Captivity (film)
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''Captivity'' is a 2007
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
of the "
torture porn A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the hu ...
" subgenre, directed by
Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (; born 17 November 1945) is an English film and television film director, director, Film producer, producer and screenwriter. He is known for directing the critically-acclaimed films ''The Killing Fields (film), The Killing Field ...
, written by
Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as ''Black Caesar (film), Black Caesar'' and ''Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973), before becomin ...
and Joseph Tura, and starring
Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert (; born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. As a child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra on ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' and co-hosted '' Popular Mechanics for Kids''. She made her feature- ...
and
Daniel Gillies Daniel Joshua Gillies (born March 14, 1976) is a Canadian-born New Zealand actor, film producer, director and screenwriter. He played Elijah Mikaelson on '' The Vampire Diaries'' and its spin-off, '' The Originals;'' Dr. Joel Goran on '' Saving ...
. Considered an entry into a subgenre popularized by such film series as ''Hostel'' and ''Saw'', the film centres on a young fashion model (Cuthbert) who is abducted and is psychologically tortured by unknown assailants.


Plot

Jennifer Tree is a rising fashion model. On an evening out alone, Jennifer is stalked and drugged. She wakes up in a cell containing personal items taken from her apartment. Jennifer is shown recordings of victims who were tortured in the same cell, as well as records of her interviews. She screams and pleads to be let go, but no one replies. Jennifer is subjected to various forms of psychological torture. She then discovers that a young man, Gary Dexter, is being held captive in an adjoining cell. The two make contact and attempt to find an escape. They both make it to a garage containing a vehicle, but are knocked out by sleeping gas. Jennifer wakes up in her cell, and sees a recording of Gary being threatened in his cell. Afterwards, he is thrown into her cell. She rushes over to help him, and they proceed to have sex. After Jennifer drinks a bottle of drugged water and falls asleep, Gary wakes up and leaves the cell. It is revealed Gary and his older brother, Ben, have Jennifer captive in their home; she is the latest of several women they have abducted to re-enact the tortures inflicted upon them as children by their mother. Gary joins Ben and tells him that he is falling in love with Jennifer, then stabs his brother. He watches recordings of him murdering their mother. Gary is interrupted by two detectives looking for Ben. Despite Gary telling them his brother is not home, the two enter the house. After they accidentally see the surveillance video of Jennifer in her room, Gary shoots them both. Gary goes back to Jennifer's cell and tells her that he has killed the perpetrators and they can leave. He places Jennifer in a room and tells her to stay there. One of the detectives, having survived the gunshot wound, jumps out at her. Mistaking him for her captor, she kills him with a baseball bat. She then discovers the incriminating photos with Gary in them. Ben, who survived the stabbing, attacks her, and she kills him as well. Jennifer searches through one of the detectives' pockets. Gary finds her and she says she will help him clean up the mess. When he lets down his guard, she sprays him with pepper spray and runs away, sabotaging the house's electrical system. Eventually, Jennifer kills Gary. She uncovers a window leading outside and leaves.


Alternate ending

The film's original ending, shown in its entirety on the DVD, depicted a man being captured and tortured with acid before being murdered with a hammer. Through press clippings, the man is shown to be a serial killer of women, and his assailant is revealed to be Jennifer, who has adopted her former captors' methods to become a
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
who tortures and kills criminals. This ending was re-edited and used as a
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
in the final cut.


Cast


Re-editing

After Dark Films After Dark Films was an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman in 2006. History The company is the organizer for the annual independent horror film festival ''After Dark Horro ...
founder and present head
Courtney Solomon Courtney Solomon (born September 1, 1970) is a film producer from Toronto, Ontario. He has been involved with production, marketing, and distribution of over 80 movies. In 2000, at the age of 29, he produced and directed the critically panned ''D ...
went back to edit the original concept of ''Captivity'' to add more
gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...
and violence to please the American audience. In a statement, Solomon is believed to state that he felt the film was not gruesome enough for a mainstream "
torture porn A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the hu ...
". He felt the change would bring in more money for the film, after noticing the success of ''
Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...
''; however, the film performed poorly at the box office. Solomon later released a statement saying, "It's overkill. I think audiences have said, 'I've had enough.' It's as simple as that." The original version of ''Captivity'' was only released in Spain,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and the United Kingdom.


