[Screen It]

 

"TRAPPED"
(2002) (Kevin Bacon, Charlize Theron) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Mild Heavy Extreme Extreme Extreme
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Extreme None Extreme
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy None Extreme Heavy Extreme


QUICK TAKE:
Suspense/Thriller: When a trio of criminals, who think they've masterminded the perfect crime, kidnaps their daughter, a married couple decides to fight back and take matters into their own hands.
PLOT:
Karen (CHARLIZE THERON) and Will Jennings (STUART TOWNSEND) seem to have the perfect life. Living in a lakefront home with their six-year-old daughter, Abby (DAKOTA FANNING), things seem going their way. Yet, when Will flies off to attend an anesthesiologist conference, their world is suddenly turned upside down.

That's because Joe (KEVIN BACON) and Cheryl Hickey (COURTNEY LOVE), along with Joe's cousin, Marvin (PRUITT TAYLOR VINCE), set into motion what they believe to be a perfect crime. With Cheryl at Will's conference to keep dibs on him, Joe kidnaps Abby and sends her off with Marvin who takes her to a remote cabin in the woods.

Their 24-hour plan is to force Karen and Will to ante up a million dollar ransom in exchange for Abby's life. If Joe or Cheryl doesn't call in every 30 minutes, Marvin is to kill the girl. Although he's not happy about having to do that or the situation in general, he's willing and able to follow his orders.

As the plan continues with Joe and Karen, Cheryl and Will, and Marvin and Abby in different locations, the Jennings try to figure out how to save their daughter. In doing so and upon discovering the real motivations behind the kidnappers' actions, Karen and Will set out to turn the tables on the abductors and rescue Abby any way they can.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Those who are fans of suspense/thrillers or are fans of someone in the cast just might.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For violence, language and sexual content.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • CHARLIZE THERON plays a textile designer who finds herself in difficult situation when Joe kidnaps her daughter and then hangs out with her for 24 hours. She uses strong profanity and then takes matters into her own hands in an effort to free her daughter and punish the villain.
  • STUART TOWNSEND plays her anesthesiologist husband who's away when their daughter is kidnapped, but then finds himself in the unwelcome company of Cheryl. He likewise takes matters into his own hands to free their daughter and punish the villains.
  • DAKOTA FANNING plays their young daughter who the villains kidnap.
  • KEVIN BACON plays a married man who, along with his wife and cousin, kidnaps various young kids for ransom. He uses strong profanity, hits various women and sexually comes on to Karen and expects her to have sex with him.
  • COURTNEY LOVE plays his wife who's his partner in crime, threatens Will with a gun and uses strong profanity.
  • PRUITT TAYLOR VINCE plays Joe's somewhat dimwitted cousin who follows his orders to a T, including preparing to kill the girl if he doesn't receive a call every 30 minutes, but isn't happy about the situation in general.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a quick look at the content found in this R-rated suspense/thriller. Profanity consists of at least 62 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Sexually related dialogue is present, while a husband and wife separately come on to another wife and husband. One such couple appears ready to engage in female to male oral sex, but that purposefully turns into a violent encounter. Various women are seen in revealing attire.

    Violence includes a person being shot to death, another being shot and wounded, people hitting, striking or struggling with others (including men to women), and various people threatening others, with the latter including a young girl who's kidnapped by a trio with extreme bad attitudes. Property damage is also present. Those scenes and others may be suspenseful or disturbing to viewers (particularly the kidnapped child put into harm's way material).

