The film starts in Yugoslavia, crosses borders into Kosovo and ends at the back of a UN jeep.War is perpetual. That is obvious and that is also the message in a cage where there is no mercy, no compassion or respect for life when the rush of war takes over. It is an imperative that it be so, such is the obstinate nature of war and 'Captifs'.Director Yaan Gozlan's first feature length moves you with atmosphere, sound and baffling and hypnotic camera work. sometimes it moves you inside out and you can also watch it happening (derealisation in films).'Captifs' is like a kid casually telling a story and suddenly everything gets very serious, extremely uncomfortable and horrific. Some scenes make you want to look away, but you don't; such is the pull of this film. The film has it's faults but I'd rather stick to the film as whole; I'd rather tell you the good and you figure the bad for yourself, or maybe not. That's why.In the end it is, in my opinion, telling you how it feels to be at war. How it must feel to not be forgiven, to see madness in the oppressor's eye and then, eventually to start relating to the look.It left something back. Something that cannot be shed or shaken off.

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!

In the former Yugoslavia, the French medical team formed by Carole (Zoé Félix), Samir (Arié Elmaleh) and Dr. Mathias (Eric Savin) is returning from Kosovo to Paris by truck. They find a road block and the soldier tells that the army had found mines on the road and is deactivating them; therefore they should wait three hours to follow their journey.Dr. Mathias suggests Carole to drive through a secondary road and they get lost. They ask for direction in an isolated house and sooner a van intercepts their truck in a lonely road. They are abducted and arrested in dirty cells but fed. When Samir is removed from the cell, they find the true intention of the kidnappers. I do not know how many movies similar to "Captifs" that I have recently seen. Only in Brazil, three different films have been released with the same Brazilian title in the last years ("Captivity" (2007); "Captifs" (2010); and "Open House" (2010)). I was discussing with a friend of mine about the lack of new ideas and screenplays in the cinema industry, reason why for so many remakes and films with the same storyline. Back to "Captifs", despite the well-known storyline, the film has good acting, make-up and keeps the tension until the very last scene. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "O Cativeiro" ("The Captivity")

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.