I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have gone to cinema to see this film if it wasn't for all the unneeded controversy surrounding it's marketing campaign in the USA, but I guess that's a good thing as it shows that the people who initiate that sort of thing usually just end up helping the film in question to reach a wider audience. I have to say that whoever it was that made such a fuss about the posters did me a favour, as while Captivity isn't exactly a modern masterpiece; it's certainly a decent little horror thriller, and I'm glad I went to see it. The film focuses solely around Jennifer Tree, an actress who is abducted and thrown into a basement dungeon from which there is no escape and she is continually watched over by the psychopath who abducted her; a man who also enjoys putting her through all manner of sadistic and brutal torturing. Hope arises when she finds a man in the cell next to her, and together they attempt to escape from the dungeon. But as they face more sadism and torture, it turns out that the situation isn't all it seems.

This film is obviously catching on to the 'torture porn' film type that seems to be dominating the horror genre recently (films such as Hostel and Saw being at the forefront),but while this doesn't add anything new; it is entertaining to watch, and that is really all that is important from this sort of film. The film is, surprisingly, directed by experienced director Roland Joffé, whose only other film I've seen is the Oscar nominated "The Killing Fields" - and this is nothing like it! (Though I'd say that's a good thing...). The screenplay was written by the great Larry Cohen, who you can always count on for an entertaining thrill ride, and while this isn't one of his best attempts; I'd pretty much say he delivered (it's better than Cellular, too). The twist in the middle can be seen coming a mile off, but that's not important either as the handling after the twist is good and with this, Cohen succeed in racketing the film up a notch. Captivity is very short at just 85 minutes, but I'd rather it be on the short side than feature a bucket load of filler like many films these days do. Overall, I won't say this is brilliant or a classic; but it's a more than decent horror thriller and I definitely recommend seeing it.

What Captivity lacks in innovation it makes up for in style. Say what you will about plot holes and struggling performances, but the film looks beautiful, sounds great, and the atmosphere of the film will stay with you. Elisha Cuthbert's character is shallow, but appropriately so, as a naive fashion model who, even while in the deepest pit of misfortune, doesn't quite grasp what's going on. She keeps close to her teddy bear, apologizes for no apparent reason, and cries single tears... never ceasing to look picture perfect. (This is one gripe I have with the film. The leading lady should show a little more wear and tear, in my opinion.) I understand that the writer of Captivity claims to have based the character on Paris Hilton, and while I don't entirely believe that that's what the film was aiming for, it's an interesting comparison. In light of Hilton's recent incarceration, it's also a bit of commentary, however unintentional, on our culture's fascination with celebrities, the desire to be close to them, and to possess a piece of them.

The looming, black gloved torturer is a smidge cliché, but it does the trick. It's a genre film, and certain symbols are to be expected and forgiven. Again, the set and sound design are spot-on, and that carries a lot of weaker areas through to the end.

The editing is very choppy, due in part to the fact that a large portion of the original movie was removed and replaced with new material shot long after the original version ended production. The result is a cut-and-paste appearance which actually works quite well, given all the time Cuthbert's character spends going in and out of consciousness. It's almost an art film effect, hypnotic and disorienting.

Elisha Cuthbert was perfectly fine in the recent House of Wax (which was the same kind of role),but occasionally seems totally adrift here. This is the fault of the director (Roland Joffe - who was once a decent film-maker),but it's hard to single him out for criticism as every single aspect of this film seems to be just as lousy and half-arsed as the next. The look of the film, the story, the characters and the dialogue have no personality or life of their own and instead are clearly uninspired wholesale rip-offs of those found in the likes of the Hostel and Saw films and then reassembled into this dull, turgid, mess. If you want an example of an inept, unloved, souless, studio-funded zeitgeist cash-in flick then here it is. Avoid.