DVD Review: The Betrayed

By Cyril Pearl -- Video Business, 6/1/2009

MGM/FOX
Street: June 30
Prebook: now
> Captive woman must use her wits to escape from this thriller.

In this DVD premiere, Melissa George is held captive in a cell by a group of masked baddies who’ve also abducted her diabetic son and plan on killing them both unless she reveals some dirty info about her criminally connected husband. Not as tense as wants to be, the film’s grimy cell, threats of forced sex, bugs and creaky shower remind one of a cheap hotel. But The Betrayed at least gives TV favorite George (Alias and, more recently, HBO’s In Treatment) a chance go through the catalog of thesping exercises, led by anger, fear, panic, concern and so on. The always-welcome Alice Krige, in her Borg Queen default mode, makes a late appearance as an icy crime boss.

Shelf Talk: The Betrayed contains elements from such single-location thrillers as Panic Room, The Collector and the straight-to-tape leader of the genre, Dangerous Obsession. This film should be recommended to those who like their thrillers claustrophobic and cramped.

Thriller, color, NR (mature themes, violence, language), 99 min., DVD $26.98
Extras: none
Director: Amanda Gusack
First Run: DVD premiere