GENERAL INFO:
Director: Miguel Ángel Vivas
Studios: Vaca Films, La Fabrique 2, Blur Producciones, Filmax
Starring: Fernando Cayo, Manuela Vellés, Ana Wagener, Guillermo Barrientos, Martijn Kuiper, Dritan Biba
Tagline: Hogar Dulce Hogar (Home Sweet Home); Take Your Last Breath
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: foreign film, Spanish language, horror, terror, thriller, drama, family drama, psychological thriller, home invasion, robbers, kidnapping, torture
Scare score: C+/ B-
Rating: A-
Plot overview: On their first night in their new home, a well-off Spanish family falls victim to a dastardly home invasion.
The plot makes the movie sound easy enough, right? That's because it is; Secuestrados (meaning "kidnapped") is a straightforward movie that explores the brutality of a violent robbery along with the physical and emotional repercussions of victims and burglars alike - all the while forcing the viewer to participate. By far, the best thing about this movie is its simplicity: simple, beautiful cinematography; honest acting that the audience can empathize with; and a clean-cut plot that via its voyeuristic nature forces the viewer to partake in the savage happenings, throwing us coldly into the bleak universe of the film. This universe, as we come to realize, is our own meaningless reality.
If we are willing to assume that we do live in such a cold world (Vivas and the producers wished to stress the reality behind the film's violence), then the terror of the film takes its grip. Who doesn't love taking the seemingly safe and ideal suburbs and turning them into a sadistic playground for psychological and physical torture (think The People Under the Stairs or even The Strangers)? The suburbs can be scary, too. That is the lesson that husband Jaime (Cayo), wife Marta (Wagener), and teenage daughter Isa (Vellés) learn when they move into an upper-middle class suburb of Madrid. Hoping to escape the stress of the city and bond more as a family, the fairly normal and innocent trio could never imagine what awaits them on their first night.
A father, mother, and child rendered helpless upon the violent intrusion of several foreigners. The similarity to Funny Games is unmistakable, and I would be a bad blogger if I didn't mention or recommend the latter to you. Aside from the small difference (there are only two intruders in Funny Games while there are three in Secuestrados, this Spanish film shows the robbers' intent to be monetary while there truly seems to be no reason in the Austrian film, and lastly, Funny Games is much more sadistic), these two films are very much alike in their nihilistic portrayal of home invasion. Like so many horror movies, the intruders themselves - billed only as Young Thief/ "assailant" in Spanish (Barrientos), Strong Thief (Kuiper), and Head Thief (Biba) - have their own struggles. Strong Thief is off his rocker, high on cocaine and sexually violent. Young Thief shows more than a touch of morality and repentance once things start to go awry, and Head Thief is dealt his fair share of unexpected mishaps. The plot only wavers from a straightforward robbery when we - I mean the family, robbers, and audience alike - are surprised by (un)expected houseguests as well as small measures of resistance taken by the family. To be totally honest, the film might even border on boring if it weren't for these small variations and complications, not to mention the gripping cinematography and the convincing acting.
I was in love with the way this movie was filmed. The camera work was masterful; consisting only of 12 long shots leading us around the sprawling house and streets of the neighborhood. The camera is at times passive and objective, and then suddenly very personal and mobile; not once are we distant from the action or drama. Whether the shot is up-close to the terror or reactions (beating, crying, bleeding) or spanning in and out of rooms of the house, we as viewers are forced to take an active part in both the savagery and resulting suffering. The long shots are thrilling; I must say it is a welcome break from the constant cuts and flashing shots of fast-paced horror movies today.
