Held for Ransom (2000)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Lee Stanley

Writers:

Lois Duncan (novel)
Lee Stanley (writer)

Release Date:

14 November 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

They Pay or They Die.

Plot:

Five spoiled high-school students are kidnapped and held for ransom in a remote swamp area. |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Dennis Hopper	...	JD
Zachery Ty Bryan	...	Glenn Kirtland
Kam Heskin	...	Jesse M.
Jordan Brower	...	Bruce Kirtland
Randy Spelling	...	Dexter
Tsianina Joelson	...	Marianne
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charlene Amoia	...	Student #1
Timothy Bottoms	...	Fred Donavan
Shelly Burch	...	Mrs. McCormick
Mark DeLisle	...	Rich Kid
Paul Dillon	...	John
Morgan Fairchild	...	Mrs. Kirtland
Michael Finuoli	...	Student #3
John Getz	...	Mr. Kirtland
Joe Hess	...	Swamp Man #1 (as Joseph C. Hess)
Tyler Kuhn	...	Randy Donovan
Keith MacKechnie	...	Detective Van Bommel
Debi Mazar	...	Rita
Robert Noble	...	Mr. Godfrey
Brian Nolan	...	Student #4
Stephanie Quay	...	Student #2
Quentin Richmond	...	Teen on Bus
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Swamp Man #2
David Siegel	...	Crime Scene Detective
Joan Van Ark	...	Nancy Donavan
Russell Warner	...	Officer Matthews

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Company:

Emmett/Furla Films

"Awful" is the nicest thing I can think of to say about this movie.

I will never see that $4.25 again. Why did I rent this movie?

I sit here, in utter shock at just how terribly awful this movie was, on practically all accounts. Oh, how naive I used to be, to think that even the worst movie would have some redeeming qualities. This one had none whatsoever.

The wretchedness of the acting was obscured only by the abysmal script. The basic plot line (high school students from wealthy families, kidnapped and held captive in the Everglades), if it had been used to its full potential, could have become a C-minus teen thriller.

I would typically call a poorly developed character "two dimensional." Now, to call ANY of the characters in this waste of perfectly good celluloid as "one dimensional" would be an obsequious compliment. There WERE no characters in this movie. Just bad guys and worse guys.

My recurring thought throughout the movie was "Please, please, Mr. Alligator, just eat SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY." In this small thing I was not disappointed.

Stay away from this movie! Stay away! Please, please, for the love of all that is good and decent, STAY AWAY!