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2014 - 90m.
Netherlands

When it comes to remakes, people are always quick to condemn American cinema from failing to come up with original ideas. The usual argument is that the studios are either recycling the past or taking foreign ideas and putting an US spin on them. Although the same could be said for other countries (Italy stole from the US in the 70s and 80s, Hong Kong stole from the US in the 90s), there have not been a lot of examples in recent years until now. Reckless is a blatant Dutch remake of a 2009 British film called The Disappearance of Alice Creed (starring Gemma Arterton from Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters). Now, I have not seen the original and I thought this thriller is tight and tense even though it appears to be almost a direct copy. Had I known this going in, I probably would have watched the British version first. If you have not seen either, I'd advise you to check one or the other out before reading on as it is will be pretty difficult to avoid some spoilers in this review.

Tygo Gernandt and Marwan Kenzari star as Victor and Rico, a pair of thugs who spend the first few minutes of the movie in silence preparing an abandoned apartment and a van for some kind of scheme. Once things are ready, they kidnap an attractive woman named Laura (Sarah Chronis), bring her back to the apartment, and tie her to a bed in a locked room. Victor is an intense hardened criminal type who looks like he would be at home as a villain in a Jason Statham flick or one of the newer Bond movies. Rico, on the other hand, seems reluctant to be doing the job and uncomfortable with any sort of violence or discomfort that may befall Laura. This causes animosity between the two kidnappers that continues to escalate as the running time moves forward. Adding the the tension, Laura is no wimp and takes every opportunity to escape that presents itself resulting in a triangle of manipulation and double crosses that twists and turns to the conclusion.

Generally speaking, in regards to remakes, I always watch the original first. This is even more the case with a movie like this because half the fun is not knowing where the plot is going during the initial viewing. Although I am curious about how another version of a story will play out, it is never the same as the first time when dealing with a thriller like this. Further to that, there is not a lot of rewatch value to movies with heavy suspense when you know what is going to happen. That being said, this is a very well-acted and well-paced flick that had me feeling stress for the situation and at some points on the edge of my seat as the element of danger increased. All three cast members define their characters quickly and confidently bringing us into the situation but never telling us which side to choose.

The primary location of this flick is an apartment in what looks like an abandoned apartment complex. The fact that we never see any other people amplifies the feeling of isolation even when the film ventures to more open spaces. I thought this added a lot to what was happening onscreen as none of the characters seem to be able to trust anybody regardless of the circumstance or relationships. This is not the type of movie that will blow your mind but it is definitely a good way to spend a quick 90 minutes and ponder what you would do in a similar circumstance.

Available from Artsploitation Films. (Josh Pasnak, 3/24/16)

Directed By: Joram Lursen.
Written By: Frank Ketelaar.

Starring: Marwan Kenzari, Tygo Gernandt, Sarah Chronis.