Category Archives: Abduction

2013, Abduction, Dark, Detective, Drama, FBI, Flirting, Gay theme, Grim, Lawyers, Love Story, Made For TV, Mental Illness, Occasional gore, Psychological Thriller, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wonderful acting

The Following (2013)

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From NetFlix:

When escaped serial killer Joe Carroll goes on a new killing spree, reclusive former FBI agent Ryan Hardy is called in, having captured Carroll nine years ago. Hardy soon discovers that Carroll has a loyal following of killers ready to terrorize.

Fifteen TV episodes of psychosis, ugly violence, and really good acting offer you a guilty pleasure. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Kevin Bacon always delivers a great performance, including this gory series. James Purefoy makes a great psychotic and insidiously clever villain. Take note, in addition, of the trio of very young adults (Valorie Curry, Nico Tortorella, and Adan Canto) who provide a sadistic bisexual mini-drama on their own. Nothing is nice in this series except possibly Kyle Catlett who plays the little boy Joey.

Stream along with NetFlix and expect to be absorbed.

2013, Abduction, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

The Call (2013)

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From Netflix:

When an abducted teenage girl makes a frantic call from the trunk of a serial killer’s speeding car, she connects with a sympathetic 911 operator who’s dealt with the perpetrator in the past.

Hold onto your seats! Halle Berry leads us through one of the most suspenseful film trips I have ever taken. Trying to catch a serial killer who has just abducted his latest victim leads from one exciting episode to another. This panicked killer is not squeamish so there is a fair amount of ugly violence.

Poor Michael Imperioli (who played Christopher Moltisanti in “The Sopranos”) tries to help the abducted girl. Oops!

Morris Chestnut plays Halle’s police officer boyfriend. He played Ryan Nichols in the 2011 TV version of “V”.

Michael Eklund’s portrayal of the serial killer is one of the more original such portrayals that I have seen. He is anything but calm, cook, and collected.

Do not watch this thriller too close to your bedtime!

2013, Abduction, Bullying, Cancer theme, Child Molestation, Clever Plot, Crime, Crude Talk, Dark, DNA, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, FilmReview, Gritty, Love Story, Made For TV, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Rape, Revenge, Sad small town, Suspense, Trailer Life, TV Series, Violent, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

Top of the Lake (2013)

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From Netflix:

When pregnant, 12-year-old Tui tries to kill herself in a freezing New Zealand lake, Detective Robin Griffin has plenty of questions for the girl. But when Tui suddenly disappears, Griffin finds herself knee-deep in small-town secrets.

Just about everything happens in this gritty, tough TV series taking place in a remote location in New Zealand. To name just of the few features:

  • An amoral, cruel hillbilly family that kills, rapes, manufactures illegal drugs, etc.
  • A cult-like compound for women who have had bad experiences and are sometimes completely naked.
  • Child molestation
  • Gang rape
  • A mother dying of cancer
  • Self-flagellation
  • Dishonest police officers
  • A very capable woman detective (played by Elizabeth Moss) trying to get on with her life while dealing with her troubled past
  • Quite a few nude sex scenes
  • A not quite civilized society
  • Several murders

Yes, this is one crazy TV series. Elizabeth Moss, who played Peggy in “Mad Men”, does a terrific job. But all the actors do wonderful jobs.

You might not want to eat a full meal before watching. Nonetheless, for me at least, in the category of gritty this series is a DO NOT MISS!

1997, Abduction, British Mystery Series, Car Chase, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Disturbing Image, Eccentric Detective, Grim, Gritty, Kidnapping, Lawyers, Made For TV, Mental Illness, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Occasional gore, Prison, Psychological Thriller, Rape, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, TV Series, Violent

Touching Evil (1997)

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From NetFlix:

After suffering head trauma from a shooting, moody, job-obsessed Detective Inspector Dave Creegan of the organized and serial crime unit heads off some of England’s most deviant and deadly offenders by creeping inside the criminal psyche.

Robson Green plays the DI Dave Creegan in this British detective TV series. His character is single-minded, isolated, and socially awkward. As is often the case in British detective shows, the crimes are usually violent and involve some ugly scenes. Indeed each episode develops side by side both Creegan’s personality difficulties as well as the crime du jour. You will not relax watching these plots but you will probably not be able to stop watching despite the suspense.

After he made this series, Robson Green then starred in Wire In The Blood in which he portrays the exact same personality, the only difference being that in this later series he ia cast as a free-lance psychologist specializing in the criminal mind.

Both “Touching Evil” and “Wire in the Blood” provide tense, suspenseful viewing that (providing your nerves hold up) you don’t want to miss.

1996, Abduction, British, Detective, Mental Illness, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Stalker, Suspense, Unusual

The Cold Light Of Day (1996)

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From NetFlix:

A troubled former cop uses an innocent young woman as the unsuspecting bait in his plan to catch a serial killer. A well-crafted thriller featuring gripping performances from a talented cast.

Once again I stumbled onto this off-beat serial killer film offered under NetFlix streaming. While not as professionally smooth as mainstream films, the plot, details, and acting is not bad (or should I say, has the feeling of an indie film).

Filmed in the Czech Republic, the actors speak with British accents. Subtitles are available. (By the way, that is currently one advantage of NetFlix streaming over Amazon – only NetFlix offers subtitles.) None of the actors are familiar to me. Anna, the child character, is acted very well by a child actress. Also the serial killer (whom we see throughout the film) is really creepy.

My only complaint is that a bad policeman who bullies innocents into confessions never gets his comeuppance.

Not at all a complete waste, just different from the usual styles.

2012, Abduction, Car Chase, Detective, Frenetic, Serial Killer, Suspense, Violent

Gone (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Jill expects to find her sister home in bed. When she doesn’t, she knows just where to look — her own past abductor. But the police show little interest, so Jill sets off on her own to find her sibling in this chiller.

Amanda Seyfried (Sylvia Weis in “In Time”), as Jill, puts a lot of energy into trying to rescue her sister from her past abductor. In this film the theme is that no one believed that Jill was ever abducted. In fact she was put into a mental institution as delusional. So she spends most of the film not only trying to rescue her sister (while armed) but also trying to elude the police who think she is on some lunatic escapade.

Jill has made a friend of her fast food colleague played by Jennifer Carpenter who is Dexter’s sister (WHAT! You have never watched Dexter (2006)?).

As regards the police not believing Jill, the film has a very satisfying ending.

Nothing special, but watchable.