Reviews
‘Kidnapping Inc.’ Sundance Review – Frenetic Caper Serves Up Messy Fun
A lengthy pre-title card sequence informs viewers of the political turmoil, poverty and racism that have plagued Haiti for decades, setting the stage for a kidnapping-gone-wrong plot among Haitian citizens from various economic backgrounds. This comes to us courtesy of award-winning commercial director Bruno Mourral, who makes his feature directorial debut with Kidnapping Inc.
Set in the days leading up to Haiti’s presidential election, Kidnapping Inc. follows Doc (Jasmuel Andri) and Zoe (Rolaphton Mercure), two Haitian criminals-for-hire who have just kidnapped Ben (Patrick Joseph), the son of presidential candidate Benjamin Perralt (Ashley Laraque). A wrench is thrown in their plan when they lose their kidnappee, and their desperation leads them to kidnap a lookalike (Patrick Joseph, in a dual role) and his pregnant wife (Gessica Geneus). Simultaneously, Ben’s wife Audrey (Anabel Lopez) and her lover Eddy (Marcus Boereau) attempt to secure the ransom money and get everything back to the status quo before election day arrives. While all of that is going on, Ben’s father is trying to maintain his composure and win the election, while possibly being up to some nefarious schemes of his own.
If that sounds like a lot, well, it is. Mourral keeps the film moving at a rapid pace, sometimes so rapidly that it can become difficult to follow as we bounce around from subplot to subplot. Mourral and his co-editor Arthur Tarnowski have clearly studied the films of Edgar Wright, yet what separates Wright from Mourral is that Wright makes cohesive films. I’m not convinced Mourrel has learned that trick yet, as Kidnapping Inc. threatens to derail long before the credits roll. Thankfully, it never does, but it often comes dangerously close.
Where Mourral succeeds the most is in the action sequences, especially a spectacular chase scene through the streets of Port-au-Prince that concludes the first act. Camerawork is frenetic and characters scream at each other (a lot), making for some truly thrilling set pieces. He doesn’t shy away from showing the violence, either, as bullets fly and fingernails are hammered off with gusto.
Farcical at times and deathly serious at others, Kidnapping Inc. starts out as a comedy of errors and eventually morphs into a full-blown political thriller, but the transition is far from seamless. This goes for the tonal shifts as well, which aren’t always handled with grace. Of course, nothing about Kidnapping Inc. is particularly graceful (it isn’t trying to be), but the whiplash from scene to scene, especially in the second half, is overbearing at times.
Holding things together are Andri and Mercure, who are the heart and soul of the film. They are a delight to watch and their friendship resonates, though it is Geneus who emerges as the film’s secret weapon, as she manages to steal nearly every scene she is in. The rest of the cast is made up of thinly drawn characters who don’t make much of an impression, which is why the film suffers when our two leads aren’t on screen.
However, the Doc/Zoe-less scenes are where the political commentary is at its most pointed. While the inclusion of these scenes make thematic sense, not enough attention is given to them over the course of the film’s runtime that it often feels like they belong in a different movie, especially when they’re held up against the more outlandishly comedic elements that populate most of the film. This is a shame, as there is a seething anger bubbling under the surface that boils over in the film’s final minutes. Unfortunately, it takes too long for Mourell to make his point that it doesn’t fully land by the time the credits roll.
Ultimately, Kidnapping Inc. is a loud, messy little caper that serves as a solid display of Mourell’s filmmaking talents, but he may need to take another crack at screenwriting to finesse his craft. As it stands, this is a solid debut effort that’s comes with a game cast and some hilariously entertaining set pieces, so the film earns a recommendation.
Kidnapping Inc. premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Release date TBA.
Reviews
‘Hungry’ Review – Finally, a Film Brave Enough to Call Out Hippos for the Monsters They Truly Are
When it comes to the animal attack subgenre of horror, there’s a hierarchy of sorts with the wildlife in question. Killer shark movies are easily the most ubiquitous, while alligators/crocodiles, dogs, bears, and snakes probably lead the rest of the pack.
It’s often worth paying attention, though, when a filmmaker targets a more atypical animal threat, including the likes of Jonathan King’s Black Sheep or Juan Piquer Simón’s Slugs. A new contender rumbles its way onto the screen this month, and while we all grew up thinking hippos are rotund cuties, the truth is far more frightening – this hippo is Hungry.
Sistine (Madison Davenport) and her best friend, Hannah (Olivia Bernstone), are enjoying a vacation in New Orleans, hoping to drown out their troubles back home. They sign up for an early morning bayou tour known for its alligator sightings and are joined by four other tourists and the boat’s skipper, Rodrigo (Michel Curiel). An uneventful trip sees Rodrigo take the group off the beaten path, but when an animal in the water capsizes their boat, the group finds themselves trapped in the swamp by something unexpected and deadly.
