dansview
Yes it's true. Almost everywhere, in every conceivable scenario, the "alpha" person either dominates naturally or gets frustrated if they can't. This scene plays itself out a billion times a day all over the world. It's even true that sadism is a factor when the situation gets out of control. You will see this in Junior High and forever after. Add to the mixture jealous over a girl and the battle is on.But I'm not sure you will enjoy watching it, without some other elements at play. I'm not a fan of plots showcasing evil. It's like watching the aftermath of a gruesome accident on the freeway, instead of just looking straight ahead. Do you really want to do it?Also, did anyone notice that the bully is way older than the rest? Doesn't he understand that that may contribute to why he isn't first choice?The setting and photography are good. But there's not much going on here.
Wuchak
"Caught Inside" (2010) is an Australian psychological thriller about a group of surfers who sail to a remote island paradise for vacation. A couple of women join the expedition at the last moment and they bring out the animal in one particular surfer and the holiday turns into a torturous adventure.What I liked about this film, aside from the professional fimmaking and paradisical locations (Maldives), was the realism of the story and characters. The film skirts the borders of the slasher genre and I'm sure it was tempting for the writers to have the psycho (Ben Oxenbould) morph into Jason Vorhees, but they wisely resisted.***SPOILER ALERT*** Someone complained on the message board about how unbelievable it was at one point when a group of four or five from the expedition "cowardly" put up with the psycho's tormenting antics when he doesn't even have a weapon. But this is where the film shines as a PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller and not just a thriller. Bull, the psycho, had gained the upper hand by this point in the story. The others are literally afraid of him and fearing for their lives. They're also in shock since this was supposed to be a paradise surfing vacation. The blond guy with short hair tried to scrap with Bull a couple of times and was easily humbled, not to mention beat up. It's a mental thing. Bull is the king of the mountain at this juncture -- "king" by brute force and arrogance alone. One of the girls, Sam, is anticipating getting raped and who knows what else. The teen dude doesn't know what to do, since he was Bull's little buddy, but now he sees what a total psycho he is. So they're all afraid and considering their options. No doubt they're thinking of ganging up on him, but they simply don't have it in them at this moment, so they endure his tormenting antics. They're also waiting for the right opportunity when their chances of success are best.I didn't find this unbelievable at all; in fact, I found it very realistic.***END SPOILER***If you like films like the excellent "Dead Calm" (1989), be sure to check out "Caught Inside." It's not as good, but it comes respectfully close.By the way, the Australian accents are thick so I recommend using the subtitles.The film runs 93 minutes.GRADE: B
JOHN_REID
Caught Inside is a taught psychological thriller set on a Surfing Safari in the Maldives with a thought provoking script that revolves around a central character who is not unlike Max Cady from Cape Fear.Director Adam Blaiklock and the crew spent a month or so in the Maldives filming Caught Inside. From the outset a requirement was that the actors were all competent surfers and the surfing scenes are all shot with realism. The story is cleverly and quietly developed with moments of real suspense and surprise that make the audience gasp.Ben Oxenbould plays Bull, at first glance popular with his peers, a larrikin who can charm anyone when he wants to. However we soon learn that he has a dark side. He has issues with women and anyone who disagrees with him and his disturbing sociopathic tendencies cannot be hidden in the confined spaces of the vessel.He uses his strength as an intimidation to others but, interestingly, never takes on the Captain played by Peter Phelps. It is not clear whether this is due to some past incident, his respect for authority or the fact that the skipper might be stronger than him but anyone else who crosses his path is fair game.Despite the fact that the Captain laid out the ground rules at the beginning of the trip, it becomes evident that the cruise participants are on their own – miles from anywhere. No one can help. This plays into Bull's hands as his manic tendencies become obvious. There are subtle hints that he has shown this type of behaviour before and he becomes more and more menacing and unhinged as the film progresses.Caught Inside was filmed with a tight budget but it does demonstrate how important it is to base a movie on a great script. The film essentially revolves around Bull and Ben Oxenbould is truly exceptional in the role. He has been known as a comic actor with his performances in Comedy Inc but this film provides him with an opportunity to display a real talent for a complex character role.In some ways the other actors are incidental to Bull but they are generally all very competent.It is disappointing that Caught Inside hasn't reached a wider audience. The sad reality these days is that it is very difficult to get wide distribution without major stars and studio backing. Independent film makers face an up hill battle to get their films screened in cinemas.Highly recommended.
cadeland2002
I saw this on the first public screening so there were cast and crew there and the mood in the room of the general public in attendance was very supportive which made it for a very enjoyable experience on the whole. Though Ben Oxenbould's performance is the stand out for me, the rest of the cast are also incredibly good and deserve much praise. What I liked most about this film was the believability of the characters, even the villain is someone you can imagine existing (and in school days I'm sure some of us met one or two people who were destined to turn out like the villain!). I very much enjoyed how characters acted in a such realistic manner. One of the male characters is completely de-masculinised throughout the villains reign and unable to protect the other characters, or his girlfriend, which was quite innovative and just screamed of authenticity. Too many films are full of testosterone fuelled 5 minute fight scenes, where as this films fights were clumsy and awkward, as they would be in real life.The 'hero' of the piece (I can't remember the names properly but the brown haired fit looking guy who starts a romance with Sam) is written very well in not being too tough either, he's masculine, and brave, but he's no Vin Diesel, he's just a human trapped in a desperate situation doing the best he can.My only criticism is that perhaps it took too long to get to the meaty part of the film when the villain takes control of the boat. The last movie of this type I saw was Donkeypunch, and though that was good in a popcorn movie kinda way, 'Caught Inside' is ahead of a lot of thrillers is the completely believable behaviour and realistic and natural dialogue, which in turn makes for some quite edge of your seat moments. As an indie Australian film the cast and crew have done incredibly well in pulling together this enjoyable and tense little film and I'd definitely be proud to see it go overseas and do the indie festival circuits.