As we have said before, we like a little bit of ambiguity here at Horror Asylum. A film that leaves much to the audience’s imagination, one that challenges what the viewer assumes to be real is always a welcome thing. The problems begin to develop though when what is shown doesn’t really make sense and when those small, yet highly important reference points are missing the result can sadly become nothing more than an essay in tedium.
Disappointingly, this is the fate that has befallen Captive. Royal Marine Joseph Morgan (A.J.Budd) awakes one morning in a strange house with little more than his dress uniform for comfort. Wandering downstairs he discovers a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich but this seemingly idyllic scenario is destroyed when the wall clock strikes 11am. For at 11am today, and at the same time every day, Morgan is attacked by a strange, humanoid creature determined only to kill him and he must fight for his life again and again. As the days slowly, monotonously pass he begins to realise the futility of his situation and the true horror begins to dawn.
Writer and director Luke Massey has created a claustrophobic, Groundhog-style horror based on repetition and full of lingering, isolated fear brought on by the slow dissipation of hope and the desperation of an impossible situation. The problem is that there is not enough in the story to keep an audience interested.
The performance by Budd is excellent, of that there is no doubt, but the shear bleakness of the mundanity becomes so overwhelming as to oppressively force the viewer to look outside the film. While I suspect that this lack of hope is exactly what Massey had in mind, some variation of the theme, perhaps a change in the dynamic at some point to give the audience chance to draw a relieved breath would have been of benefit.
OVERALL SUMMARY
As a debut project however, and with what one suspects is a budget equivalent to that of a couple of takeaways for the cast and crew, Massey has produced something impressive. There are signs of promise in many of the scenes and this bodes well for a future in independent film where getting the most from everything is paramount. Captive is not a successful film; it is an interesting idea that is too drawn out to retain enough interest from the audience, but it is bold and original and augers well for the future of all involved.
