The year was either 2010 or 2011. I was sitting on the beach during my family’s yearly vacation. Leading up to this week, I couldn’t wait to open and peruse the pages of the new Fangoria I had purchased. One of the features was an article on the film Kidnapped. The writer of that feature had me hooked. From their wildly positive (in a scary way) review to the grotesque images, Kidnapped looked to be an incredibly unsafe film. And I needed to see it. Either I forgot about it, or I couldn’t find it, and it slipped under my radar. That is until Shudder acquired the streaming rights.
Kidnapped: A Brutal Premise
Jaime (Fernando Cayo), Marta (Ana Wagener), and their daughter Isa (Manuela Vellés) move into a gigantic, beautiful new house. Their first night should be nothing more than relaxing and exploring the new space they reside in. Unfortunately for them, a group of three men (Guillermo Barrientos, Dritan Biba, and Martijn Kuiper) has other plans. Jaime, Marta, and Isa are subjected to intense violence and terror until the masked men get what they want…money.
Kidnapped opens with an uncomfortably long and brutal one-shot. A man with a plastic bag over his head and bound hands stumbles into the street before getting blasted by a car. Cut to Jaime in a car on his way to their new home. Writers Javier García and Miguel Ángel Vivas fully indulge the viewer with the finale of horrors that a previous victim endured. From there, we get a temporary relief. But only for a moment.
Unique and Innovative Filmmaking
Director Miguel Ángel Vivas and cinematographer Pedro J. Márquez amp up the film’s horror in a unique and heart-pounding way. Instead of quick cuts and hasty edits, Kidnapped tells its tale through 12 painstakingly uncomfortable one shots. There’s something about a continuous long take that lends a certain amount of comfort. As a viewer, you’re aware of how much time, rehearsal, and safety must go into that kind of filmmaking. When you see the horrific terror that goes on, the uncut shots start to feel more and more terrifying. It gets to the point where it starts to feel like you’re watching a well-produced snuff tape.
The violence harkens back to the unbridled brutality that came about during the New French Extremity movement. It’s raw, intense, and overwhelming. As each long take goes on, you beg for a momentary reprieve. Your heart pounds as the camera refuses to cut. I’ve watched A LOT of horror, and for our most disturbing movies list, I watched a lot of incredibly grotesque films. Kidnapped had me squirming in my seat for the majority of its runtime. I haven’t felt this scared during a film in a very long time.
Kidnapped Stands Out Among Disturbing Movies
Kidnapped is a true exploration of terror that tackles its topic without rose colored glasses. Nothing is played for laughs. Everything is played to its natural extreme. This is what horror is supposed to be! Kidnapped is one of the most unsafe films I’ve ever seen, and it might force me to make an update to our disturbing movies list. If possible, find this film with the original Spanish dub. (If you can’t, then watch the English dub on Shudder.) Just don’t watch this film alone. Trust me.
