Darn it. I blame the French. I do, I do, I do. They create "events" like 'Irreversible', 'Baise Moi', 'Martyrs' and 'Inside' then turn around and release 'Captifs' onto the movie-going market. Well, it's not a high school production; it's just that it's not in the same class as the others I mentioned.The reason for that is the originality in the film - there isn't any. You've seen all these scene before in one movie or another. And, of course, that means you know what's coming. For instance, you knew the injured doctor was going to stop running from the dogs and tell the ladies that he's too weak so they need to continue running and just leave him behind.And, I must say, this is some strong heroine. Lying prone and saddled to a gurney, she grabs a scalpel and kills a man by stabbing him once in his neck using her left hand. Maybe that's believable, but finding a sharp object in the corn field strong enough to jab through another assailant's leather boots to make him scream and drop his gun seems a little unbelievable.Also, I was shouting for her to "STEP BACK!" because she was standing way too close to a landmine that was about to be triggered by the snarling dogs. And lo and behold, she survived the blast - from three feet away. Sure. Okay. Whatever you say, director.Oh, and remind me: next time I'm being chased through a thick corn field by a man with a shotgun, make sure I yell out so he'll know where to find me. I wouldn't want him to search in vain, you know.

So Caged might not fit up there with the other French greats quite so much due to its unoriginal set-up which we've all seen before. However this has a twist because it's French! The French tend to do everything right what the Americans do wrong. Caged undeniably has the similar set-up and themes to mediocre films like Turistas or Hostel (although Hostel is better than Turistas) but it manages to keep things incredibly tense and have characters that you can care for so that you actually care about the film itself.Right from the opening you know that Caged is going to be a superior horror as it features a childhood flashback of the main character. American slasher-type horror films probably wouldn't bother doing this, but it really does help us to get more in-depth into the character so we can care about her more. Furthermore it helps that the victims aren't annoying/stupid teenagers or twenty-somethings. They're mature adults who you can respect and it's a feature that a lot of slasher films forget to do. I liked all of the main victims and I was sad to see them go because it was clear that they had a strong bond with each other.I also liked how Caged didn't take an awful long time to get into the action. We have just the right time to build up the characters and then we can just sit on the edge of our seat for the rest of it as we see them become crushed! I don't mean that in a vindictive way (nasty, vindictive and rude, rude, rude!) just in the slasher formula way. In case you don't know the characters get kidnapped by foreigners and are taken to a Martyrs-like prison (though less high-tech) where they await there turn to the operating table. There's a great claustrophobic atmosphere as we're not allowed to see the light of day, just like they aren't. There's a sense of entrapment and you can't help but root for them to break free.You might think that watching a film where people are caged for the majority would be boring but it's not. The directing and acting are lively enough to keep you focused and become involved with the characters. The film's second-half (I don't want to spoil anything) is also a complete thrill ride! It's highly suspenseful and incredibly tense. I was shouting at my TV and found myself becoming very involved in the narrative, even if it does seem familiar! There's also a fair amount of gore to enhance the entertainment value, and of course some nasty scenes are put in place which heightens our knowledge of how ballsy French films are.I also really liked the cinematography in Caged too. There were some great long shots of the corridor of cages and the film also had a great look to it which made it feel dirty and raw, which is what you want in a horror film. I also really liked the suspenseful directing which keeps you on your toes the whole way through (especially the second half). All in all, Caged is an unfairly over-looked horror film which oozes style and tension. It's far better than American offerings that generate more profit than this does (unfairly I might add!) Yes Caged might not be the most original horror film, but it's certainly one of the best of its kind and I can't urge you enough to go and seek out this solid tiny gem!

The fact that I have seen quite a few movies, not only with a similar story(line) as this one, does not help while watching it. The fact, that it tries to be earnest and thinks of itself as serious psycho-thriller add to the odd feeling that something has gone terribly wrong. It is neither as great as it thinks it is nor is it simple romp. It is somewhere in between.It tries hard to please to groups of people. The people who like to have a heart and mind to those types of movies, but also the people who like the horror and terror in that situation. Unfortunately the characters are not fleshed out enough (no pun intended) for this to happen. A little bit more of a back-story would have been helpful. But then again this might have been bad for those who were just waiting for the "juicy" parts.The matter that is being handled here, does deserve a better movie (imo). A shame that this movie does not handle it as it should

Well, OK... been there, done that. Three doctors stationed for humanitarian help in Kosovo take a detour and get lost (Yawn!) and then captured by what at first appears to be militia but then turn out to be some evil thugs harvesting organs for a living. Pretty Hostel and Severance but way too serious and uninspired. From the wannabe opening scene introducing a childhood trauma of the female lead to the following arm wrestling scene in a pub you know everything that is coming up and its unfolding in most clichéd ways. Like in nearly all latest french horror movies the heroine saves the day and kicks some ass. Anyway... ass-kicking is not the point here. Most of the movie tries to create a threatening atmosphere of the isolation of the captives in their cells. The evil doc is not missing, checking their heartbeat regularly and caring for their wounds but every thug is of course most evil just waiting for a call to cut out organs (grotesquely starting with they eyes) and make some cash. For two thirds of the movie nearly nothing is happening. You are just watching the captives in their cells growing desperate and plotting botched escapes. Anyway... then you get what you have been waiting for in most uninspired ways (except for one creative kill and a nice hide and seek in a corn field). Movie over. I see no character development in this movie, I see no creativity in this movie, I see no plot in this movie and I see just too little atmosphere and thrill in it to carry it to the end. For the serious tone of the movie its pretty annoying to have the characters act out in most dumb horror clichés by making noise and forgetting to keep the weapons lying around everywhere... At least there was no cellphone without signal here! All in all a big let down amongst all the great horror movies from France in the last years. Just as big a letdown as Vertige last year which at least had some stunning mountain shots and suspenseful mountain climbing scenes.