Trapped Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)
Trapped is a 2002 thriller film produced & directed by Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Born Yesterday, & Angel Eyes). It’s based on the novel 24 Hours by author Greg Iles who also wrote the screenplay. It was produced by Mark Canton (300, Red Planet, Den of Thieves, Land of the Dead, & Piranha 3D ). The budget was $30 million & it grossed $13.4 million worldwide at the box office. Dr. Will Jennings (played by: Stuart Townsend from Queen of the Damned, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Shade, & XIII: The Series), a research physician has landed his major career break by patenting a new anesthetic drug. After speaking at a conference regarding the patent in a Seattle hotel. He is met by a strange woman Cheryl (played by: Courtney Love from Man on the Moon, Sid and Nancy, & The People vs. Larry Flynt) who introduces herself as an admirer of his work. Cheryl attempts to seduce Will in the hallway before holding him at gunpoint & forcing him into his hotel room.
She demands a ransom for his young daughter Abby (played by: Dakota Fanning from Man on Fire, The Alienist, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, & War of the Worlds). Cheryl’s husband Joe (played by: Kevin Bacon from Hollow Man, Flatliners, Mystic River, & Tremors) has broken into Will’s luxurious Portland, home & confronts Will’s wife Karen (played by: Charlize Theron from Monster, Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road, & Bombshell). Joe sends Abby away with his cousin Marvin (played by: Pruitt Taylor Vince from Gotti, Identity, Constantine, & Natural Born Killers). Marvin drives Abby to a remote cabin in the woodsnbut soon discovers that Abby suffers from asthma which no one planned for. Joe agrees to drive Karen to the cabin to administer the inhaler & blindfolding her for the car ride. Joe brings Karen back to her home & attacks her. Each victim has a different nightmare to face. Can this family survive each criminal? Or Will their nasty plan out for a big payout????
Trapped is a very intense thriller with a small but talented cast. The script knows exactly what sub-genre it’s aiming at & it delivers all the goods you would expect from a suspense feature. I really liked the twist & motivation for the villains in this. It actually made you feel bad for the characters despite them being scumbags all the way up to that point. Charlize Theron & Stuart Townsend were a real life couple at the time so they had excellent chemistry. Charlize Theron & Kevin Bacon were great leads in this. Theron proves that she is more than a pretty face here & she’s a tough. This was before she started doing action films so no one was really used to seeing that from her. Kevin Bacon knows how to get under your skin when he plays a villain. He is sleazy & vengeful as the man with the plan. Courtney Love is a bad actress, she definitely hurt the overall movie with her presence. A different actress would have made it so much better. She did add a trashiness to the role but that wasn’t acting. It has a good supporting cast that includes Pruitt Taylor Vince, Stuart Townsend, Dakota Fanning, & Colleen Camp. I thought it was cool how it covered three different pairings & situations at the same time. It really kept things interesting. You have seen it all before but this was a solid effort. It was very entertaining & fun, I like it a little more each time I revisit it.
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Mill Creek! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer is a little better than the previous version that was paired up with In the Cut for the double feature release & the 6 Degrees Kevin Bacon collection set. It’s solid for an older catalog title but don’t expect anything crazy from it. I now own 4 copies of Trapped & this is the best looking release so far. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track plays off the type of movie this is. The thrills are elevated & the music has a nice boost to keep you on uneasy. The dialogue is crystal clear here. It also has English SDH subtitles. There’s no special features on this release. Luckily, Mill Creek has bargain prices on most of their releases so you can add this to the collection for cheap. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