It’s a hippo. There’s a hippo in the bayou, and it’s not happy about all these pesky people.
From Joy Houck’s Creature from Black Lake to Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort to Adam Green’s Hatchet, the movies have warned us time and again not to go into the swampy bayous of Louisiana. Those cautionary tales are appreciated, though, as bigfoot, inbred hicks, and undead serial killers are a very real threat. But hippos? In the bayou? Well, that just seems silly.
And yet, Hungry plays its blubbery, big-toothed threat with deadly seriousness, and it’s all the better for it. “But Rob,” I can already hear some of you saying, “just yesterday you reviewed the new shark attack film, Chum, and said it suffered from taking itself too seriously. What gives?” For one thing, you’re misquoting me, but more importantly, the reference there was more of an observation on the animal attack subgenre successes as a whole. The “fun” ones tend to succeed more often than their more serious counterparts, but a dramatic and thrilling time can still be found with filmmakers who know what they’re doing.
Chum may be serious, but it’s also poorly written/performed, lacking in any degree of tension, devoid of personality, and so on. By contrast, Hungry lets its suspense build on the backs of engaging characters, good performances, and believable writing. Only one of its ensemble is obnoxious – a major feat for this kind of film – but even then, their motivations are both well-written and understandable.
The rest of the characters are people you’d be happy to see survive the night, and rather than looking forward to the next kill, director James Nunn and his cast leave us uncertain and nervous about who’s going to go belly up. The nervous business traveler wanting to get back to her kids? The family of three celebrating lost loved ones while on their vacation? Joaquim de Almeida’s Walker, an old hunter, is introduced saying, “The only cute hippo is a dead hippo,” so you pretty much know where he’ll end up.
To that end, the film teases out its hippo’s first appearance until well into the ninety-minute running time. We get ripples and splashes, but it’s only around the midway point that we get our first real look at the beast, and it looks fantastic. Nunn goes on to show the hippo in all its glory, and it’s a convincing antagonist brought to life through practical prosthetic effects and digital work. From the ear twitches to the beast’s giant maw opening wide with awe and malice, the hippo’s presence feels part of the action. There’s a tangible nature to it, something practical effects excel at while digital effects sometimes fail to convince of, and both succeed here with quality work from all involved.
While we get brief exteriors early on and some visually appealing drone shots, the bulk of the film unfolds on what looks to be a highly believable, set-dressed water tank (but could very well be an actual location, in which case, kudos to the team). It’s wholly convincing as a section of the bayou, complete with shoulder-high water and arching, twisting trees emerging into the sky. The film was shot in Malta, which is, coincidentally, where Chum was filmed as well.
Nunn, who also wrote Hungry, is now ten films deep into a fairly interesting career as a genre filmmaker. He’s made four movies with Scott Adkins, three of which are certified action bangers (with 2016’s Eliminators in particular being an underrated gem). He dipped a toe into the animal attack subgenre back in 2022 with the aforementioned Shark Bait, and it’s clear he learned some lessons from that endeavor, as its first hour is an engaging, attractively shot feature that sinks fast as soon as its poorly rendered shark becomes a lead character. Hungry improves on every aspect of that film, with its biggest step up being in regard to the effects.
If there’s an area or two where Hungry lacks bite, it’s in both its gore and its ending. There are numerous kills here, but the nature of the attacks and the choices made by Nunn mean none of them result in gory assaults or outcomes. We’re shown the torn apart corpse of an alligator early on, but most of the human kills see them attacked and dragged underwater, leaving nothing but a blood spill behind. Similarly, while the ending encounter satisfies, it still feels like it should have been a bigger confrontation. Neither of these aspects really hurt the film, but a bolstering of the gore and ending antics would have definitely upped the film’s ultimate entertainment value and rewatchability.
When all is said and done, Hungry is a genuinely solid animal attack film that succeeds in making its creature threat thrilling, entertaining, and, dare I say, educational? Title notwithstanding, the film acknowledges that hippos are vegetarians, meaning the five hundred or so people they kill every year – a true fact! – are slaughtered not out of hunger, but out of spite, self-defense, or a desire to play “land orca” while tossing around us fragile humans like we’re little more than seals in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Characters are grounded and engaging, the film moves well between suspense, character beats, and action, and the effects used to bring the hippo to life are highly effective and never feel like distractions. Drop those expectations of a Hungry Hungry Hippo romp, and settle in for a terrific little survival thriller about an angry, angry hippo instead.
Chomp chomp.
Hungry releases in select theaters today, June 3, before arriving on VOD on June 23, 2026.
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