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.
8. Sleepless (2017)
Directed by Baran bo Odar, this action thriller follows LVMPD policeman (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department) Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx), who, along with his partner Sean Cass (Cliff “T.I.” Harris), robs a shipment of drugs. The duo then volunteers to investigate the massacre, which resulted from the robbery, to cover their involvement. They encounter Internal Affairs investigators Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour), who are also looking into the case and are suspicious of the policemen. In the middle of all this, Vincent’s 16-year-old son T is kidnapped by thugs who work for the guy whose shipment he stole. Now, he has to save his son by returning the drugs while making sure that the folks from Internal Affairs don’t get a scent of it. You can find out what happens next by watching the film here.
7. 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.
6. The Fury (1978)
Directed by Brian De Palma, this supernatural horror film is underscored by telepathy. As interesting as it may sound for a 1970s movie, it is the story and its execution that make things more interesting than the subject. When Robin (Andrew Stevens) is kidnapped by a guy named Ben Childress (John Cassavetes), who intends to use Robin’s psychic abilities to develop weapons for the American government, Robin’s father, Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas), who is a CIA agent, reaches out to high-school student Gillian Bellaver (Amy Irving), another psychic, with the hope that she can help him find his son and get him back safely. Will his plan be successful? ‘The Fury’ is based on the 1976 novel by John Farris, who also wrote the screenplay. You can watch it here.
5. Fargo (1996)
A black comedy written and directed by the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan Coen), ‘Fargo’ tells the story of Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macy), a car salesman hailing from Minneapolis and facing a cash crunch. He decides to use his father-in-law’s money to come out of it. He thus hires two thugs, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaer Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), to get his wife kidnapped, and the ransom shall be split among the three of them. But things do not go as planned, and three people are killed. This brings persistent and pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) onto the case. True to the genre, the movie has a lot of dark humor, and thanks to the acting prowess of Buscemi and Stormare, it never feels over-the-top.
There are many reports regarding the truth behind the plot. The director duo stated that they wrote a fictional story based on a real incident that occurred in Minnesota in 1987 and later contradicted that the murders didn’t happen in Minnesota, while many Minnesotans speculated that the story was inspired by an attorney named T. Eugene Thompson who hired a man to have his wife killed in 1963. The special edition DVDs stated that the film was inspired by the murder of Danish flight attendant Helle Crafts at the hands of her husband in 1986. In 2015, Joel Coen even stated that the whole story is fictional. So, no one really knows the truth behind the story, or at least no one is willing to tell. You can watch ‘Fargo’ here.
4. 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.
3. The Secrets We Keep (2020)
Directed by Yuval Adler, ‘The Secrets We Keep’ is a gripping kidnapping movie wherein the female protagonist kidnaps someone she thinks is responsible for her painful past. The film is set in post-World War II America and follows Maja Reid (Noomi Rapace), a Romanian refugee, who, one day, recognizes a man (Joel Kinnaman) whom she believes is the German soldier who tortured her and many other women 15 years ago. The film jumps between past and present, showing how the German soldiers tortured, raped, and killed the women, and Maja, assisted by her husband Lewis (Chris Messina), trying to pull the truth out of the guy through torture. The question is whether Maja is right. Is the guy really who she thinks he is? To find out, you can watch ‘The Secrets We Keep’ here.
2. 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 cinephiles. Loosely adapted from Ed McBain’s (pen name: Ed McBain) 1959 novel “King’s Ransom,” ‘High and Low’ can be streamed here.
1. Room (2015)
Brie Larson won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as 24-year-old Joy Newsome, who was kidnapped by a guy named Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) 7 years ago and has since been routinely raped inside a 10-by-10-foot space she calls the “Room.” It has only a skylight, and the door is locked with a keypad whose code only Old Nick knows. Five years ago, Joy gave birth to Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who was brought up with the utmost care and thought that the room was his whole world. Nick isn’t bothered about Jack, who his mother puts inside a closet so neither he nor she can see each other during Nick’s “visits.” Wondering what would happen to them if something happened to Nick, Joy chalks out a plan to escape. But she also fears how the outside world will affect Jack, who has no idea about it.
The movie, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, is based on the 2010 novel of the same name, written by Emma Donoghue, who based it on the Fritzl case. Donoghue also wrote the screenplay for the film. “Room” is both horrifying and beautiful, and this is what makes watching it a profoundly moving experience. You can watch the film here.
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