RG
Roberto Giacomelli
•The three criminals Mathias, Gabriel, and Kyle, after a robbery gone wrong in which Mathias was also injured, arrive near a villa and, to hide from the police chasing them, decide to enter the residence, taking the residents hostage. The villa is home to American Dave McBain with his wife and two children. The three decide to take advantage of the situation and ask McBain to hand over his money: the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, and although McBain and his family show themselves very cooperative, Gabriel begins to show his violent nature.
"Life in Captivity" is the latest TV movie – according to the first viewing broadcast on Canale 5 – of the Mediaset series "6 Steps into Yellow," which attempted to revive the heyday of Italian giallo during the era of TV dramas. Did it succeed? Unanimously, we would say no, both in terms of the overall qualitative aspect of the operation, oscillating between mediocre and bad, and in terms of commercial success, which can be considered a quiet flop, given the average of 3/5 million viewers per episode.
"Life in Captivity" is directed by Lamberto Bava, who had already directed "Omen" and "Custom-Made Murder." As much as this director had disappointed with his previous works, he satisfies with this last film, which can be considered among the best things to come out of this mediocre series of TV movies. Like the two films directed by Edoardo Margheriti ("Under Protection" and "Souvenirs"), it must be said that we still remain within the circle of partial success, that is, an appreciation that goes exclusively within the scope of the series that the films are part of; otherwise, the overall judgment would probably be harsher or at least reducible.
The most positive aspect of "Life in Captivity" is the absence of the giallo plot. Said like this, it could be considered a contradiction, and even more penalizing in a series of films whose common title is "6 Steps into YELLOW," but given the very low quality of the giallo writing of practically all the films in the series, not having a whodunit mechanism only benefits the film. In reality, there is a minimum of giallo, and it concerns the background of the character taken hostage, but it is a highly predictable revelation that neither harms nor truly enriches the plot and does not belong to the usual canons of the giallo formula.
Screenwriters Stefano Piani and Alberto Ostini construct a thriller that, in some aspects, reminds one of "That House Lost in the Park" by Ruggero Deodato mixed with the action of Bruce Willis' "Hostage," with the necessary and obvious distinctions that go to purge the violence and morbidity from one and the richness and action from the other. The result is rather engaging in the plot, with fairly predictable twists (including the love story between the kidnapper and the kidnapped) but capable of giving narrative solidity to the whole.
Given the previous experiences of the series, here the actors' performances are above average, thanks to the good performances of most of the cast, among whom stand out the former TV Hercules Kevin Sorbo in the role of the kidnapped Dave McBain, Jane Alexander ("Elisa of Rivombrosa"; "Commissioner Manara"), in the role of his wife, and Antonio Cupo ("Smile"; "Barbarossa") in the role of the leader of the criminals Mathias.
Do not ask for blood and sex because there are none, and the chaste attempt at rape of McBain's daughter, played by Candace Marie, is the most audacious thing "Life in Captivity" has to offer.
In the context of Italian TV, a film slightly above average. If you like home invasion movies and have followed the series "6 Steps into Yellow," it is worth catching up with "Life in Captivity" as well.
Rounded-down score.