Kidnap

"They messed with the wrong mother."

2017 1h 35m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 1,382

ActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A mother (in her Minivan) stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.

“They messed with the wrong mother.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Halle Berry
Karla Dyson
Sage Correa
Frankie Dyson
Chris McGinn
Margo Fickey
Lew Temple
Terry Fickey
Jason George
David
Christopher Berry
The Bearded Man
Arron Shiver
Bill
Kurtis Bedford
Del

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Luis Prieto
Writers: Knate Gwaltney
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Luis Prieto, shot by Flavio Martínez Labiano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Federico Jusid. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Avi Youabian shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Halle Berry and Sage Correa and Chris McGinn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They messed with the wrong mother.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1458169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Luis Prieto directs. Flavio Martínez Labiano behind the camera. Federico Jusid scores. Avi Youabian cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Luis Prieto, shot by Flavio Martínez Labiano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Federico Jusid. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Avi Youabian shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Halle Berry and Sage Correa and Chris McGinn carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "They messed with the wrong mother.".
8IMDB entry: tt1458169 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 18 themes, including "strong woman", "waitress", "single parent", "kidnapping".

The technical file

Cinematography: Flavio Martínez Labiano
Original score: Federico Jusid
Editing: Avi Youabian
Production design: Sarah Webster
Makeup / hair: Annabelle MacNeal
VFX supervisor: Roger Nall
Sound: Jonathan Wales
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $21,000,000
Box office: $34,800,000
Return: 166% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Kidnap (2017)

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Luis Prieto

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2017-07-10
★ 4/10
Poorly crafted and pretty predictable, I do wonder how Halle Berry got to making movies like Kidnap. It's not awful, but it's obviously low-budget, and there's nothing to it that I can really see as being appealing beyond the paycheque. Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.
Reno2017-11-04
★ 8/10
It's now or never! A mother's fight back! Truly shocking for people blindly following the words of critics. This is really a good film. I totally enjoyed it. Well, it was not like I never saw such film. In a century of motion picture history, hundreds of similar films were made. This is just another one, but there's nothing wrong with it. People wrongly judged it. The pace of the film was rocket speed. So basically, there's no time for one to keep looking for flaws. If they do, then they're not enjoying the show. They missed out everything, hence end up bashing it. Just like the clowns, aka film critics. It was another kidnap film that Halle Barry in it, that's similar to her previous film 'The Call'. It did not take long to get into the action. A hardworking mother, going through divorce, fighting for her son's custody. While engaging in a phone call, she loses her son in an amusement park. The alert mother quickly jumps into pursuing when he was seen forcefully taken in a stranger's car. The remaining events take place on the road, with car chases, with a twist before the conclusion. Nicely written screenplay and well performed actors, particularly Halle Berry. I have never seen she had played such an energetic role in the recent time. Whatever the storyline is, it's kind of an inspiring film. How a mother fought for her son. Totally a mother instinct. You can't simply expect like the film 'Taken'. It might not be realistic, but cinematically honest. The same thing happens in the animal world too. Sad that the film released after so many delays. Moreover, how people responded to it. Believe me, it is a nice film and I definitely suggest it to all. 8/10
CinemaSerf2025-03-02
★ 5/10
So amidst a child custody battle, “Karla” (Halle Berry) takes her young son “Frankie” (Sage Correa) to the park for some fun. Whilst she takes an important phone call he gets snatched and she only just manages to see him squashed into a car. She quickly sets off in pursuit and for the next ninety minutes we follow her most unlikely chase. Unfortunately, she dropped her phone in the car park so has no way to summon help. Is it her disgruntled ex who is behind this? Is it maybe just someone on the production trying to save the kid from more screen time than absolutely necessary? Well mom ain’t giving up as they leave the city heading who knows where. She does manage at one stage to force a confrontation and is told that for $10k she can have him back, but that part of the storyline is so completely ridiculous that again you begin to wonder just what made Berry see anything worth doing in this increasingly preposterous film. To be fair to it’s star, she does imbue her character with a degree of panic and desperation as the thing moves along, but the scenarios are just plain ridiculous and serendipitous to be taken seriously on just about any other level. Maybe wouldn’t mess with her wielding a shovel, though,