Since it's Netflix debut on November 27, 2020, Ludovico Di Martino's Italian kidnapping thriller The Beast has remained among the streamer's most trending movie titles. The action-packed crime thriller follows Leonida Riva (Fabrizio Gifuni), a hardened Italian soldier whose violent lifestyle has estranged him from his family members. When Leonida's daughter is abducted, the trained fighter does everything in his power to find the one he loves and restore his name among his family.
While proving its popularity on Netflix, The Beast has garnered middling reviews from audiences and critics alike. Here are other examples of cinematic kidnapping thrillers.
Taken (2008)
Since it spawned two sequels and established Liam Neeson's late-career run as the go-to vengeful action star, Taken must be included on the list of great kidnap thrillers.
When his estranged teenage daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), former CIA Agent Brian Mills (Neeson) goes on a ballistic revenge mission throughout Europe, where he violently demonstrates the particular set of skills he's acquired during his time in the CIA. While not particularly original, the execution of the subgenre paired with Neeson's performance makes it a top contender.
All The Money In The World (2017)
Directed by Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World tells the real-life tragedy of billionaire oilman J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), whose 16-year-old grandson was kidnapped and held for ransom in 1973 Rome.
Much of the drama centers on Gail (Michelle Williams), the kidnapped boy's mother who does all she can to convince her father Getty to pay the kidnappers' ransom demands. Getty is too greedy to part with his own money despite being the richest man in the world at the time but slowly begins to see the benefit of saving his beloved grandson.
Misery (1990)
Kathy Bates won a much-deserved Oscar for Best Leading Actress following her terrifying turn in Misery, Rob Reiner's stellar adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel.
Bates plays Annie Wilkes in the film, a devoted fan of bestselling author Paul Sheldon (James Caan). When Annie rescues Paul from a snowy car-crash, she takes him home, nurses him to health, and encourages him to begin work on his new novel. However, Annie's obsession soon turns into sheer insanity as she begins to physically torture Paul for her own twisted amusement.
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Lynne Ramsay's searing character study You Were Never Really Here flips the kidnapping subgenre on its ear. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe, a PTSD-ridden Gulf War vet who returns home and carves a niche by hunting down child abductors with barbarous brutality.
Joe's newfound mission begins with being hired to find Nina, the 13-year-old daughter of a high-profile senator. With few leads to go on, Joe traverses the seediest parts of the city and confronts his own demons by pulverizing grown male captors who prey on female teenage kidnapping victims.
Don't Breathe (2016)
What makes Fede Alvarez's Don't Breathe such a riveting kidnapping thriller is that it doesn't tip its hand for the first half of the movie. What starts as a home-invading robbery film soon devolves into a depraved kidnapping tale.
When a trio of young criminals decides to steal money from a blind war veteran in Detroit, they have no clue how adept the man is in navigating his own booby-trapped home. Worse, when the trio stumbles into the man's basement, they realize he's been keeping a young woman captive in a sadistic plot to avenge his own daughter's death, which he blames on the abducted woman.
Prisoners (2013)
In addition to earning Roger Deakins an Oscar nod for Best Cinematography, Denis Villeneuve's outstanding 2013 kidnap mystery Prisoners currently ranks #196 on IMDB'S Top 250.
Hugh Jackman stars as Dover Keller in the film, a blue-collar Pennsylvania worker whose young daughter and her close friend are abducted in broad daylight on Thanksgiving. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned to the case, but Dover takes the investigation into his own hands when the lack of answers is provided.
Fargo (1996)
Winner of Best Actress and Original Screenplay at the 1997 Academy Awards, Joel and Ethan Coen's incompetent kidnapping plot in Fargo continues to be one of the all-time best.
When bumbling car-salesman Jerry Lundergaard concocts a hair-brained scheme to have his wife harmlessly kidnapped so he can extort money from her wealthy father, his plan backfires in epic proportion. Not only does Jerry hire kidnappers more inept than himself, but he is also tracked down by pregnant Police Chief Marge Gunderson (McDormand).
High And Low (1963)
The Japanese master of cinema, Akira Kurosawa, made one of the first great kidnapping thrillers of all-time with the 1963 film High and Low. In addition to inspiring several imitators, the film currently holds the #82 position on IMDB's Top 250.
The film follows the executive of a shoe-making corporation whose chauffer's son is suddenly taken from his lavish home in Japan while entertaining some guests. The kidnappers attempt to extort ransom money from the businessman, and he must decide whether to help his employee's son like his very own or allow him to be harmed.
Oldboy (2003)
Currently ranked #67 on IMDB's Top 250 Movies, Chan-wook Park's Oldboy is one of the best films to come out in the last 20 years regardless of genre. The hyper-gory tale of revenge revolves around an abducted man being released 15 years after first captured and given five days to find his kidnapper.
After being abducted in 1988, Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) spends 15 years in a prison-like atmosphere. When suddenly released and given a short time to avenge his captor, Oh Dae-su goes on a brutal rampage of shocking proportions.
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
As the rare winner of Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay, Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs is a kidnap thriller beyond reproach.
While much of the plot concerns novice FBI Agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) interrogating Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), she only does so to help identify and locate Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). Bill is a ruthless kidnapper and serial murderer holding captive Catherine Martin, a senator's daughter on the east coast. The film is still only the third feature in Hollywood history to win the Big Five Oscar categories.