Captifs aka Caged and Escape: A Movie Review

*Minor spoilers below.

Director: Yann Gozlan.

Writers: Yann Gozlan, and Guillaume Lemans.

Cast: Zoé Felix, Eric Savin, and Arié Elmaleh.

Director Yann Gozlan's Captifs aka Caged was released in the United Kingdom April 4th, through Optimum Releasing. The film is situated in the former Yugoslavia and here, three doctors find themselves in a harrowing situation. This is a scenario that involves vivisection and organ harvesting, which is a theme previously covered in films like Turistas, Repo Men and a smaller film from director Baltasar Kormakur's called Inhale. Both Scott Weinberg of Fearnet.com and Carl Doherty of Shelf Abuse call the film plain: "a genre effort that does nothing to stand out from the rental store shelf" (Shelf). However, this film arouses strong feelings of pity for the characters, and overall the film is suspenseful, as the villains' plans are kept in secret.

Carole (Zoe Felix), Mathias (Eric Savin) and Samir (Arie Elmaleh) are three doctors touring a war-torn country. The military motions them to a side road, as munitions have been found in the local area. Taking a supposed quick detour, they find themselves on the wrong side of a gun, by black market doctors of another kind. Soon, their days are spent in a walled off basement, where a surgery room promises future amputations. The sets are designed in such a way as to make the film's events believable. The realism of the situation is what will draw most viewers in.

As well, each of the three primary characters are given enough initial screen time to develop bonds and for the viewer to empathize with them and their dire situation. Samire is enamoured with Carole, while Mathias feels guilt over abandoning his two children. The antagonists are given significantly fewer lines, as they torment their injured captives in an isolated locale. The attention to characters by director Yann Goglan and writer Guillaume Lemans allows viewers to pity those onscreen, which is a required feeling for the genre of tragedy, and similarly horror.

Finally, one element which makes Captifs unique is the final brutal escape. Few details will be revealed here to preserve the tension in the piece. However, encounters with mined roadways, maze-like cornfields and a fight with a pack of dogs heighten the thrills in Yann Gozlan's first feature film, especially near the end.

French horror continues to build suspense through hostile situations and the mysterious motivations of the villains e.g. Frontiere(s), Inside and Martyrs. Director Yann Gozlan debuts an excellent feature with this French language film Captifs. Covering mature themes, Gozlan's film will likely emote strong feelings in the viewer, as the film demands that you pick sides. Not for the faint of heart, Captifs is a unique horror film, through its use of believable settings and characters. The ending will surely leave horror fans wanting more from these French filmmakers and others.

Overall: 7.25 (short run time, subtitles might not be for everyone, tense, suspenseful, mysterious in the early phases, an exciting finale).

Another review of this film by Carl Doherty at Shelf Abuse:

Captifs Reviewed at Shelf Abuse

And a further review of this title at Fearnet, by Scott Weinberg:

Captifs at Fearnet

Captifs at Optimum Releasing:

Captifs at Optimum Releasing

The film's fan page is here:

Captifs on Facebook

Currently, only available at the UK version of Amazon:

Yann Gozlan's Caged on Amazon

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Posted in: caged,captifs,eric savin,french,french horror films,movie review,yann gozlan,zoe felix