Kidnapping/Hostage Movies
A compilation of kidnapping and hostage movies in no particular order. I love kidnapping movies, the thrill, the excitement the horror!
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- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsTerence StampSamantha EggarMona WashbourneA man kidnaps a woman and holds her hostage just for the pleasure of having her there.The theatrical version of John Fowles' classic novel of a very disturbed young man and the woman who fights him to be set free.
- DirectorFlorent-Emilio SiriStarsBruce WillisKevin PollakSerena Scott ThomasWhen a family is held hostage, former hostage negotiator Jeff Talley arrives at the scene. Talley's own family is kidnapped and Talley must decide which is more important: saving a family he doesn't even know or saving his own family.
- DirectorMarco KreuzpaintnerStarsKevin KlineKathleen GatiPaulina GaitanAdriana, 13, is kidnapped in Mexico City by Russian sex traffickers. Her criminal 17 y.o. brother starts looking for her. Across the border in Texas, he gets help from a cop.A gripping film displaying the very real horrors of the sex trade.
- DirectorLuis MandokiStarsKevin BaconCharlize TheronCourtney LoveThe Jennings' fight for their daughters life after she is kidnapped by an experienced gang of thieves.Kevin Bacon delivers a very chilling portrait of a psychopathic yet highly intelligent and calculating kidnapper. Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend and Courtney Love also deliver a solid performance.
- DirectorGary FlederStarsMorgan FreemanAshley JuddCary ElwesPolice hunting for a serial kidnapper are helped when a victim manages to escape for the first time.Ashley Judd plays a headstrong doctor who narrowly escaped the clutches of 'Casanova' a serial kidnapper and murderer who views himself as the ultimate 'lover.' Will Alex Cross be able to catch this mad man before someone close to him is killed?
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsMorgan FreemanMichael WincottMonica PotterWhen a senator's daughter under Secret Service protection is kidnapped from a private school, detective Alex Cross investigates the case even though he's recovering from the loss of his partner.The second theatrical release of James Patterson's hit detective Dr. Alex Cross. A good suspense/mystery with good performances, as usual, from Morgan Freeman and the supporting cast.
- DirectorEdward AndersonStarsTony CurranPeyton ListCameron GoodmanA late night airport shuttle ride home descends into darkness.An awesome independent film. DON'T MISS SHUTTLE! Terrifyingly entertaining. You will never get into an airport shuttle after watching this movie! At least not unarmed!
- DirectorDennis IliadisStarsGarret DillahuntMonica PotterTony GoldwynAfter kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging to the parents of one of the victims: a mother and father who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.Easily my favourite horror movie of all time! Much better than the original in my opinion as it is tastefully violent not excessively violent and graphic! Not to mention solid performances from the entire cast from Sara Paxton and Martha McIsaac as the unwitting victims, Garret Dillahunt and Aaron Paul as the murdering maniacs to Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn as the revenge seeking parents. If you are not squeamish don't miss this one!
- DirectorWes CravenStarsSandra PeabodyLucy GranthamDavid HessTwo teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.Much more graphic as are most typical 70s rape and revenge genre films. I prefer the remake personally however the original is filled with Wes Craven's talent for freaking people out!
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsNaomi WattsTim RothMichael PittTwo psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.English version remake of the 1997 German horror has Naomi Watts and Tim Roth defending their lives, and dignity, against the psychotic and chilling Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
- DirectorGary FlederStarsMichael DouglasSean BeanBrittany MurphyWhen the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...Brittany Murphy does a great job playing the not so crazy crazy girl and Sean Bean of course delivers as the menacing villain.
- DirectorLen WisemanStarsBruce WillisJustin LongTimothy OlyphantJohn McClane and a young hacker join forces to take down master cyber-terrorist Thomas Gabriel in Washington D.C.Okay Okay I am very aware that kidnapping is only a small portion of this movie however it's freaking JOHN McCLANE! which is why it goes on my list YIPPEE KI-YAY MOFO!
- DirectorJohn BonitoStarsJohn CenaKelly CarlsonRobert PatrickA group of diamond thieves on the run kidnap the wife of a recently discharged marine who goes on a chase through the South Carolinian wilderness to retrieve her.Fairly straightforward kidnapped wife and retrieval by military husband. It's worth wasting a Sunday afternoon with.
- DirectorLee DemarbreStarsAshley GreenePeter MooneyBarbara NivenA family of serial killers stalk a young woman out to find the father she's never known.Some of these descriptions are so terrible. The family doesn't stalk her at all they kidnap her and keep her locked in the basement... that is until Daddy comes home and they discover who she really is.
- DirectorStewart HendlerStarsJennifer ShirleyBlake WoodruffMichael RookerSinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsKim BasingerChris EvansJason StathamA young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. The catch? The woman claims to have been kidnapped, and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.Honestly how can a movie be bad with Jason Statham as the sexy bad guy and Chris Evans as the sexy hero?! Cellular also packs action, non-stop suspense, and a good soundtrack!
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTommy Lee JonesCate BlanchettEvan Rachel WoodIn 1885 New Mexico, a frontier medicine woman forms an uneasy alliance with her estranged father when her daughter is kidnapped by an Apache brujo.It's old school kidnapping! Back when if you wanted to kidnap some girls to sell them in Mexico to the sex trade you had to physically ride up on a horse and ride across the desert there were no computers to lure unsuspecting girls on the internet!
- DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsRyan PhillippeBenicio Del ToroJuliette LewisTwo criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother carrying a baby for a powerful, shady man.Perhaps my rating of this movie is hindered by my absolute undying love for both Ryan Philippe and Benicio Del Toro but who cares its my list and I shall put on it which ever films I please! Aside from the man candy it is actually a fairly decent movie with some suspence, action, mystery, and emotion.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsRachel McAdamsCillian MurphyBrian CoxLisa on her flight to Miami befriends Jackson who turns out to be a terrorist. Holding her hostage, he forces her to help him assassinate the United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.Cillian Murphy is stunningly chilling as the terrorist who corners the ever so innocent Rachel McAdams during a suspenseful and intriguing middle of the night flight!
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsHarrison FordVirginia MadsenPaul BettanyA security specialist is forced into robbing the bank that he's protecting, as a bid to pay off his family's ransom.Harrison Ford plays a desperate father looking to free his family from the cruel hands of Paul Bettany and his sleazy criminal associates. Worth a watch.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsMel GibsonGary SiniseRene RussoMulti-millionaire Tom Mullen's son is kidnapped, but after initially agreeing to pay the ransom Mullen then decides to use the ransom money as a bounty.
- DirectorJ BlakesonStarsGemma ArtertonEddie MarsanMartin CompstonA rich man's daughter is held captive in an abandoned apartment by two former convicts who abducted her and hold her ransom in exchange for her father's money.This movie grew on me. The first time I saw it I wasn't that impressed however it made a lasting impression as I found myself thinking of it weeks later. When I re-watched it I realized what a good thriller/suspense film it is.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsNicolas CageNicole KidmanCam GigandetAs they're held for ransom, a husband and wife's predicament grows more dire amid the discovery of betrayal and deception.Not quite sure how a movie with Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman flew under the radar especially when it was as good as Trespass!
- DirectorDamian HarrisStarsGillian JacobsJohn MalkovichRyan SimpkinsAfter being abducted as children, and suffering years of abuse, a teenage boy and girl find themselves living on the street.Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. A stunning performance by all actors especially the talented young actors who played the abused children. Gardens of the Night is a must see for sure as it emotionally displays the never ending resilience of the human spirit.
