Held for Ransom (2000)
Held for Ransom is a 2000 direct-to-video film about five high-school students that are kidnapped and held for ransom in a remote swamp area in Florida. It was directed and written by Lee Stanley based on the novel by Lois Duncan.
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Powerful
Good movie but grossly overrated
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
I actually enjoyed this old-school suspense thriller. Better than most, not as good as some -- but all in all a good rental when HBO, "Skinemax" and Showtime are running re-runs! Dennis Hopper is his normal, crazy self and many 70's stars appear.
A strait to video release, you have to give it some credit. HELD FOR RANSOM is based on the Lois Duncan novel and you can obviously tell that it is a low-budget film. But the fact that it was based on a book helped give it some more famous actors to star in the film. The film was a little suspenseful you have to admit, but I still don't understand why everyone hated this movie so. I mean, we get to see Tsianina Joelson strip down to her bra and panties. No, but seriously the film was pretty enjoyable for me. It is very realistic as to what some people might do in a hostage situation. It is somewhat different from the book as the film takes place in the sweltering Everglades and the book is in the icy cold mountains. I seriously didn't think it was that bad. HELD FOR RANSOM gets 4/5.
This film had quite a bit of action and a good cast. I was especially impressed with the plot twist at the end. Overall, its nothing incredible.... But, Dennis Hopper still did a great job in this one. Hopper's eccentric characterization of "J.D." was pretty awesome -- it made this direct-to-video film rate above average (in my opinion, anyways).
I picked this one up from Blockbuster last week. This was a straight to video release, which usually puts up some red flags. It was actually quite good for the budget. There were several past stars in this movie, Morgan Fairchild, Joan Van Ark, The oldest Son from Home Improvement and Dennis Hopper. I would recommend this for a rental but not necessarily one to buy.