Kidnaped or kidnapped? For this article, we will be using the common British spelling of 'kidnapped' rather than the Webster version, 'kidnaped.'
Some of the most terrifying movies have nothing to do with demons or supernatural villains; everyday people can be just as equally horrifying. Many of cinema’s scariest movies depict these regular individuals as they turn into wicked and vile monsters who will stop at nothing to cause chaos, murder, and mayhem. Filmmakers do an outstanding job telling these harrowing tales and making them come to life on the silver screen, yielding thought-provoking and startling results. Kidnappings are a tried and true trope for Hollywood pictures, as they immediately set a tense and spine-tingling atmosphere that instantly puts audiences on edge and keeps them glued to their seats.
It’s impossible to forget that gut-churning scene in which Kathy Bates’ Annie Wilkes takes a sledgehammer to her beloved author’s ankles in the adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery, just like audiences flocked to see Liam Neeson butt-kick his way to saving his daughter from human traffickers in the smash hit revenge movie, Taken. These kinds of movies often bring out intense acting, as Bates won an Oscar in the role of kidnapper and Brie Larson won Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her performance as a kidnapped woman in the emotionally devastating movie Room. These are the scariest movies about being kidnapped.
8 Split
Few things are more terrifying than being kidnapped by someone with 23 personalities (with the secret 24th that of a grotesque sociopath cannibal), but that is the unfortunate fate that befalls a poor girl in the 2016 thriller Split. In one of the best James McAvoy movies, the actor is frighteningly brilliant as “The Beast,” a superhuman being that has vicious bodily strength, can scale walls and stick to ceilings, and is nearly invulnerable. He kidnapps three teenage girls and imprisons them in his secret underground lair beneath the Philadelphia Zoo, instilling terror and trauma in the helpless trio.
The nerve-wracking film takes a turn when “The Beast” begins to grow more agitated and bold, showing audiences just what he’s capable of by savagely murdering innocent victims and displaying his chilling superhuman capabilities. Split was the surprise standalone sequel to M. Night Shyamalan’s 2000 film Unbreakable, and its success led to the 2019 follow-up, Glass.
7 Hounds of Love
Based upon the sickening acts committed by Australian couple David and Catherine Birnie, the 2016 crime thriller Hounds of Love follows a young woman who is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a deranged couple and is subjected to violent torture and domination. Realizing her murder is imminent and with no methods of escape, she must use her wits to drive a wedge between the demented duo to ensure her survival.
The taut psychological flick is even more shocking due to the plot and serial killers based on the true story of a real-life couple who, between October and November of 1986, kidnapped, raped, and murdered four women and buried them in shallow graves. Upon its debut, Hounds of Love garnered rave reviews from critics, with many commending the thriller for the emphasis on the psychological component to the horror depicted; Empire magazine wrote, “Deliberately uncomfortable viewing, this is nevertheless a compelling exercise in gritty psycho-noir with outstanding performances and real dramatic weight.”
6 Taken
Liam Neeson became a certified action star when he headlined the 2008 thriller Taken, in which the Irish actor portrays a former CIA operative who sets out to track down his teenage daughter and her best friend after they are kidnapped by human traffickers while on vacation in France. The terrifying premise and depiction of the girls being held hostage is startling for viewers, and Neeson’s character is informed he only has 96 hours to locate the pair before they are lost forever at a sex slave auction.
The esteemed actor revealed in interviews that he believed Taken had put some people off of the idea of traveling to Europe out of fear that similar situations would transpire for them, and he was probably right. The success of the blockbuster led to Neeson returning to the public eye and landing more roles in big-budget Hollywood movies, while also leading to two more sequels and a short-lived television series. The film proved that older gentlemen could be action superstars, and helped pave the way for people like Bob Odenkirk, Keanu Reeves, and Neal McDonough to make explosive action films in their late 50s.
