Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve, 2013)

The small-town America of perverts and suppressed paranoia lurking under the suburban surface is an oft-visited setting and brings with it certain tropes such as the establishment of a false sense of secure family life and cycles of abuse originating from religious fanaticism warping individuals. Prisoners has all this in spades, but is elevated above the run-of-the-mill child abduction story by strong casting, including Hugh Jackman as the father who takes the law into his own hands and is driven to horrific acts through his conviction, and also by a succession of false trails which keep you guessing.

6/10