    Some of the violence has bloody results, while various characters drink and tense family material is present in the form of parents worrying about their abducted children. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • A person introducing Will at a reception (where people have wine in front of them) comments on Will researching the sedative properties of Guinness (beer) in the past.
  • Joe has a beer.
  • Cheryl has a glass of wine next to the bathtub she's in.
  • Joe says he's going to open some wine and we then see him finishing his glass but note that Karen hasn't touched any of hers. Later, however, she downs most of that in one gulp (while preparing to make a move against him).
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • We see many bruises on Cheryl's body (from past beatings by Joe).
  • Joe's leg is quite bloody (and he has blood on his hand) after he's cut there.
  • We see Karen working on Joe's leg wound (bloody with stitches).
  • Karen has some bloody cuts on her head, as does Marvin, after a multiple vehicle accident.
  • We see some bloody bullet holes in a man's shirt as well as some blood from his mouth.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Joe, Cheryl and Marvin have extreme bad attitudes for kidnapping various young kids for ransom and threatening to kill them.
  • We see many bruises on Cheryl's body (from past beatings by Joe), and he then comes on to and expects sex from Karen.
  • Joe punches a woman and then throws her into her trunk while stealing her car.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence," Joe sexually coming on to Karen, as well as the overall child abduction and young girl endangered angles might be suspenseful or disturbing to viewers (with most of those scenes accompanied by suspenseful music).
  • Joe suddenly grabs Abby and puts a cloth over her mouth that renders her unconscious. Once Karen realizes she's gone and encounters Joe, she races through the house and finds a pistol that she then points directly at Joe (but he talks her down).
  • Abby begins to have a progressively worsening asthma attack and Marvin starts to panic about what to do.
  • After briefly being reunited, Abby and Karen are separated again and the little girl freaks out, causing Karen to do the same. She runs up and grabs at Marvin, but Joe grabs her by the hair and drags her back to their vehicle.
  • Tensions rise when a neighbor, Joan, shows up at the house late at night and Karen must lie about Joe's presence.
  • Abby escapes from Marvin and then tries to hide from him in the woods at night, but a ringing telephone gives away her location and he finds and grabs her.
  • Karen threatens to castrate Joe while holding a scalpel to his scrotum (we don't see anything explicit) and he then becomes panicked when Marvin doesn't answer the phone at the regularly scheduled time. Both this and the above scene play out simultaneously.
  • Cheryl holds a gun on Will (but we know it's empty) and he then injects some sort of paralyzing agent into her body (saying that she'll know what it feels like to die). It first makes her convulse and then renders her paralyzed (but conscious of what he's doing). Seeing that she's going to die from this, he injects her with a counteragent (via a needle into her neck) that brings her back.
  • Joe won't make his 30-minute call and thus Marvin prepares to follow the orders of killing Abby. This plays out over a minute or so of tension where he's starting to have his hands around the girl's neck just as the phone rings.
  • In order not to give away their location, Will must cut the engine of his seaplane while he or Cheryl talks to Joe on a cell phone. The plane nosedives during these moments and he's barely able to restart the engine and pull the plane out of the dive before it crashes into a body of water and then into some trees.
  • A seaplane lands on a highway and its wing crashes into a camper and all sorts of damage ensues. The occupants of the plane get out just as a tractor trailer (that they barely avoid with it passing over one of them) crashes into it and both explode.
  • The several-minute climatic finale of the film might also be tense or suspenseful to some viewers.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handguns/Scalpel: Used to threaten, wound or kill people. See "Violence" for details.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "It's really f*cking easy," "Whatever the f*ck you want," "Do you want to f*ck this up?" "You're one ballsy m*therf*cking lady," "You f*ck," "F*ck you," "F*cked up," "What the f*ck /is that/are you talking about?" "How the f*ck do I know?" "You f*cking cut me," "You f*cking missed," "Open this f*cking door," "I don't f*cking know," "Where the f*ck else would he be?" "F*ck it," "F*cking asshole," "Shut the f*ck up," "F*cking great," "Are you f*cking with me?" "I f*cking need you," "Like I give a sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Shut up," "You son of a bitch," "Damn near zero," "Crappy," "I'm a g*ddamn genius" and "Bitch."
  • It's possible the film could inspire kids to think about kidnapping or harming young kids.
  • Joe has tattoos on his belly and back.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 62 "f" words (2 used with "mother"), 9 "s" words, 2 asses (both used with "hole"), 1 crap, 1 damn, 1 S.O.B., 4 uses of "G-damn," 3 each of "Jesus," "Oh God" and "Oh my God," 2 each of "God" and "Oh Jesus" and 1 use each of "Christ," "For Christ's sakes," "For God's sakes," "Jesus Christ" and "Swear to God" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Joe mocks Karen by saying that hookers say, "Get the payment up front." He then takes her by the arm and says that he'd like to see the bedroom. We later see him on top of her (in a threatening rather than sexual fashion), and he wonders if Will knows what he's got (meaning in Karen).
  • Cheryl shows some cleavage and then comes on to Will saying, "I got hot just watching you." He says that he's married and she says that they can do things that don't count (since they'd be things she'd be doing and not him). She then kisses him on the neck and acts sultry, but he turns her down.
  • During a struggle with Will, Cheryl's dress is torn open and we see her in her bra (that shows cleavage).
