Caught Inside

source: Caught Inside

Not sure why this has such terrible ratings...this is a perfect example of why I don't trust IMDB ratings. This movie was epic! It offers a wonderful portrait of a villain...quite like Creep or Creep 2. It has a badass female protag who is capable of saving herself. It has a couple that teams up to fight the villain at the climax. It has some pretty sweet surfing scenes and is a commentary against * shaming. 2 stars for portrayal of minorities/native islander people, overacting by the villain at certain points, and a weak start that made me think this was going to be a B movie. The cinematography is beautiful, especially Sam sitting on the anchor while the dolphins swim below. Whoever did the camera work and lighting for this really deserves an award. Ending scene was so memorable and the music was well-chosen. Every actor got super into their roles - you could see the trauma and terror in their faces.

What might appear to be a low-budget surfer-dude movie with sex, skin and stupid plot turns out to be a well-scripted, tightly told and well acted suspense film with plenty of sexual tension and a truly disturbing portrait of "the-killer-among-us". Best thing about CAUGHT INSIDE is it's in every respect believable. One walks away from the film truly suspicious that, beneath a thin veneer of humanity in some of us, scratch the surface and/or tweak the circumstances, we're simply packs of animals divided into the dominant and the submissive. There's hardly a moment of fluff, padding; e.g., even the surfing clips are minimal. This flick is further proof that hard work, not necessarily gobs of money, pays off. Like to see more from the makers.

Yes it's true. Almost everywhere, in every conceivable scenario, the "alpha" person either dominates naturally or gets frustrated if they can't. This scene plays itself out a billion times a day all over the world. It's even true that sadism is a factor when the situation gets out of control. You will see this in Junior High and forever after. Add to the mixture jealous over a girl and the battle is on. But I'm not sure you will enjoy watching it, without some other elements at play. I'm not a fan of plots showcasing evil. It's like watching the aftermath of a gruesome accident on the freeway, instead of just looking straight ahead. Do you really want to do it? Also, did anyone notice that the bully is way older than the rest? Doesn't he understand that that may contribute to why he isn't first choice? The setting and photography are good. But there's not much going on here.

Well acted, beautifully photographed movie with great characterization by Ben Oxenbould.

Quite unrealistic that 4 unbound people couldn't figure out a way to jump one pretty much unarmed man.

6 young adults charter a boat to a remote island. Alex (Leeanna Walsman) and her boyfriend Toobs (Simon Lyndon). Sam (Daisy Betts) comes along as a friend to Alex. Rob (Sam Lyndon), Archie (Harry Cook) and Bull (Ben Oxenbould) round out the surfers. The captain is Skipper Joe (Peter Phelps). Sam shows a preference to Rob to the dismay and rage of Bull. Bull's inappropriate high testosterone conduct lands him a "time out" by himself on Gilligan's Island while the rest of the party remains on the boat. Bull plans and then takes his revenge as this turns into an abduction film. Ben Oxenbould plays the role of Bull very well. He could well be on his way to being the Australian "David Hess" of abduction terror. Outside of Bull's character, the film really doesn't take off. F-bombs, sex, no nudity.

The acting was very natural and believable. I enjoyed the setting on the yacht and how friction became tension and escalated to much worse from there. The biggest message the film conveyed (to me) was to be very weary of women who sexually taunt men and then blow things out of proportion when the guy makes a move. Sam (Daisy Betts) was clearly eyeing Bull (Ben Oxenbould) but then made out with Rob (Sam Lyndon) because he made a move before Bull could. When Bull finally made a move, she rejected him in the worst possible way - even when he later very calmly wanted to apologize. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the film; in fact I enjoyed it very much! The film became quite psychotic, though, and even became difficult to watch because it was done so well, and because Ben Oxenbould stole the show as Bull.

Couldn't watch last 20 minutes when everything becomes anti-climactic. Potentially good plot becomes implausible. Pity because setting and acting are good. Main problem is our credulity at group's incompetence or their pacifity when confronted with main character's villainy. I'd have loved to support this more as the actors do their best in a unique setting but the script let them down. Comparable to the much better Dead Calm.

"Caught Inside" (2010) is an Australian psychological thriller about a group of surfers who sail to a remote island paradise for vacation. A couple of women join the expedition at the last moment and a series of events turns the holiday into a torturous adventure. What I liked about this film, aside from the professional fimmaking and paradisical locations (Maldives), was the realism of the story and characters. The film skirts the borders of the slasher genre and I'm sure it was tempting for the writers to have someone morph into Jason Voorhees, but they wisely resisted. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Someone complained about how unbelievable it was at one point when a group of four or five from the expedition "cowardly" put up with the psycho's tormenting antics when he doesn't even have a weapon. But this is where the film shines as a PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller. Bull, the psycho, had gained the upper hand by this point in the story. The others are literally afraid of him and fearing for their lives. They're also in shock since this was supposed to be a paradise surfing vacation. The blond guy with short hair tried to scrap with Bull a couple of times and was easily humbled, not to mention beat up. It's a mental thing. Bull is the king of the mountain at this juncture -- "king" by brute force and arrogance alone. One of the girls, Sam, is anticipating getting raped and who knows what else. The teen dude doesn't know what to do, since he was Bull's little buddy, but now he sees what a total psycho he is. So they're all afraid and considering their options. No doubt they're thinking of ganging up on him, but they simply don't have it in them at this moment, so they endure his tormenting antics. They're also waiting for the right opportunity when their chances of success are best. I didn't find this unbelievable at all; in fact, I found it very realistic. ***END SPOILER*** If you like films like the excellent "Dead Calm" (1989), be sure to check out "Caught Inside." It's not as good, but it comes respectfully close. By the way, the Australian accents are thick so I recommend using the subtitles. The film runs 93 minutes. GRADE: B+