Plays better than your standard kidnapping thriller, thanks to Luis Mandoki's taut direction and writer Greg Iles' compelling twists and turns.
Trapped (2002)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:56
Fresh:10
Rotten:46
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: With its plot about child kidnapping and endangerment, Trapped is an exploitative thriller, more queasy than suspenseful.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, language and sexual content
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Sep 20, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $6,916,869
Synopsis:
The perfect crime is, perhaps, the crime that is never reported.
Some criminals seize control of their environment so convincingly, and cover their tracks so effectively that they leave nothing...
The perfect crime is, perhaps, the crime that is never reported.
Some criminals seize control of their environment so convincingly, and cover their tracks so effectively that they leave nothing but terrified victims-- so shocked that they retreat into silence, grateful to have their lives back. These are the unfortunate victims of Joe and Cheryl Hickey (Kevin Bacon and Courtney Love), who along with Joe's cousin Marvin (Pruitt Taylor Vince), have orchestrated and refined a foolproof plan to extort money from wealthy families. They've preyed upon helpless families with confidence, skill, and success.
But this time, they picked the wrong family - a family that chooses to fight back and take control of a terrifying ordeal that is spiraling towards an unthinkable outcome.
Will Jennings (Stuart Townsend), a young anesthesiologist, and his wife Karen (Charlize Theron), a rising textile designer, share their beautiful Portland, Oregon home with their daughter, six-year-old Abby (Dakota Fanning). When Will leaves for a medical conference in Seattle, Karen and Abby return home, and within minutes their comfortable lives are shattered.
When Abby is abducted by the Hickeys, the relentless 24-hour plan is set in motion that will test the limits of everything the Jennings' take for granted. Trapped in different cities, Will and Karen discover how far each will go to get their daughter back.
Three locations, three kidnappers, three hostages - one family and a chilling, breakneck 24 hours until it's all over. But as the tables are turned on the Hickeys and the 'perfect' crime unravels, so does a shocking history that changes everything. Based on the novel "24 Hours" aka "Trapped" by Greg Iles, the film is a harrowing thriller about a family that turns the table on their captors.
A Columbia Pictures presentation, Trapped is directed by Luis Mandoki (Message in a Bottle), who produces with Mimi Polk Gitlin (Thelma & Louise). The executive producers are Mark Canton, Hanno Huth, Neil Canton, Glen Ballard and Rick Hess. The screenplay is by Greg Iles. Carsten Lorenz, Nathan Kahane and Michael McDonnell co-produce. Music by John Ottman. Columbia Pictures will distribute in the United States and Canada, with Senator Entertainment handling the foreign distribution. Trapped will be released nationwide on September 20 and, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for violence, language and sexual content.
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love, Dakota Fanning, Pruitt Taylor Vince
Director: Luis Mandoki
Director: Luis Mandoki
Screenwriter: Greg Iles, Don Roos
Producer: Luis Mandoki, Mimi Polk Gitlin
Composer: John Ottman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Get This Movie
Reviews for Trapped
For a good chunk of its running time, Trapped is an effective and claustrophobic thriller.
Entirely suspenseful, extremely well-paced and ultimately... dare I say, entertaining!
Trapped won't score points for political correctness, but it may cause parents a few sleepless hours -- a sign of its effectiveness.
This one is probably best seen as a rental. From the looks of things, it shouldn't take that long to make it to the video store, either.
I don't mind admitting that the movie, for me, became about Courtney Love. That's the effect she has...
What might have been a tight little thriller is ruined by excess plot contrivances and a badly bungled over-the-top conclusion.
The movie is so contrived, nonsensical and formulaic that, come to think of it, the day-old shelf would be a more appropriate location to store it.
Feels like the faceless product of a Hollywood screenwriting computer program, one that provide everything but personality and a brain.
Adapting his novel 24 Hours, first-time screenwriter Greg Iles has neglected to include in his plotting a sense of impending doom, a lack of purpose that isn't helped by the arid filmmaking style of director Luis Mandoki.
Never engaging, utterly predictable and completely void of anything remotely interesting or suspenseful.
Latest News for Trapped
August 19, 2005:
In Other News...Eminem, Courtney Love, Jenny McCarthy and Mini-Me
Today's intelligence round-up brings stories of rehabilitation and heartbreak, as your favorite celeb-watchers break news of drug-addiction and divorce…beginning with rap... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.

The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