5 The Collector
The 1965 British-American psychological horror film The Collector tells the harrowing story of a young Englishman who stalks a beautiful art student before abducting and holding her captive in the basement of his rural farmhouse. The picture is based on the thrilling John Fowles novel of the same name, and features an icy performance from Terence Stamp as the socially awkward and delusional Freddie Clegg, who kidnaps the subject of his affection with hopes she will fall in love with him over the course of 30 days. The premise was understood as a horror thriller at the time, but was recently elaborated and updated for modern audiences with the massively successful movie 365 Days, which is viewed as a sensual romance flick; what that says about culture is up for debate.
Freddie's delusions of not being a villain but rather a hopeless romantic make the horror flick that much more unsettling, and the actor is fantastic as the heinous yet sickeningly charming madman. The Collector debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where Stamp was awarded Best Actor and his co-star Samantha Eggar Best Actress; it remains a spine-chilling horror classic.
4 Funny Games
An American remake of the 1997 Austrian film of the same name, 2007’s psychological thriller Funny Games is an unsettling and eerie shot-for-shot remake that centers on a middle class family who are captured and tortured by two young criminals on their vacation. Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet portray seemingly pleasant young men Paul and Peter, who show up to the home of Ann and George Farber under the guise of borrowing some eggs; the deranged duo swiftly proceed to terrorize and torture the close-knit family, giving them until the following day to survive.
The Farbers are forced to participate in sadistic games in order to stay alive, resulting in shocking and blood-chilling scenes and situations that are difficult for viewers to stomach. Director Michael Haneke has stated that the thriller is a reflection and criticism of violence used in media, and specifically set out to make an incredibly brutal and very nihilistic movie, yet one which is purposefully pointless.
3 Hostel
Eli Roth wrote and directed the 2005 horror movie Hostel, which depicts a mysterious organization that tortures and kills kidnapped tourists. When three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, they find themselves drawn unwittingly into a dangerous and deadly game. The gruesome and gory film stars Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, and Eyþór Guðjónsson, who appear as the adventurers eventually trapped by barbarous, menacing men seeking to torment and murder them.
Roth came up with the concept of the twisted horror flick when he was swimming in Quentin Tarantino’s pool, brainstorming a project for a low-budget horror picture based on a Thai “murder vacation” website he came across while on the dark web. Tarantino loved the idea and encouraged the fellow filmmaker to begin writing, ultimately resulting in the script for Hostel.
2 Misery
One of the best adaptations of a Stephen King classic, 1990’s psychological thriller Misery was directed by the renowned Rob Reiner and tells the frightening story of an obsessive fan who holds her favorite author captive and forces him to write a story. The critically-acclaimed movie stars James Caan and Kathy Bates as famed novelist Paul Sheldon and his “number one fan” Annie Wilkes, and depicts the unhinged woman as she rescues the writer from an accident in a blizzard; when she learns he plans on killing off her beloved heroine, she forces Paul to burn the manuscript and write a new installment.
One of the most gasp-worthy and distressing scenes from the thriller is when Annie breaks the novelist’s ankles with a sledgehammer to prevent him from future escape attempts. For her crazed performance, Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress in Misery, the only film based on a Stephen King novel to win an Oscar. King himself has since said Misery is one of his top 10 favorite film adaptations.
1 An American Crime
The heart-wrenching 2007 horror drama An American Crime tells the appalling true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s, torturing and murdering her. Elliot Page delivers an agonizing performance as 16-year-old Syliva Likens, who at the hand of Banidzewski and her children was incrementally abused for three months before dying from her extensive injuries and malnourishment in 1965.
The actor was Tommy O’Haver’s only choice to portray Likens, with Page going deep into character in order to embody the innocent girl, even refusing to eat food during production because Likens hadn’t been fed. Most of the cast were completely unaware of the murder until after they read the script, which was largely based on actual court transcripts from the case. The film is haunting and difficult to stomach, with the New York Times writing, “An American Crime is the most brutal evocation of wrongdoing to appear in quite a while; it is hardly a pleasure to watch. But it is also one of the best television movies to appear in years.”