Held, 2020.
Directed by Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing.
Starring Jill Awbrey, Bart Johnson, Zack Gold, Travis Cluff, Rez Kempton, and Liz Fenning.
SYNOPSIS:
A married couple go to an isolated holiday to celebrate their anniversary but are soon held hostage by an unseen Voice who is watching their every move.
Shown as part of FrightFest Halloween 2020, entrapment thriller Held finally gets a home entertainment release, and seeing as the country is now out of lockdown some of its initial impact may be lost as the themes of toxic patriarchy, spousal abuse and being stuck in one place all seemed a little more relevant a couple of years ago (not that certain things ever change, but you get the point).
Anyway, Held sees Emma Barrett (screenwriter Jill Awbrey) on her way to a remote holiday rental home – and we know it’s very remote thanks to the admittedly gorgeous aerial shots and the sombre music that plays over the opening credits, telling us all we need to know without a word being said – where she is planning to celebrate her wedding anniversary with husband Henry (Bart Johnson), who is not there yet but will join her the following day, or so she tells obvious red herring taxi driver Joe (Rez Kempton), the nosiest taxi driver ever.
Once Henry arrives (early) things don’t really make Emma any happier than she was before he got there and it becomes obvious that this is a marriage under stress, something that becomes obvious once the fun and games start after it turns out their drinks have been spiked. Waking up in different clothes than what she went to bed in, Emma panics and notices that both of their wardrobes of clothes have changed, indicating that somebody wants them to dress a particular way. That somebody makes himself known via a speaker system and lets the couple know that they have been spied on and that if they try to escape there will be repercussions, like turning up the voltage in the electric transmitters that have been implanted under their skin.
As tensions increase, secrets are revealed that confirm the Barrett’s marriage is far from perfect and to put it back on track they must do what the mysterious Voice tells them, because obedience is the key to a successful marriage. However, as events escalate Emma comes to discover that this may not necessarily be the case.
Taking its cue from Saw – two people, one location, a strange voice and brutal violence – Held is a movie that has a lot to say but doesn’t always get it all out amongst the tense and, occasionally, gory set pieces that make up most of the running time. The big event that sets it all off is the revelation of an indiscretion, forcing Emma and Henry to not exactly want to be friendly towards each other, but the Voice insists that Henry make love to his wife and this difficult, borderline disturbing scenario pulls back before it gets too exploitative. However, given how the Voice gives out commands about how each partner should treat each other in a very black-and-white – or ‘traditional’, as some would put it – way, the scene does deserve further exploration, whether through dialogue between the couple or perhaps there was something in their past we could relate it to; the opening scene indicates an act of abuse but, again, it never really goes anywhere or gets referred to, nor does the fact that Henry seems to have children, albeit adult, from a previous relationship, all plot threads that deserve exploration but never really amount to anything.
But what Held does well is give you a tense, dark thriller that never really lets up once the characters and the situation have been established. Granted, if you sit back and really think about it then it is all a bit far-fetched but no more than, say, a dying man with a grudge and the ability to set up traps with precision engineering and timing, and how many of those movies did people pay money to go and see?
The final act escalates the situation to an absurd level but by then you’ve been gripped by the Barrett’s plight, and it ends in a similar way to how it played out all along, i.e. with very few surprises. Yes, Held is quite predictable and you’ll have it figured out long before the Barrett’s do but it is a fairly engaging watch nonetheless, and if nothing else it should provoke a few discussions about gender roles and instability within toxic relationships. It’s just a shame that these things aren’t dissected a bit more within the movie itself.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
