Captivity

Captivity is not a movie afraid to borrow ideas. Indeed, if you were to walk in part way, you could be forgiven for momentarily thinking you were watching yet another instalment of the popular Saw series. The story goes as follows: A top fashion model (24's Elisha Cuthbert) is tricked into attending a charity event - drugged and kidnapped, she wakes up in a sealed room in which her unseen captor subjects her to a number of cruel games and sadistic tortures. So far, so Saw then.

However, despite its promising premise, the ideas dry up before the film barely gets started, leaving the viewer incredulous at the gaping plot holes. What we are left with is a number of gruesome torture scenes, and while the less discerning horror fan may get a kick out of the simple nastiness of it all, there is little to recommend what is an otherwise a badly scripted, cliché-ridden and highly pedestrian piece of filmmaking. Captivity less wears its influences on its sleeve, but rather regurgitates them, and furthermore has absolutely no idea what to do with the resulting mess.

Released 22nd June 2007 by Optimum Releasing.

Written by Chris Costa.