Kidnappings are happening daily, all over the world. Some people are kidnapped for ransom, while some people are kidnapped for other personal reasons. No matter what the reason is, crimes like these destroy families, not knowing what happened to their loved ones. Just imagine not knowing if your family member is still alive, and you have no idea how to find him / her ? I don´t think anyone can understand how painful this must be, going through such a devastating nightmare. When it comes to films that takes on the subject of abductions / kidnappings, we have some really good titles to choose between. One of the films that instantly comes to my mind, is the 1993 psychological thriller The Vanishing ( known as Spårlöst Försvunnen in Sweden ). Directed by George Sluizer ( who also directed the original film Spoorloos, wich The Vanishing is a remake of ), this film tells the story of Jeff Harriman ( Kiether Sutherland ) who goes on vacation with his girlfriend Diane Shaver ( Sandra Bullock ). While stopping at a gas station, Diane simply disappears. Jeff is completely devastated, not knowing where she is, or what happened to her. 1 year go by, and Jeff never stops trying to look for answers, he needs to know the truth. His new girlfriend Rita ( Nancy Travis ) finds out that Jeff is planning to write a book about Diane, not telling her about it. She confronts him about it, and he confesses that he can´t stop looking for answers. The Vanishing is not only a well made psychological thriller, but the whole cast deliver great characters, and i really enjoy the plot. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, especially that brings up abductions / kidnappings, you should see The Vanishing. About 2 months ago i came across a review of a Shrudder film called The Boy Behind The Door, that seemed to be a psychological thriller about kidnapping. Exactly what i needed this autumn, so i decided to give this film a chance. Is this one of the best thrillers to watch right now, or is The Boy Behind The Door as exciting as watching 2022 PDC World Darts Championship for 6 hours straight?
Best friends Bobby ( Lonnie Chavis ) and Kevin ( Ezra Dewey ) are playing outside and are suddenly kidnapped in a forest area. Bobby wakes up in a trunk of a car, manage to get out and get insdide the large house. Here he finds out that his friend Kevin is locked inside another room, and need to find a way to get him out. Not knowing why they are kidnapped, the only thing on their mind right now is to escape.
Good thrillers is not something you see very often these days, at least not thrillers who manage to deliver some positive surprises. The Boy Behind The Door may not be a very original thriller, but since we are talking about a kidnapping thriller, there are details in this film that works surprisingly good. Let us begin with the psychological twists and turns in this film. Even if we have seen similar ideas done before, the one thing that especially works unexpectedly good is the psychological tension, that this film keeps building up. You can actually feel the fear through the children, and this is a very important detail to make this film more effective, as a thriller. We have to talk about the child actors in this film, Lonnie Chavis and Ezra Dewey. Both of them give solid performances, considering their young age. To be able to play children in fear, is not easy. You have to be able to capture that feeling, and make it look realistic. I think they both do a great job portraying the kidnapped victims, so i am really looking forward to see their bright future as actors. Actress Kristin Bauer van Straten ( who fans of the TV series True Blood will recognize ) delivers the best acting performance in this film, as one of the kidnappers. She is really disturbing to watch, and Kristin does a really good job portraying such a dangerous personality. I especially love some of the ax scenes, where she is so good i can almost start applauding infront of the TV ( that does not happen very often, trust me ). The plot that takes place at the big house, may not be very complicated, and i am completely fine with that. I think a film such as this one does not need to make things too complicated. If you manage the psychological twists to work, that is more important than the location itself. If you are worried that we wont have any brutal kills, we do have some cozy scenes in here. Directors David Charbonier and Justin Powell deliever one of the better thrillers of this year, and they are clearly inspired by old school psychological thrillers, wich i really appreciate. The Boy Behind The Door is exactly what we needed this autumn to watch on VOD, DVD or Blu Ray, so i suggest you pick up a copy and prepare for a popcorn evening. I promise you, you will feel inspired to get your own axe after watching this film.
Rating: DDD
If you live in Scandinavia, you can find The Boy Behind The Door from Njutafilms on DVD on the following link:
http://www.njutafilms.com/the-boy-behind-the-door/
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