Trapped

"It was the perfect plan until she refused to be the perfect victim!"

2002 1h 46m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 641

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

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Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.

“It was the perfect plan until she refused to be the perfect victim!”

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Cast

Charlize Theron
Karen
Courtney Love
Cheryl
Stuart Townsend
Will
Kevin Bacon
Hickey
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Marvin
Dakota Fanning
Abby Jennings
Steve Rankin
Hank Ferris
Garry Chalk
Agent Chalmers

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Luis Mandoki
Writers: Greg Iles
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, 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

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 45% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Luis Mandoki, shot by Frederick Elmes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlize Theron and Courtney Love and Stuart Townsend carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It was the perfect plan until she refused to be the perfect victim!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Luis Mandoki directs. Frederick Elmes behind the camera. John Ottman scores. Gerald B. Greenberg cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 45% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 24 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
4Directed by Luis Mandoki, shot by Frederick Elmes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Gerald B. Greenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlize Theron and Courtney Love and Stuart Townsend carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It was the perfect plan until she refused to be the perfect victim!".
9IMDB entry: tt0280380 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Frederick Elmes
Original score: John Ottman
Editing: Gerald B. Greenberg
Production design: Richard Sylbert
Costume design: Michael Kaplan
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $13,414,416
Return: 45% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Trapped (2002)

Also by

Luis Mandoki

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-06-28
★ 2/10
Clap Trap. Trapped is directed by Luis Mandoki and written by Greg Iles. It stars Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Dakota Fanning. Music is by John Ottman and cinematography is by Frederick Elmes. Based on Iles’ book 24 Hours, Trapped aspires to be a potent kidnap thriller, an attempt to use the kidnapping of a young girl as some sort of edge of the seat entertainment, sadly it’s poorly constructed and quite frankly ill advised. A fine cast has assembled for the picture, but nobody distinguishes themselves as they try to make the generic and idiotic material work. On the atmosphere side of the fence things aren’t half bad, there’s a grim and grubby feel to proceedings, but Mandoki consistently ruins each passage of promise with cack-handed convolutions, which when the core plot device is a dumb drug set-up, only makes the feeble efforts of making a twisty thriller even more laughable. The crowning glory of the latter being the finale, which is ludicrous. 2/10 with young Fanning the only one coming out of it with any credit.
Dr Nostromo2026-05-29
★ 6/10
59/100 A wealthy couple's daughter is kidnapped in an elaborate plot that may not be as it seems. Joe (Kevin Bacon) terrorizing the mother (Charlize Theron) for most of the film makes your skin crawl and was becoming a bit too uncomfortable for a bit too long. But then things started to subtly change and twist leading to a climax that was absolute total chaos. Excellent performances by everyone, especially Charlize, Kevin and Courtney Love. Good stuff. -- DrNostromo.com