Movies
[BD Review] D’Onofrio Steals The Show In ‘Chained’
Right from the beginning the reality and grittiness of Chained, the new film by Jennifer Lynch, made me want to turn away. I wanted to stop watching and not because the movie was bad; it was so powerful and painfully true to life that I couldn’t help but be moved by it. It sickened me and at the same time I was permanently sucked inside the story. Based on a screenplay by Damian O’Donnell, Chained takes a typical tale of an abused child growing up to become a serial killer and makes it something that is Oscar worthy.
The world is jacked up. We all know this and we turn away from the news when we hear everyday of children going missing. We shy away from the fact that there are sadistic individuals that abduct, torture and kill young women. Very rarely do we have to see or hear the complete details of these people’s upbringings or what drove them to do what they do unless we pick up a book or watch a documentary.
Harnessing that sadistic nature is easy for some actors. For Vincent D’Onofrio, it seems to flow off him with such ease that it scares me. He is so incredibly brilliant in all of his roles, and as Bob he is no different. Bob is a cool collected cab driver that picks up a woman every day to rape and kill. When he picks up Sarah Fittler (Julia Ormond) one day, he has excess baggage to deal with – her nine-year-old son, Tim. Instead of killing the boy, he mentors him in a way only a psychopath can: keeping him chained to the wall. Renaming him Rabbit, Bob forces the child to clean up after he has his ‘taste of a woman’ each night.
Young actor Evan Bird is amazing as nine year old Tim/Rabbit. This kid only gets about twenty minutes of screen time, but his portrayal is strong and amazing. As Rabbit transitions to a teenager, Eamon Farren takes hold of the role and Bob decides it is time to educate him. The idea behind why Bob wants to make Rabbit his protégé is echoed through sickening flashbacks. We see why Bob is the way he is and are given hints as to how it will all end. Awkward, naïve and innocent; Farren’s ability to evoke sympathy for the character of Rabbit is uncanny.
The movie is filmed impeccably. The Blu-ray is crystal clear, bringing every detail into focus. Everything is set so perfectly, from the type of chairs used to the staging of how Rabbit and Bob sit to watch television, that it is easy to be engulfed in the story. There was never a moment where I thought I was watching a movie. Little things that D’Onofrio does throughout the film like a slight change in his speech pattern or just a simple action of patting his lips with a handkerchief are icing on the cake. The lighting and house set that we see the same angles of over and over and yet they do not not grow tiresome. Instead the claustrophobic aura grows more intense as the movie progresses. The darkness of the plot is accented with excessive amount of brown visually and the entire package is tied up with a jaw-dropping bow at the end.
Films are a way for us to see inside the evils of the world and keep a safe distance. Chained fully gives a well-rounded story that shows truth to the sick things that go on in this world. And it does a damn good job of it.
It was almost one year ago that Warner Bros. brought the entire original A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to 4K in one massive 7-movie collection, with the limited edition SteelBook version of the set quickly selling out and becoming highly sought after. But we’re happy to report tonight that the SteelBook set is currently back in stock over on Amazon!
While supplies last, grab the Elm Street SteelBook collection for $154.99 right now!!
Orders placed for this re-release are scheduled to begin shipping out September 15, 2026.
[Related] Freddy’s Back: New ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Movie in the Works at Paramount
From New Line Cinema, the collection includes the original seven films – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) – along with the uncut versions of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Dream Child.
Two BRAND NEW SPECIAL FEATURES for this set include:
- Boiler Room Confessional: The king of slashers, Robert Englund, takes us on a journey through the dream world, sharing what inspired Freddy Krueger, his rise as a cultural icon, and the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street, plus his favorite kills, scenes, and more.
- Freddy’s Footnotes: Robert Englund and original A Nightmare on Elm Street filmmakers revisit iconic scenes, revealing the movie magic and chaos behind our favorite nightmares. Pull back the curtain and relive epic moments through the eyes of those who made them.
Here’s the full breakdown of included Special Features for each movie…
A Nightmare on Elm Street
· Ready Freddy Focus Points
· Commentary with Wes Craven, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley, Robert Shaye, and Sara Risher
· Commentary with Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, and Jacques Haitkin
· Alternate Endings – Scary Ending, Happy Ending, Freddy Ending
· The House that Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror
· Never Sleep Again: The Making of A Nightmare on Elm Street
· Night Terrors: The Origins of Wes Craven’s Nightmares
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
· Freddy on 8th Street
· Heroes and Villains
· The Male Witch
· Psychosexual Circus
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
· Behind the Story: Burnout
· Behind the Story: Fan Mail
· Behind the Story: The House that Freddy Built
· Behind the Story: Onward Christian Soldiers
· Behind the Story: Snakes and Ladders
· Behind the Story: That’s Showbiz
· Behind the Story: Trading 8’s
· Dokken Dream Warriors Music Video
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
· The Finnish Line
· Krueger, Freddy Krueger
· Hopeless Chest
· Let’s Makeup
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
· Behind the Story: Womb Raiders
· Behind the Story: The Sticky Floor
· Behind the Story: Take the Stairs
· Behind the Story: Hopkins Directs
· Behind the Story: A Slight Miscalculation
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
· 86’D
· Hellraiser
· Rachel’s Dream
· 3D Demise
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
· Commentary with Wes Craven
· NEW – Boiler Room Confessional
· NEW – Freddy’s Footnotes
· Becoming a Filmmaker
· Filmmaker
· An Insane Troupe
· The Problem with Sequels
· Two Worlds
· Welcome to Prime Time: It Really Happened
· Welcome to Prime Time: A Childhood Memory
· Welcome to Prime Time: Sometime in the Early 80s
· Welcome to Prime Time: So It Began
· Welcome to Prime Time: Beauty and the Beast
· Welcome to Prime Time: Making the Glove
· Welcome to Prime Time: Shapeshifter
· Welcome to Prime Time: The Shoot
· Welcome to Prime Time: The Revolving Room
· Welcome to Prime Time: All’s Well that Ends Well
· Welcome to Prime Time: Talalay’s Tally
· Welcome to Prime Time: It Couldn’t Have Happened
· Welcome to Prime Time: Alternate Ending Version
· Conclusion: Where Gothic Plots Come From
· Conclusion: Why We Like Gothic
· Conclusion: Sadomasochism
· Conclusion: Freddy vs. Pinhead
· Conclusion: Freddy’s Manic Energy
· Conclusion: Creating Lasting Characters in Horror
· Conclusion: No More Magic Tricks
· Conclusion: Monster with Personality
· Conclusion: Freddy as Sex Machine
· Conclusion: Campfire Stories
The Elm Street collection is available in this collectible SteelBook packaging (exclusive to Amazon) and as a standard 4K collection that’s also available now over on Amazon.
You must be logged in to post a comment.