Advertising controversy

Several controversial images depicting promotional scenes from the film were released by
After Dark Films After Dark Films was an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman in 2006. History The company is the organizer for the annual independent horror film festival ''After Dark Horro ...
in Los Angeles and New York, where they were shown on billboards and taxicabs. The advertisement consisted of pictures involving the kidnapping, torture, and presumable murder of a female character. Offended witnesses soon filed complaints to After Dark, who claimed it had been an error and explained that the concept was only one of several working ideas that were being considered for marketing to the general public. According to executive producer
Courtney Solomon Courtney Solomon (born September 1, 1970) is a film producer from Toronto, Ontario. He has been involved with production, marketing, and distribution of over 80 movies. In 2000, at the age of 29, he produced and directed the critically panned ''D ...
, who spoke on behalf of After Dark, it was not supposed to have been approved; he followed by saying, "To be honest with you, I don't know where the confusion happened or who's responsible." "This film was done in association with After Dark Films. The nature of the association allows After Dark autonomy over their marketing materials, and therefore we neither saw nor approved this billboard before it was posted," said Peter Wilkes, head of Lionsgate investor relations. "Once aware of the materials and the reaction to them, we immediately asked After Dark to remove the billboards, to which they immediately and cooperatively responded."
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
has become the public face of a movement directed at the
MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...
to remove the film's rating, in accordance with MPAA guidelines that state that any film that uses advertising that has not been approved by the MPAA (in this case, the advertising was specifically disapproved) will possibly forfeit their right to be rated. According to writer
Joey Soloway Joey Soloway (born Jill Soloway; September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series '' Transparent'', winnin ...
, who runs the website Remove the Rating, Solomon himself was responsible for the ads in question, going over the design in extreme detail, and is thus being disingenuous in the above-cited quote. The MPAA issued a ruling dated 28 March 2007, which said that, as punishment, it would not consider rating the film until at least 30 April, making the release date of 18 May less likely (because releasing the film "unrated" would greatly impact its potential to sell tickets). The MPAA is also, in an unprecedented move, requiring that they approve the placement of all forthcoming advertisements for the film.


Release


Critical reception

''Captivity'' opened on Friday, 13 July 2007. The film holds a 9% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
based on 78 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Lacking scares or psychological insight, ''Captivity'' is a distasteful entry in the 'torture porn' subgenre." Online critic
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...
gave it a zero star rating, stating that there is "nothing redeemable here. It's not tense or scary; it's just demented".
Bloody-Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...
named the film as the "worst horror film of 2007". Joe Leydon of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote that it will likely be remembered more for the billboard controversy than its plot, but it still generates "modest suspense after a predictable but effective plot twist". Mark Kermode described the film as a 'Grotty, nasty, sleazy, infantile piece of dung'. Elisha Cuthbert's performance was nominated for both a
Teen Choice Award The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...
and a
Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...
for
Worst Actress Razzie Award for Worst Actress is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actress of the previous year. Male actors performing in Drag (clothing), drag are eligible, as it is intended as a humorous award. The follo ...
. It also earned Razzie nominations for Worst Director and Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie but lost both to ''
I Know Who Killed Me ''I Know Who Killed Me'' is a 2007 American psychological thriller film directed by Chris Sivertson, from a screenplay by Jeff Hammond. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough, and Brian Geraghty. The film's story revolves ...
''.


Box office

The film grossed $1,429,100 in its opening weekend, placing it at No. 12 at the US box office. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $10,921,200.


Home media

The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on October 30, 2007.


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Captivity 2007 crime thriller films 2007 films 2007 horror films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s horror thriller films 2000s mystery thriller films American crime thriller films American horror thriller films American independent films American mystery thriller films American serial killer films American splatter films Films about kidnapping Films about snuff films Films about torture Films directed by Roland Joffé Films scored by Marco Beltrami Films shot in Moscow Films with screenplays by Larry Cohen Lionsgate films Russian crime thriller films Russian-language crime thriller films Russian horror thriller films Russian independent films Russian mystery thriller films Russian splatter films English-language horror thriller films English-language crime thriller films English-language mystery thriller films