  • After seeing many bruises on Cheryl's body (from past beatings by Joe), Will asks her what happened and she says that she likes it rough (meaning sex). He doesn't believe that, however, saying she didn't get that from fun. He then brings her a robe and she then removes the rest of her dress and bra in favor of the robe (but we don't see anything explicit during the change beyond the top of her chest).
  • Talking about something else but dropping some innuendo, Joe tells Karen that a little foreplay never hurt anybody.
  • Joe smells Karen's hair and runs his hands along her neck. When a neighbor suddenly shows up, Karen (forced to hide what's really occurring) lies and implies that she's having an affair with Joe. The neighbor then admits that Joe is kind of scary, but that she likes that. After she leaves, Joe states that the woman is still watching them from the outside, and so forces Karen to kiss him (to keep up the ruse).
  • We see Cheryl in a hotel tub taking a bubble bath and the bubbles cover the shape of her breasts above the water line.
  • Holding an old shirt, Joe comments on Karen and Will "doing it" (having sex) and then says that she probably wears that shirt afterwards. He then suggestively runs his hand down her clothed back, commenting that they're not going to have any problems "playing house tonight."
  • Later, he calls her into the bedroom, kisses her and feels her clothed butt. She wonders if his wife knows this is part of his plan and he responds that he has no secrets from Cheryl. He then runs his hand under the strap of her top, but she stops him, saying that he should let her do it in the bathroom. He then wonders how a woman who looks like her can be shy. She reluctantly and disgustedly goes along with all of that.
  • We then see Karen in that top and her panties and she slides a scalpel down between her buttocks by lowering the top of her panties (hiding it there to later use on Joe). Meanwhile, we see him remove his shirt in the bedroom. She then comes out and asks what he wants to do. He tells her to say what she and Will do (sexually) and that they'll do the opposite (adding that he'd be surprised if Will knew what to do with her).
  • Will then kisses her bare belly, runs his hand along her crotch (she's still in her panties) and then runs his hand up under her top and holds her breast. He then runs his hands along the top of her panties and kisses her belly again. She then pushes him down on the bed and begins working on undoing his pants (he says, "You're not like the other moms"). She pulls off his pants and tells him to close his eyes, but he says he has to watch. She then slowly kisses down his bare chest toward his crotch, and runs her thumb into his mouth. As he's on the edge of the bed and reclining back, she's between his legs and still moving down his body (but we don't see anything explicit). She then pulls the above scalpel, holds it to his crotch (not seen), and says that she'll take his "equipment" off so easily he'd barely feel it. We later see him holding just a towel in front of his crotch.
  • We see Cheryl in her bra.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • A kidnap victim's mother worries about her son and is then reunited with him.
  • A couple still reacts to the death of their child two years ago.
  • Karen and Will worry about Abby after she's kidnapped.
  • Abby worries that her father has been killed (he hasn't).
  • A wife reacts to her husband's death.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Child abductions.
  • Asthma.
  • VIOLENCE
  • A kidnap victim's mother struggles with Joe in a parked car and he grabs her by the face to make her calm down.
  • Joe suddenly grabs Abby and puts a cloth over her mouth that renders her unconscious.
  • Karen aims a gun at Joe and threatens to shoot him, but doesn't.
  • Joe grabs Karen by the throat when she tries to get the phone.
  • Cheryl pulls a gun on Joe and he slams the door on her arm, causing the silencer-equipped gun to fire (but no one is hurt).
  • Joe is on top of Karen on the bed with his hand over her mouth while talking on the phone.
  • Karen runs up and grabs at Marvin, but Joe grabs her by the hair and drags her back to their vehicle. The two then struggle in the car and Joe slams her back and holds a gun to her head.
  • Will backhands Cheryl and the two then struggle. He throws her to the floor and then holds a gun on her.
  • After hearing of the above, Joe talks to Will on the phone and then lets him hear him punch Karen in the face (which we see).
  • Karen threatens to castrate Joe while holding a scalpel to his scrotum (we don't see anything explicit). He eventually slaps her face and kicks her backwards, but not before she manages to slice his leg.
  • Cheryl holds a gun on Will (but we know it's empty) and he then injects some sort of paralyzing agent into her body (saying that she'll know what it feels like to die). It first makes her convulse and then renders her paralyzed (but conscious of what he's doing). Seeing that she's going to die from this, he injects her with a counteragent that brings her back.
  • Joe punches a woman and then throws her into her trunk while stealing her car.
  • Karen repeatedly punches into Joe's leg wound and their car goes out of control. He elbows her and their car smashes into another car. The two continue struggling and the car goes out of control, slams into a median embankment and rolls over.
  • A tractor trailer truck smashes into the back of a pickup truck (by accident) causing the latter to go off the road and smash into some large rocks (injuring the driver).
  • A seaplane lands on a highway and its wing crashes into a camper and all sorts of damage ensues. The occupants of the plane get out just as the tractor trailer crashes into it and both explode.
  • A man holds a gun to another man's head, but a third man shoots the first man in the leg.
  • A person hits another person on the head with a tire iron, but while the first is distracted, the second pulls out a hidden gun. Another man then kicks that man in the head and struggles with him over the gun. The first person then shoots the second man twice in the chest, killing him.



  • Reviewed September 20, 2002 / Posted September 21, 2002

    Other new and recent reviews include:

    [Around the World in 80 Days] [Family Camp] [Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]

    Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
    By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

    All Rights Reserved,
    ©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.