Kidnapped

I had an inkling of where this was headed and oh baby don’t read anything at all about this movie and go in blind as well. I will say that I am pretty confident I could pick up most of the cars in this movie and throw them.

The virtues others see in this movie escape this viewer. Filmed in the same year as THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, which was also made on a small budget, also featured demented characters leering at and torturing women and non-women, and is, to put it in mathematical terms, a zillion times better.

A solid hostage thriller. I thought the camerawork was really excellent; for a movie that takes place in a car for about 75% of it, you forget that there's a camera there at all. Bava does a great job of putting you inside the tense atmosphere of the automobile. Also, the ending is dynamite, really took me by surprise and puts everything in a new light. But the characters of Bisturi and "Thirty-Two" were really obnoxious. All that gratuitous psychopathy and evil cackling was way over-the-top.

See past the occasionally goofy acting and cheesy dubbing, and this movie is actually very intense and engrossing. With Kidnapped (as well as with other films), Bava proves his ability to direct a variety of styles and genres. Here he creates such a feeling of dirt and grime and immorality. First we dislike these immoral characters, then we are sickened by their depravity, only to have the tables turned upside down on is in one of the best endings in movie history. Bava is just fantastic.

Considering the subject matter, the film is pretty timid and lacks the bite of films like "Last House on the Left" without being any less trashy, really. But the ending is pretty excellent (I'll admit it caught me off guard), and it does have its moments.

Rather good.

Ingeniousness and some cool shots can't quite save Bava's film from its amateurish acting.

Pretty great thriller that is tense all the way through.

Good ending and some good performances, but Bava went way too far with the depravity in this. Lowered my estimation of him as a director. The mismatched soundtrack didn't help the movie either.

Bava showed his versatility with this tense real time thriller that mostly takes place in an automobile. It's a tough and gritty film that's light years away from his gothic horrors, but it's clearly the work of a skilled craftsman in complete control of his stylistic detour, ratcheting up considerable tension from its simple premise and delivering pure exploitation thrills. The actors aren't great, but Bava makes the most of their physiognomy, and the twist ending is shockingly nihilistic.

Bava gem #gazillion. And one of the coolest endings ever.

78.625

A clear steal from Last House on the Left, but it's an excellent, strategic horror bite from famous Italian king of scares Mario Bava.

Bava establish a harsh mood, an unyielding rawness through fervent close-ups (and ultra close-ups) and smart use of a simple, naturalistic mise-en-scène in this fraught bastard. Brilliant and sweaty.

Intense, Surprising, Mad. Bava's best... Really worth to watch.

watched it today, turned into one of my favourite movies pure genius

Like many Italian directors of the time, Bava clearly saw Last House on the Left and decided, "this American guy is really onto something." In fact, I would say this has more in common with Last House than House on the Edge of the Park. Like any of Bava's best work, the look of it and the way the camera moves will stroke the visual cortex of your brain to satisfying eyegasm, but you're better off not paying too much attention to the plot or risk shriveling your brain boner irreparably.

82.500

Ultimately the hysterical acting and trademark poor italian dubbing got too distracting, but that doesn't mean the movie was without merits. Some good suspense, interesting visuals and a nice little twist kept me interested.

"Quite cynically, Bava evokes a human society where no one is to be trusted." - Ed Gonzalez

Crushingly claustrophic with a cruel sweaty intensity, Bava proved again here that his non-gothic seventies pictures were considerably more powerful. A rich vein of bleak nihilism courses through the picture and it remains gripping all the way to the black hearted conclusion, a must for any fan of Bava.

Decent suspense film. If it wasn't for the ending I would have forgotten about it immediately though.

I like the poster. That is all