Director: Carlos Torrens
Year: 2016
Country: Spain/US
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Plot:
After meeting a striking beauty, a lonely man trying to win her over begins stalking her to the point that he has to kidnap her and put her in a cage underneath his job only to find that she's far from normal and begins playing a series of mind games with him that put him in greater danger.
Review:
This was quite a decent if highly flawed effort. One of the few areas where this one succeeds commendably is on the form of psychologically playing with the captor which runs for the majority of the film. Being able to transform from a simpering doe-eyed victim to a full-on take charge protagonist that's able to effectively manipulate his thought-process which is quite enjoyable to see play out as she's a full-on rampaging maniac throughout here. It's a change that works quite well for the film and gives this a different take than what's to come from these kinds of films where these revelations give a darker edge to the main section of the film as it has a lot to like with the various encounters found here. Coupled nicely with the brutality and gruesomeness of the gore featured here, it has a few solid elements to be featured that are enough to be watchable over the main flaws.
Among the main flaws present here is the fact that this type of storyline makes it impossible to be invested in what happens. With the first half of this one so concerned with the manner of him stalking her, from the diner where she works to the confrontation at the bar with her ex-boyfriend that results in him being beaten up for a misunderstanding, none of this activity is really all that rooted in the tropes of the genre resulting in a series of bland, incredibly boring sequences that don't do anything for this type of story. It takes way too long to get to the actual horror setup here because it's going on the concept of him trying to get in contact with her through those means that aren't in the slightest bit revolving around any kind of scary action.
As well, that also highlights the more important factor here in that nearly everything in this one is completely underserved. The whole idea of him capturing and kidnapping her and then holding her hostage underneath the facility is not for the slightest bit earned in any fashion, resulting only from one meating in a bar that could've easily gone another direction had she been reasonable enough to listen to him. Instead, shortly after that one lone interaction he feels vindicated enough to drug her, drag her into a home-made steel cage and keep her held against her will inside which comes out of nowhere. Likewise, the revelations made about her through keeping her hostage are just thrown into this one at such a bizarre turn that it really feels out of place like it's a shocking turn that's unwarranted through the build-up. Even with those positives, these are enough to hold it down significantly.
Overview: **/5
With a few issues to be had that really work this one into a lower rung than what it should've been based on how great the positives for this one should've been. Give this one a chance if you're into the more positive aspects featured here or aren't too bothered by those negative issues, while those who are completely turned off by the flaws should heed caution.
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