Faced with life-long detention as a habitual offender, Johan (Theo Maassen) escapes from a mental institution. Tessa (amazing newcomer Lisa Smit) happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A teenage beauty on her way home from a night at the club, Tessa is right up Johan's aisle and promptly taken hostage. The trip that unfolds is in many ways a road movie, but at the same time, it's a chamber play: There are really only two characters, Johan and Tessa, and it's mostly set in cars. Until very late, we don't know whether Johan is essentially a good guy in a hard place or a dangerous madman out for a kill. Surely he can't be both? TBS is a flawless thriller with a great script brought to life by two terrific actors that keep you on the edge of your seat. Theo Maasen's Johan is an ambivalent character not unlike Edward Norton's altar boy Aaron Stampler in "Primal Fear", but rendered with even more subtlety and wit.

Didn't know what to expect from this film and was very pleasantly surprised. Excellent performances, tight plot, suspenseful direction, and it kept me guessing until the unsettling and unexpected final revelation. If this were a Hollywood film it would be ruined by making the main character either totally evil or (suprise!) good at heart in the end. Congrats to the filmmakers here for creating a very flawed yet very human protagonist. Not a monster, just one screwed up human being. Thanks for trusting your audience enough to put a human face on the ultimate evil. Such a character is actually far more frightening and sinister that a stereotypically cardboard, black-hearted villain.

Accidentally stumbled upon during a sneak preview in Leiden, in my opinion the best Dutch movie since 'Simon'! Apparently Pieter Kuijpers has a strong connection to some of the darker figures of the Dutch entertainment industry (Tygo Gernandt, Theo Maassen), and with that sense creates a very tense atmosphere, where everything seems possible at any given moment. The only relief comes when the girl Tessa, who is beautifully played by Lisa Smit, is seduced into a smile by Johan (Theo Maassen). The biggest impact of this movie is the constant urge to be compassionate for Johan, while either consciously or subconsciously you know he doesn't deserve it, whether you already guessed the ending (which is very predictable, but nonetheless the most powerful scene), or not. On top of the continuous suspense of Johans' capriciousness the movie is very claustrophobic (nearly all small spaces, even the wood scenes are mostly shot under cover of thick trees), has nervous music, fast cuts and long shots of Johan looking angry, which took me as a prisoner as well. I almost never felt such a sense of relief when the ending came along, and that's not meant as a criticism. It feels so real that it's almost like waking from a bad dream. I'd recommend this to everyone, very good!

Awesome movie. Just came back from seeing it. Much better then most holy wood blockbusters.I never really was into dutch movies. But this really was something different. The story is really great, and the main Actor Theo Maassen does a great job. Apparently he's as great at acting as at stand up comedy. I never expected a comedian to do this good in a thriller, but he does a great job! The girl also plays her role really nice.The only thing some could sometimes annoy me in the movie where the rough cuts. There were ugly cuts throughout the whole movie. They probably chose to do it this way. But they really shouldn't have... But i guess it does have it's charm.Anyways, great movie. I would give this a 8.3, but since you can only give it round number, i give an 8. Great movie! Must see if you like thriller movies!