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"CAPTIVITY" (2007) (Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Extreme Extreme *Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Heavy Extreme Minor Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Minor Heavy Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: A famous model must endure a sadistic killer's tortuous games after he kidnaps her. PLOT: Jennifer (ELISHA CUTHBERT) is a famous model whose face adorns various advertisements, meaning she's also drawn the attention of Ben (PRUIT TAYLOR VINCE), a serial murderer who, with his accomplice, enjoys torturing his victims via various means before finally killing them. Jennifer discovers that after she's unknowingly drugged at a club and then wakes up in a basement cell with no way out. Upset, she thrashes the place, only to draw the ire of the killer who quickly puts her in her place. After a period of torture and terror, she discovers another apparent victim, Gary (DANIEL GILLIES), in the walled cell next to hers, with the two scraping away enough paint on the glass wall separating them that at least they can see and converse with each other. From that point on, Jennifer tries to figure out what, if anything, she can do to survive, all while dealing with the killer's sick mind games and bonding with Gary who's determined to help her. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into what's called "torture porn" and/or are fans of Cuthbert, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong violence, torture, pervasive terror, grisly images, language and some sexual material. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ELISHA CUTHBERT plays a famous model who ends up being kidnapped, must contend with torture and terror, uses strong profanity, has sex with Gary, and ends up killing the bad guys. DANIEL GILLIES plays another apparent victim who similarly wants out, has sex with Jennifer, and uses strong profanity. SPOILER ALERT: He turns out to be conspiring with the killer -- all stemming from child abuse long ago --- and kills several people. PRUIT TAYLOR VINCE plays the sadistic killer who enjoys playing mind games and torturing his victims, and drinks wine while observing them via video surveillance. 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 brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 14 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, as is a sexual encounter seen from various angles (including on surveillance monitors), showing movement, partial nudity (a male bare butt) and featuring related sounds. Still photos after the fact show the same between that couple, as well as that man and other women. A woman is seen fully nude from the side (albeit, slightly out of focus) as she changes clothes. Violence consists of various murders by various means (gunshots, knives, various forms of acid, etc.) as well as various scenes of torture and the apparent killing of a dog via a shotgun blast. Many of those scenes and other moments have extremely bloody and gory results, and all of that as well as various scenes of peril, cat and mouse moments, and the like might be unsettling, suspenseful or scary, particularly for younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material and mayhem. The killers and torturers obviously have bad attitudes, as does a mother in a flashback for apparently sexually abusing her young son (leading to tense family material). Some of the behavior may be enticing for some troubled kids to imitate, while the killer drinks wine while watching his victims, the aforementioned abusive mother is either drunk and/or high in the past, and used cigarettes are seen around her. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, varying amounts of camera movement occur in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Jennifer orders a martini at a club where others also drink. The killer then spikes Jennifer's drink with some sort of knockout drug. That makes her woozy, with the camera shot showing her distorted point of view. Several scenes feature the killer having wine while watching his victims on surveillance monitors. We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom who appears to be drunk and/or high while lying on a bed. BLOOD/GORE We see that the killer has encased his victim in plaster, put a funnel into his mouth, and then lets what appears to be battery acid run through a tube to that and into his mouth. The victim struggles and writhes but can't escape, with another tube from the same mouth carrying blood that pours out of the end. Jennifer comes to and finds herself strapped down, with a video monitor in front of her. On it, she sees a previous victim who has acid from a showerhead fall down onto her face, causing it be grossly blistered and bloody. Jennifer then sees that she's in the same predicament, but can't free herself when