12 Unusually Demanding Movie Kidnappers

Since the day villains first realized they could twirl their own moustaches, kidnapping has been a major plot point in a lot of motion pictures. There’s something fundamentally unsettling about being held against your will, particularly by a stranger with an unknown agenda, that’s nerve-racking to even consider, and something extra terrifying about the idea that it could happen to someone you love. But then, at some point, Hollywood made movie kidnappers fundamentally ridiculous.

Kidnapping, although sometimes still taken deadly seriously, became a go-to plot point for screenwriters who simply needed their heroes to do outrageous things without losing audience sympathy. In this weekend’s new release Getaway, Ethan Hawke speeds his way down the streets of Bulgaria, causing millions of dollars in property damage and kills god knows how many police officers who crash their cars in hot pursuit, all in service of a nefarious criminal scheme. But that’s okay! He’s doing it because his wife was kidnapped by a madman. That makes him a hero.

Unusually demanding movie kidnappers (that is to say, movie kidnappers with highly unusual demands) have been a plot point in ridiculous thrillers for many years. Some have used the trope as an excuse for enjoyable high-octane entertainment, others merely as a crutch for their dumb storylines. A few films have even used unusually demanding movie kidnappers for legitimately dramatic reasons. Our list includes them too.

Check out 12 Unusually Demanding Movie Kidnappers, courtesy of CraveOnline. If the movie begins with “We have [insert kidnapped person here], now… [do something ridiculous],” it qualifies!


William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.

TRENDING


X