Chained (2012)

Bob, a cab-driving serial killer who stalks his prey on the city streets alongside his reluctant protégé Tim, who must make a life or death choice between following in Bob's footsteps or breaking free from his captor.

Director:

Jennifer Lynch

Writers:

Damian O'Donnell (based on a screenplay by), Jennifer Lynch (screenplay)

Stars:

Vincent D'Onofrio, Eamon Farren, Evan Bird

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Bob
Eamon Farren	...	Rabbit
Evan Bird	...	Younger Rabbit
Julia Ormond	...	Sarah Fittler
Conor Leslie	...	Angie
Jake Weber	...	Brad Fittler
Gina Philips	...	Marie
Daniel Maslany	...	Young Bob
Benjamin DeWalt	...	Son
Lyndon Bray	...	Nasty Father
Michael Maslany	...	Young Brad
Kate Herriot	...	The Runner
Alexander Doerksen	...	Colin (as Alex Doerksen)
Troy Skog	...	Bob's Dad
Shannon Jardine	...	Bob's Mom

Storyline

This movie is about A cab driver called Bob (Vincent D'Onofrio) who picks up women and takes them to his house where he kills them. But on this one day he picks up a woman and her 9 year old son Tim. Bob then makes Tim live in the house with him all while he keeps killing women. Tim grows up there, watching, seeing all that happens. Bob wants to make him his protégé. Will Tim carry on the legacy?

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | isolated house | traumatic childhood experience | childhood trauma | first sexual experience | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing and sadistic violent content including bloody killings and rape, and for language and sexuality

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 July 2013 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Rabbit

Filming Locations:

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Envision Media Arts, RGB Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original focus of the story involved detectives actively pursuing Bob, who they nicknamed "The Dicer" for his habit of cutting women up before killing them. The relationship between Bob and Rabbit was secondary.

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Goofs

When Bob freaks out in his garage after having flashbacks, you can see a male crew member wearing a baseball cap in the side mirror of the taxi.

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Quotes

Bob: You got me, and no one else.

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Crazy Credits

The credits play over sounds of Rabbit in the house. There is no music. Among the sounds are what appear to be Rabbit cutting out an article for the scrapbook, exiting the garage, and leaving in the taxi cab.

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Connections

Referenced in An American Mary in London (2012)

User Reviews

Not quite the film Lynch seems to believe she's made.

Love Jennifer Lynch, but didn't feel too much one way or the other about this film, until very near the end. In order to truly appreciate a dramatic film, I need to feel some connection with the lead character, and maybe I should be thankful for this, but I was not at all able to identify with the serial killer in this film. Nor was I able to identify with the child he kidnaps and keeps chained up as his servant - and student - for close to a decade. Until, that is, the final chapters when the grown boy finally does something other than cower, brood and follow orders. And perhaps because I was so pleased to see the teenager finally overcome his fear and show some initiative, I was quite emotionally sucked into the twist ending, though later - after a discussion with friends and colleagues - I saw how ridiculously far-fetched this reveal was. One of these friends was actually incensed by the film, partially because he thought it to be little more than misogynistic exploitation, whereas director Jennifer Lynch (quite honestly, I think) believes she has made a serious film addressing child abuse. Though I'm sorry to say that I don't believe Lynch has succeeded in making a truly serious film, I'm also not sure I'm on board with the misogynist charge (though Lynch has had this charge tossed at her before). In fact, I think a stronger case could be made for her as a man-hater, rather than a woman-hating, particularly given that the actions taken against women in this movie are performed by, and seen through the eyes of, a madman. That said, though she is doped-up, a hooker still reacts unbelievably slowly to an obviously threatening situation, while another woman is, perhaps, too quick to trust the madman's "son" and offer him sex in exchange for her freedom. Still, even putting aside the reprehensible actions of the serial killer, and the occasionally jaw-dropping inaction of the teen boy, for Lynch to think the inconceivably horrific actions of another character (not revealed until the very end) to be at all realistic, suggests a deeply-seated hatred of men. Thus, maybe Lynch is misanthropic, rather than misogynist, distrusting and despising all humankind in equal measure. As noted, in the heat of the moment, I actually felt that the film emotionally needed the ending that she has given it, yet I almost immediately had troubling questions about what this ending asks the audience to believe, questions that only grew deeper after discussing the film with friends.