Kidnapped!

If cinema’s prince of darkness Gaspar Noé was commissioned to make a thriller flick, he’d probably produce something like Kidnapped (Secuestrados). Miguel Ángel Vivas’ debut film immerses the audience in ninety minutes of sheer terror, as we watch a violent home invasion unfold in real time.

Jaime (Fernando Cayo) and his partner Marta (Ana Wagener) have just moved to a ritzy gated suburb of Madrid. As they unpack, their teenage daughter Isa (Manuela Velles) pesters them for permission to attend a party. As darkness encircles the decadent home, three masked intruders smash their way in, holding Marta and Isa hostage as Jaime is driven to an ATM to empty out their accounts. As each victim attempts to fight off the intruders, all hell breaks loose.

The film’s subject matter was inspired by the rise in “express kidnappings” across Latin America. The method of abducting wealthy people at gunpoint and forcing them to withdrawal large sums of cash is a common occurrence in urban areas of Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela.

Kidnapped is a more gruesome version of Panic Room or The Strangers. It falls into a new breed of extreme cinema coming out of Europe which twists the classic thriller genre to create a bloodier, more shocking cinematic experience in which little is left to the imagination. Much like French horror-thriller High Tension, Kidnapped is an intense journey in which violence is shown in close-up mode. Split screens heighten the sense of claustrophobia and hyper-realism, as the hysterical screams of Marta and Isa ascend to a deafening fever pitch.

For those who enjoy a knife-twisting thriller with plenty of gore thrown in just for kicks, Kidnapped is sure to satisfy your bloodlust.

Kidnapped opens at Cinema Nova on September 1
For session times and tickets visit www.cinemanova.com.au