This filming method is only enhanced by the truly wonderful job of the performers. In the beginning of the film, we have a typical family. Suit and tie, client call taking father, stressed and detail oriented mother, and rebellious angsty daughter. Then we have the antagonists who are equally as strong, although given less room to perform. The worst actor in the film is boyfriend César (Xoel Yáñez), who regrettably gets a decent amount of screen time sniveling and pleading when nothing's even happened yet. Super static. As the film progresses, the family delivers so beautifully the agony and fear that you would expect a traumatizing experience such as the one portrayed in the movie to cause. Perhaps most impressive is the young Manuela Vallés, who plays the terrified and shocked Isa so heart-wrenchingly. By the end of the film, this was the performance that struck me most.
*SPOILER ALERT*
I think that most of all I enjoyed how realistic the film was. No, I have never been on either side of a robbery, home invasion, or anything of the sort, but I imagine that a particularly well-planned and violent one would go something like the one in the movie. The scariest part of the entire movie was when they first break in through the window; I had been waiting for it to happen (so many shots of big glass windows), but when it did it certainly got a reaction from me. Then I loved how they just began to smash everything, ripping pictures out of frames, taking things without value - in home robberies, invasion of privacy is the cause of true terror. I was so happy that father Jaime and even mother Marta kept their heads while young Isa began to shake and cry from the get-go; I can't stand a film where everybody goes paranoid and cowardly from the start. I also enjoyed the dissension between the thieves. Sure, we've seen that a million times before, but I thought it was realistic. There was a good balance in the film regarding the violence, equal parts physical and psychological, and not overboard on the sexual (although with some disregard for my cardinal rules).
My problems with the movie were few. Primarily, I didn't understand the beginning. Throughout the movie it had me wondering if that was in fact Jaime, or otherwise how this man tied into the plot. No answer was given, which led me to the conclusion that it was just meant to show that the home invasion had happened before and will happen again, pointlessly, a la The Strangers. Secondly, it's obvious from the beginning that the movers are going to turn into the robbers. Still, if our Young Thief was the mover who took the box into Isa's room and the golf clubs into Jaime's study, what happened to the scar on his forehead that Isa asked him about? Am I wrong in thinking that this was the same man? Lastly, and this is me being nit-picky but hey, the main events of the film seem to forget that this is their first night in the house. In the afternoon, we have a house filled floor to ceiling with boxes and clutter; how is it that by the evening every thing has been put in its place? We're taking little-to-no boxes, stocked kitchen, beds made, even the bathroom drawers organized and the downstairs storage room neatly-kept. This is 100% unrealistic. I love the first night idea, especially the misfortune of Isa still being at home before escaping to her party, but nobody on this earth can unpack their stuff and furnish their entire home in a few hours. It just isn't happening.
Otherwise, I guess I should mention my feelings about whether or not this is truly a horror movie. Yes, there is horror, more due to the terror of the home invasion and the resulting abuse. Really this is a psychological thriller that is paired with violence and some gore. The home invasion idea, more akin to Panic Room, The Strangers, or Funny Games. The movie isn't so much "scary" as it is unsettling and then shocking. As I mentioned, the scariest moment was the big *bump* when the first thief breaks through the window. Later, the violence is disturbing (a broken arm, a gunshot), and on top of that we are surprised (my jaw dropped) by the sudden gore the film gives us. That scene was truly gross. Otherwise, the nihilistic, dark approach to the film's commentary regarding violence in our society leaves us feeling sad and upset, contemplating what terror awaits us outside (or even inside) our own homes.
Final critique: It's been a while since I've had so much to say about a movie. Secuestrados, while not the scariest movie out there, should be hailed for the mark it will leave upon us after sitting through its purposefully-purposefulless (get it?) violence, brutality, terror, and smattering of gore. Some of the reviews out there will tell you that this is the best film ever made, but that's just not true. This is a spectacularly filmed, wonderfully acted, and surprising powerful movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for some small scares but otherwise a lasting sense of depression and meaninglessness. Not recommended for newbies or those who aren't able to handle a little (but strong) gore. Honestly a really enjoyable film; I would recommend listening in the original Spanish and finding subtitles if you need them, although I did watch a few minutes of the dubbed version and it seemed well done.
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