Confined (2010) Reviews

• Pleasantly Surprised

  xantraxanadu2010-06-25

  Victoria is almost your usual everybody-thinks-I'm-crazy Lifetime heroine, but puts in a better performance than most as do the rest of the cast. there's good chemistry between the husband and wife, and the daughter was a lot less snooty, as Lifetime usually dictates. their family actually seemed to truly love each other. The dialogue and shooting style are what separate this from most of these women in jeopardy thrillers that Lifetime has cornered the market on. And wait, what a truly suspenseful character?... Michael Hogan plays probably the creepiest neighbor ever. Good monologue about his dead dog, kind of like a Kathy Bates Misery unstable character-feel. Would've liked to see more of his character. He's the kind of actor that when he talks, you lean in and listen. All in all, Confined is a fun ride for a small budget movie. I was pleasantly surprised.

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• Good not great, but overall decent for a TV movie.

  aboutagirly2010-06-25

  Good not great. Seen better and seen worse. But the pace was pretty decent so it keeps you tuned in. Some good action sequences and decent suspense. It's pretty much what I look for in a Lifetime movie. No Emmy here, but you're probably not expecting that from this network. Was hoping it would stick a little closer to the true story but I guess there's only so much you can show on television. Liked the performances all around, which were above par for the course. David James Elliott should be working more. Looking forward to his Hallmark movie. Good: Acting Dialogue Sound Score Not so Good: Some of the casting

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• Confined

  GirlsJustWannaHaveLunch2010-06-25

  I remember being horrified hearing about the Austrian version of this story and asking myself how could the father have gotten away with it so long. Then they discovered that other girl living confined with children in a gated backyard compound. So this was definitely an interesting take on those stories (unless there's another story I don't know about). What I find disturbing about this is not that only COULD it happen, but it DID happen. Michael Hogan puts in a really solid performance as the Captor and Emma Caulfield doesn't take the part too over the top. DJE acts as a nice solid anchor to the madness. The song (was it Wagner?) became a little more haunting after each time it was played and I LOVED the final scenes with Hogan's wife and Emma, seeing the regret and sadness of such a shocking crime and life of an innocent girl stolen from her.

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• Average Suspense Thriller

  Bexxter2011-01-16

  *Review Contains Spoilers* Been awhile since I've seen this movie. But it was a decent thriller. It is pretty well paced, keeps you in suspense. I especially liked Michael Hogan as the creepy locksmith/neighbor. Could definitely see him playing this type of role on the big screen. He kind of reminds me of Frank Langella. Did others notice the similarity of this film to Disturbia and its inspiration Rear Window. Well, I guess its obvious. Anyway, couple of things I did find silly about the movie: - The suspicious neighbor Victoria, manages to break into the basement, break loose a brick and talk to the little girl. Wouldn't the creepy neighbor notice right off the bat the break in the wall- even though she replaced the brick. Not like she had a can of white paint with her. The typical 'chase' scene at the end was weird. I think the creepy neighbor knocked the husband unconscious, but just leaves him outside. While the daughter is being hunted by the neighbor, the husband takes his time to unshackle his wife rather than calling 911 or going after the creepy neighbor himself. That was odd. Anyway, likable movie with some good acting, but not great.

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• Not as bad as I thought...

  jb05792011-07-09

  You know, I really thought this was going to be a BAD movie,and I watched it anyway because nothing else jumped at me, and the fact that it's based on a true story was intriguing to me. A young couple moves to a nice suburban Seattle neighborhood, and immediately weird things are abode next door. The young pretty wife gets interested in the goings on, and begins a quazi-investigation. the things that make this movie work are the understated performances, which is really hard to do, ana a strong script, story arc, and premise. Not so great: a sort of predictable ending. This easily could have been a breakout movie for this director along the lines of an M. Night Shylamon (SP?), but it narrowly misses the mark. it's worth a watch, though, but don't expect the Sixth Sense...

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