liquid starts to flow from the showerhead above her. We later see her with bloody bandages around her face, but when she remove them, she only finds one bloody cut, and that turns out to be fake (she pulls it off). Jennifer finds a bloody and broken-off fingernail. We see a severed and bloody lower leg and foot in a fridge. The killer then drops an eyeball (with optic nerve), ear, other body parts, and lots of blood into a blender. He then mixes that into a thick pulp, holds Jennifer's nose, puts a funnel into her mouth, and thus force-feeds her all of that bloody mess. After that, Jennifer has some blood around her mouth. The killer then takes a swab, dabs that off her, and then applies that blood to his lips like lipstick. We see a live rat in a crawl space, as well as what looks like a dead and somewhat bloody/gory one. Jennifer and Gary come across several dead and very bloody/gory bodies. Jennifer comes to, finding herself strapped to a chair with a shotgun aimed at her, and another aimed at her small pet dog, held in a small cage above her. She reads a message that indicates she has 30 seconds to decide between her life and that of her dog, with a nearby digital clock then starting to count down. At the end, Jennifer says she's sorry and pulls the trigger. The blast sends blood falling down onto her head, while a view of the cage shows fur, blood, and guts all over the cage. A later scene shows the dog alive, but that appears to be a video feed, with her reading the words "Tricked you." We see video footage of a bloody torture victim, including blood running down from her hand where a fingernail appears to have been removed. Gary and the killer briefly fight and struggle over a shotgun, but the footage is dark and shaky, so it's hard to tell what happens. We do hear a shot, and then see a little blood on the floor as the killer drags Gary out of the room. We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom in bed with him when he's just a boy (both are clothed). She's spooning him from behind, commenting about loving him when she touches him, and knowing how it's not great for him, but that it makes her feel good (heavily implying sexual abuse). Moments later, he then suddenly and repeatedly stabs her in the gut with a knife, bloodying and killing her. The killer takes a pair of pliers and is about to use them on Jennifer, but then puts them in Gary's mouth and yanks out a tooth (after some tugging), with blood on it and more pouring out of his mouth. We see another flashback view of young Gary killing his mom by stabbing her (again with bloody results). Gary has several bloody knuckles. The killer slaps his accomplice on the back of the head. The accomplice then stabs the killer through the front of his robe, seemingly killing him (we see a little bit of blood on the robe around the knife that's still stuck there). A killer shoots two cops dead with a shotgun (with bloody results). A bloody and mortally wounded cop stumbles over toward Jennifer, but she thinks he's a killer, so she bashes him three times with a baseball bat, presumably killing him. Gary has a cut on his face. Jennifer shoots a killer three times with a shotgun, blowing him backwards, all with bloody results (including the first shot to his clothed crotch). We see quick views of all of the dead and bloody victims. DISRESPECTFUL//BAD ATTITUDE The killers obviously have extreme bad attitudes for their actions (kidnapping, torturing, and killing others). We see some mice in a small container being gassed (they start stumbling about). Jennifer comes to, finding herself strapped to a chair with a shotgun aimed at her, and another aimed at her small pet dog, held in a small cage above her. She reads a message that indicates she has 30 seconds to decide between her life and that of her dog, resulting in her killing it. We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom in bed with him when he's just a boy (both are clothed). She's spooning him from behind, commenting about loving him when she touches him, and knowing how it's not great for him, but that it makes her feel good (heavily implying sexual abuse). Moments later, he then suddenly and repeatedly stabs her in the gut with a knife, bloodying and killing her. The killer suddenly gropes at Jennifer's clothed chest. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful, or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. We see a needle being inserted into skin. We see that the killer has encased his victim in plaster, put a funnel into his mouth, and then lets what appears to be battery acid run through a tube to that and into his mouth. The victim struggles and writhes but can't escape, with another tube from the same mouth carrying blood that pours out of the end. The killer then takes a large mallet and strikes the victim on the head (barely seen), presumably killing him. Jennifer walks to her car at night, hears sounds from somewhere in the dark, and we see the killer videotaping her (she's unaware of that latter part). Jennifer panics after finding herself trapped in a basement cell with no apparent way out. Jennifer comes to and finds herself strapped down, with a video monitor in front of her. On it, she sees a previous victim who has acid from a showerhead fall down onto her face, causing it be grossly blistered and bloody. Jennifer then sees that she's in the same predicament, but can't free herself when liquid starts to flow from the showerhead above her. We later see her with bloody bandages around her face, but when she remove them, she only finds one bloody cut, and that turns out to be fake (she pulls it off). Jennifer tries to escape through a vent shaft in the ceiling, but must then avoid a rotary saw blade that cuts down through that near her. She's then grabbed from above, with a needle inserted into her hand, rendering her unconscious. We see insect larvae and/or similar bugs in a jar, and think the killer is going to make Jennifer drink a ground-up blend of that from a blender. We see a severed and bloody lower leg and foot in a fridge. The killer then drops an eyeball (with optic nerve), ear, other body parts, and lots of blood into a blender. He then mixes that into a thick pulp, holds Jennifer's nose, puts a funnel into her mouth, and thus force-feeds her all of that bloody mess. We see some mice in a small container being gassed (they start stumbling about). A retractable drawer nearly snaps shut on Jennifer's hand when she reaches inside it. Jennifer comes to in a large glass-encased room that starts filling with sand. She panics, especially when she's eventually up toward the top with not much room to go, but Gary then rescues her. We see a live rat in a crawl space, as well as what looks like a dead and somewhat bloody/gory one. As Jennifer and Gary try to escape, the killer fires various shotgun blasts through a door. They start a car and ram a garage door, getting out on the second try, but end up under some sort of tarp. Gary's apparently unconscious, and some knockout gas then flows into the car, rendering Jennifer unconscious. Jennifer comes to, finding herself strapped to a chair with a shotgun aimed at her, and another aimed at her small pet dog, held in a small cage above her. She reads a message that indicates she has 30 seconds to decide between her life and that of her dog, with a nearby digital clock then starting to count down. At the end, Jennifer says she's sorry and pulls the trigger. The blast sends blood falling down onto her head, while a view of the cage shows fur, blood, and guts all over the cage. A later scene shows the dog alive, but that appears to be a video feed, with her reading the words "Tricked you." We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom in bed with him when he's just a boy (both are clothed). She's spooning him from behind, commenting about loving him when she touches him, and knowing how it's not great for him, but that it makes her feel good (heavily implying sexual abuse). Moments later, he then suddenly and repeatedly stabs her in the gut with a knife, bloodying and killing her. The killer takes a pair of pliers and is about to use them on Jennifer, but then puts them in Gary's mouth and yanks out a tooth (after some tugging), with blood on it and more pouring out of his mouth. A bloody and mortally wounded cop stumbles over toward Jennifer, but she thinks he's a killer, so she bashes him three times with a baseball bat, presumably killing him. The wounded killer attacks Jennifer and tries to strangle her on the floor, but she stabs him repeatedly, presumably killing him. Jennifer tries to flee from the house, but finds the windows and doors locked or barred. She then encounters the killer who she once thought was another victim like her. A killer hacks through a door with a large kitchen cleaver while pursuing Jennifer who runs through various parts of the house to try to elude him. He later has a switchblade while pursuing her. Jennifer aims a shotgun at a killer, but forgets to cock it before pulling the trigger. He then grabs the gun and shows her, blasting a shot through the ceiling. He grabs her by the hair, throws her to a bed, and holds that shotgun on her. The two then struggle over that, she hits him and retrieves it, and then aims it at him, shooting him three times, blowing him backwards, all with bloody results (including the first shot to his clothed crotch). GUNS/WEAPONS Shotguns/Knives/Handguns: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound, or kill others. See "Violence" for details. We see what looks like a stun gun near a victim. A cop tries to pull his handgun just as the killer shoots him. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you," "You f*ck," "Absolutely no f*cking sense of time," "Get the f*ck out of here," "Sick f*cker," "You're so f*cking beautiful," "Another night of hero sex?" "You're inside her, I'm inside her," "You bastard," "I flaked out a couple of times," "You sick, twisted freak," "You sick bastard," "You sick piece of crap" and "Are you nuts?" The various forms of torture - listed under "Violence" -- might be enticing for some troubled kids to try to imitate (and include the maiming and killing of people, as well as the killing of a small dog). The killer spikes Jennifer's drink with some sort of knockout drug. Jennifer wears a slightly cropped top that shows her bare midriff and lower bare back on several occasions. We see some mice in a small container being gassed (they start stumbling about). JUMP SCENES The shadow of someone suddenly passes behind Jennifer in a public restroom. A hand suddenly puts a cloth over Jennifer's mouth and nose, rendering her unconscious. A showerhead behind Jennifer suddenly lets loose with water, startling her. A TV suddenly comes on, with the volume up loud. The killer grabs Jennifer by the head. An eyeball is suddenly on the other side of a hole in a wall. The killer suddenly shines a flashlight at Jennifer. Something suddenly falls on Jennifer. A retractable drawer nearly snaps shut on Jennifer's hand when she reaches inside it. The killer suddenly puts a cloth over Jennifer's face, rendering her unconscious. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has a lyric that sounded like "farting like a dog." PROFANITY At least 14 "f" words, 3 "s" words, 2 damns, 1 ass (used with "hole"), 1 crap, 6 uses of "Oh God," 2 of "Oh my God" and 1 use of "My God." SEX/NUDITY We see Jennifer on the cover of a magazine wearing an outfit that shows the side of her exposed breast (but no nipple). The camera focuses on the thong-covered bottom of a woman in fishnet stockings dancing at a club. We also see that or another woman in similarly revealing attire (a bikini-type top that shows cleavage, etc.). Jennifer wears a slightly cropped top that shows her bare midriff and lower bare back on several occasions. Jennifer occasionally shows some cleavage in her top (quite a bit whenever she leans over). We see a full nude view of Jennifer from the side, slightly out of focus, as she changes clothes, but her bare breasts and the side of her bare butt are seen. We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom in bed with him when he's just a boy (both are clothed). She's spooning him from behind, commenting about touching him, and knowing how it's not great for him, but makes her feel good (heavily implying sexual abuse). We then see a view of her lying on her back in bed alone, with her legs spread in her shorts, but nothing explicit is seen. The killer suddenly gropes at Jennifer's clothed chest. Gary and Jennifer passionately kiss and we then see various views (from various angles, including on surveillance monitors) of them having sex, including a partial bare butt view of him thrusting between her legs. During this, we see the hooded killer walk in and watch them. We see the killer's bare chest when he's in the bathtub. The killer asks his accomplice if it's going to be another night of "hero sex." The accomplice then asks if the killer misses experiencing that, but the killer says he does experience it, adding that whenever "you're inside her, I'm inside her." Jennifer finds fetish type catalogues made by the killers for each of their victims. Hers shows photos of her having sex with Gary (as well as a drawing that shows her bare breast), while others show photos of him having sex with other female victims (mostly him on top, with bare skin showing, but nothing seemingly explicit in the split-second views). SMOKING Used cigarette butts are seen in a flashback. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom in bed with him when he's just a boy (both are clothed). She's spooning him from behind, commenting about loving him when she touches him, and knowing how it's not great for him, but that it makes her feel good (heavily implying sexual abuse). Moments later, he then suddenly and repeatedly stabs her in the gut with a knife, bloodying and killing her. A man stabs his brother in the chest, thinking he's killed him. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT What makes viewers like these sorts of "torture porn" movies. What motivates serial killers. Sexual abuse by a parent. Models and advertising. VIOLENCE We see that the killer has encased his victim in plaster, put a funnel into his mouth, and then lets what appears to be battery acid run through a tube to that and into his mouth. The victim struggles and writhes but can't escape, with another tube from the same mouth carrying blood that pours out of the end. The killer then takes a large mallet and strikes the victim on the head (barely seen), presumably killing him. A hand suddenly puts a cloth over Jennifer's mouth and nose, rendering her unconscious. Mad about what's occurred, Jennifer throws a drinking glass against a wall and then proceeds to trash the place. In response, the killer sends some sort of knockout gas into the room that renders her unconscious. Jennifer comes to and finds herself strapped down, with a video monitor in front of her. On it, she sees a previous victim who has acid from a showerhead fall down onto her face, causing it be grossly blistered and bloody. Jennifer then sees that she's in the same predicament, but can't free herself when liquid starts to flow from the showerhead above her. We later see her with bloody bandages around her face, but when she remove them, she only finds one bloody cut, and that turns out to be fake (she pulls it off). The killer uses bright lights and loud sounds to torture Jennifer. Jennifer tries to escape through a vent shaft in the ceiling, but must then avoid a rotary saw blade that cuts down through that near her. She's then grabbed from above, with a needle inserted into her hand, rendering her unconscious. The killer grabs Jennifer by the head. We see a severed and bloody lower leg and foot in a fridge. The killer then drops an eyeball (with optic nerve), ear, other body parts, and lots of blood into a blender. He then mixes that into a thick pulp, holds Jennifer's nose, puts a funnel into her mouth, and thus force-feeds her all of that bloody mess. We see some mice in a small container being gassed (they start stumbling about). The killer suddenly puts a cloth over Jennifer's face, rendering her unconscious. Jennifer and Gary come across several dead and very bloody/gory bodies (the results of previous violence). As Jennifer and Gary try to escape, the killer fires various shotgun blasts through a door. They start a car and ram a garage door, getting out on the second try, but end up under some sort of tarp. Gary's apparently unconscious, and some knockout gas then flows into the car, rendering Jennifer unconscious. Jennifer comes to, finding herself strapped to a chair with a shotgun aimed at her, and another aimed at her small pet dog, held in a small cage above her. She reads a message that indicates she has 30 seconds to decide between her life and that of her dog, with a nearby digital clock then starting to count down. At the end, Jennifer says she's sorry and pulls the trigger. The blast sends blood falling down onto her head, while a view of the cage shows fur, blood, and guts all over the cage. A later scene shows the dog alive, but that appears to be a video feed, with her reading the words "Tricked you." Gary and the killer briefly fight and struggle over a shotgun, but the footage is dark and shaky, so it's hard to tell what happens. We do hear a shot, and then see a little blood on the floor as the killer drags Gary out of the room. We see old home movie footage of Gary's mom in bed with him when he's just a boy (both are clothed). She's spooning him from behind, commenting about loving him when she touches him, and knowing how it's not great for him, but that it makes her feel good (heavily implying sexual abuse). Moments later, he then suddenly and repeatedly stabs her in the gut with a knife, bloodying and killing her. The killer takes a pair of pliers and is about to use them on Jennifer, but then puts them in Gary's mouth and yanks out a tooth (after some tugging), with blood on it and more pouring out of his mouth. We see another flashback view of young Gary killing his mom by stabbing her (again with bloody results). The killer slaps his accomplice on the back of the head. The accomplice then stabs the killer through the front of his robe, seemingly killing him (we see a little bit of blood on the robe around the knife that's still stuck there). A killer shoots two cops dead with a shotgun (with bloody results). A bloody and mortally wounded cop stumbles over toward Jennifer, but she thinks he's a killer, so she bashes him three times with a baseball bat, presumably killing him. The wounded killer attacks Jennifer and tries to strangle her on the floor, but she stabs him repeatedly, presumably killing him. Jennifer sprays household cleaner into a killer's eyes so that she can flee. A killer hacks through a door with a large kitchen cleaver while pursuing Jennifer who runs through various parts of the house to try to elude him. He later has a switchblade while pursuing her. Jennifer aims a shotgun at a killer, but forgets to cock it before pulling the trigger. He then grabs the gun and shows her, blasting a shot through the ceiling. He grabs her by the hair, throws her to a bed, and holds that shotgun on her. The two then struggle over that, she hits him and retrieves it, and then aims it at him, shooting him three times, blowing him backwards, all with bloody results (including the first shot to his clothed crotch). Reviewed July 13 / Posted July 13, 2007

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