rescues the girl from the deranged couple forms the premise of the movie. Balanced nicely with emotion and action, ‘Dead of Winter’ offers the viewers a rare version of Thompson, who does full justice to her “cool” part. You can watch the movie here.
6. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)
‘Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!’ is a Spanish dark romantic comedy that stars Antonio Banderas as Ricky, a 23-year-old psychiatric patient. After his release from the facility he was in, Ricky decides to seek out Marina Osorio, an actress and former porn star. They slept together once when she was in the facility for her drug issues. Ricky finds her and tries to get her attention, though Marina doesn’t recognize him. Ricky then captures her and keeps her restrained in her own home, declaring that he has done this so that she will fall in love with him. To find out what Marina does, you can stream the movie here.
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock, ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ surrounds a secret as revealed to Jill (Edna Best) and Bob Lawrence (Leslie Banks) by a dying Frenchman, Louis Bernard, who has been shot. The secret reveals a planned assassination of a government official (later revealed to be orchestrated by a guy named Abbot (Peter Lorre)). But when the culprits, who killed Louis, kidnap the couple’s daughter Betty (Nova Pilbeam) to force them to keep their mouth shut, the couple finds itself helpless, especially since the police offer no help. Will they be able to save their daughter? To find out, you can stream this classic spy thriller right here.
4. Chowchilla (2023)
Paul Solet’s documentary film ‘Chowchilla’ tells the horrifying true story of how 26 children and their bus driver were taken hostage by gunmen as a part of a ransom plot on July 15, 1976, and put in a potential mass grave. Considered the largest mass kidnapping in US history, the 1976 Chowchilla abduction is addressed in the film from the POV of the survivors, who are all adults now. Using their interviews, archival footage, and reenactments, the CNN-backed film offers an up-close-and-personal look at a failed kidnapping that would haunt the hostages forever. You can watch ‘Chowchilla’ here.
3. High and Low (1963)
From legendary director Akira Kurosawa comes a noir thriller that is a brilliant commentary on contemporary society and capitalism, underscored by a kidnapping. It follows wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune), who is faced with the tough decision of whether to use his money to pay the huge ransom to those who have kidnapped his chauffeur’s son or use that money to seal his position and gain control of a shoe company for which he has mortgaged all he owns. His decision, the consequences of the decision, and the way Mr. Kurosawa executes them are what make this film a must-watch for any cinephile. Loosely adapted from Ed McBain’s (pen name: Ed McBain) 1959 novel “King’s Ransom,” ‘High and Low’ can be streamed here.
2. One Battle After Another (2025)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, ‘One Battle After Another’ is a BAFTA-winning film focusing on a revolution. We are introduced to Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a washed-up former member of a far-left revolutionary group called French 75. He goes looking for his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), after she is kidnapped by Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a corrupt military officer who has been looking for Bob and those connected to him for over 16 years. Teyana Taylor plays Willa’s mother, Perfidia, who was captured and put in witness protection by Lockjaw in return for info regarding the French 75 all those years ago. How, if at all, Bob rescues Willa is what we find out in the visually stunning crime drama set in a society on the verge of collapse. ‘One Battle After Another’ can be streamed here.
1. Room (2015)
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, ‘Room’ is based on Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel, inspired by the real-life Fritzl case that came to light in 2008. The film centers on 24-year-old Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who have been living in a 10-by-10-foot room. It’s not their home, but where they have been held by a guy named Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), who kidnapped Joy seven years ago. Nick has been continuously raping her since then, and it is he who fathered Jack. It is the relationship between the mother and her son that takes center stage, as they have made the room their whole world and have made memories together. Yet Joy fears how Jack will find the outside world, which he knows nothing about, after they escape, which they will have to somehow. This is the glimmer of hope that underscores the mother-son relationship, pulled off masterfully by Larson and Tremblay. Larson won the Best Actress Oscar for her role. ‘Room’ can be watched here.
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