SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Asad Almond
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
utgard14
Pretty young jogger is abducted by crazy mountain man. That pretty much sums up the whole plot. Those expecting some exploitation fare will be disappointed. There is no nudity, though Roberta Weiss does look cute in her sweat suit and she spends the climax of the film in her panties. Speaking of Weiss, she's certainly one of the most attractive actresses of the '80s. I only know of her from two other things: a small part in The Dead Zone and an episode of Tales From the Darkside. A good episode, though. Anyway, back to the movie. The location shooting is nice. Weiss, as I said, is pretty and does a fine job with her performance. Lawrence King-Phillips is good as the psycho mountain man. Dan Haggerty, the reason most people will even see this, is enjoyable essentially playing the Grizzly Adams type of character we all expect. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen but it's pretty pointless. If it was a little seedier it might have more of a cult following, whatever that says about us.
Coventry
Well, this was
good, but certainly not what I expected! According to the cover of the ex-rental VHS I picked up, "Abducted" is based on a true story and it even has bits and pieces of authentic Canadian newspaper clippings illustrated on the back. However, I can't find any information regarding this allegedly "true story" on the whole internet. I'm still somewhat tempted to believe the film is at least loosely inspired by true events, though, because the plot and the story twists are just too weird be fictional. "Abducted" is quite unique, actually. It's a prototypic exploitation movie, only it doesn't feature any exploitation trademarks. This movie basically deals with the kidnapping of a young and beautiful girl by a bewildered and socially alienated mountain man, but strangely enough it doesn't feature any sleaze, nudity or rape. Instead, this is a slow-moving and (wannabe) harrowing drama that makes some very unusual twists around halfway and mainly focuses on the breathtaking filming locations and environmental scenery. During her morning jog in the woods, Renee Aldrich is surprise-attacked by a madman. He scares and provokes her and then literally drags the poor girl deeper into the woods – by a rope around her neck – to his cabin. His attempts to rape her might be unsuccessful, but still his behavior towards her grows increasingly hostile. Then the film makes a weird twist when suddenly the freak's father shows up and turns out to be a "one-with-nature" Good Samaritan type of guy. Joe Evans, played by Grizzly guy Dan Haggerty, heavily disapproves his son's acts and even confesses to Renee that the came to live in the remote woods to keep Vern away from people. Grizzly guy also swears to guide her back home, but Vern is not willing to let her go that easy. On their way back to civilization, "Abducted" changes into some sort of educational nature & wildlife documentary, with Dan Haggerty vividly trying to pass on the message of preserving our forests. Undeniably the filming locations are staggering, but if I wanted to see deer or birds, I could always watch National Geographic. The bizarre triangular situation and the continuously present tension between Renee and her aggressor Vern provide a handful of noteworthy atmospheric sequences, but overall "Abducted" is a dull film and a missed opportunity for sure. I just noticed there also exists a sequel to this film, entitled "Abducted II: the Reunion", which features Vern's resurrection from the dead and three scarcely dressed women on a camping trip. Now, that's all the more proof this film can't possibly be based on a true story, because that would be the ultimate in shamelessly exploiting a human drama. But with a director named Boon Collins, you never know, of course
eljer7
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It turned out to be better than I expected. It comes across like a Lifetime movie (which is why my wife liked it). Those who rent this movie hoping for your typical exploitation "crazy mountain-man kidnaps innocent girl" movie will be disappointed. There is no nudity, a little adult language, and some mild violence.What I liked about this movie is that it was better than it had to be. The "villain" actually had some depth to his character, as did the character played by Dan Hagerty. The acting by the female lead could have been better, but isn't so awful that it makes the film unwatchable. The scenes between the female and Dan Hagerty are nice and sometimes rather touching.I recommend this movie for rising above its genre. Its nice these days to be pleased and suprised by a movie, rather than disappointed.
pinecone9
Exciting from start to finish-not only is this one of those movies of which you just HAVE to see the ending, but it's also one of those gems that actually has you talking out loud to the screen and as you know, not every movie involves you so much, it makes you want to do that. Weeellll, it did have that affect on me, anyway. I found the acting to be excellent-so good, you can easily forget you're just watching a movie as it seemed so real. The casting was absolutely perfect. I'm also glad they made a sequel to it, too. Energetic but not overdone, no hammy performances, everything was just right. I thought this movie was absolutely great. Interesting, suspenseful, not dull at all...can't remember a "slow" spot. Just extremely well done in all ways, in MHO.