Plot
Three hooded Eastern-European criminals burst into a home in a Madrid gated community, holding the family hostage in its own home, and forcing the father to empty his credit cards.

Release Year: 2010

Rating: 6.4/10 (1,958 voted)

Critic's Score: 49/100

Director: Miguel Ángel Vivas

Stars: Fernando Cayo, Manuela Vellés, Ana Wagener

Storyline
Three hooded Eastern-European criminals burst into a home in a Madrid gated community, holding the family hostage in its own home, and forcing the father to empty his credit cards.

Writers: Miguel Ángel Vivas, Javier García

Cast:
Fernando Cayo - Jaime
Manuela Vellés - Isa
Ana Wagener - Marta
Guillermo Barrientos - Asaltante Joven
Dritan Biba - Asaltante Jefe
Martijn Kuiper - Asaltante Fuerte
Xoel Yáñez - César
Luis Iglesia - Javier (as Luis Iglesia B.)
Pepo Suevos - Guardia de Seguridad
Eduardo Torroja - Conductor
César Díaz - Encargado
Candela Fernández - Mujer Cajero
Eduardo Gómez Bassi - Encargado 2

Taglines: Take your last breath.

Official Website: Official site [Japan] |

Release Date: 17 June 2011

Filming Locations: Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain

User Review

very tense, ruthlessly efficient, violent, and quite brutal thriller

Rating: 8/10

Each year in Europe there are some 3,000,000 home invasions, many of them violent. This brutal but engrossing new thriller from Spanish filmmaker Miguel Angel Vivas (the 2002 crime thriller Reflections) depicts one such home invasion with unflinching authenticity. It makes films like The Strangers. Rec, or Michael Haneke's bleak Funny Games seem tame by comparison! Jaime (Fernando Cayo) and his family have just moved into their new house in a gated community on the outskirts of Madrid. There are already tensions within the family due to the stress of the move, when three masked men burst into the house and take them hostage. They terrorise the family, then take Jaime to an ATM machine to withdraw as much money as he can. Meanwhile, back at home his wife and daughter slowly begin to fight back against their tormentors. Vivas effectively uses hand-held cameras, long takes, and split screen sequences to bring a sense of urgency to the material. Kidnapped stamps this exciting young director as one to watch! The action plays out in real time and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Vivas makes the audience feel as trapped as the family here, and at times the film is quite claustrophobic. At a brisk 70 minutes, Kidnapped (aka Secuestrados or Hostages) is also very tense, ruthlessly efficient, violent, and quite brutal at times. Its finale is nasty and quite unexpected, and may leave some in the audience feeling a little cheated.

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