I enjoy nothing more when settling down to watch a movie than having my attention grabbed early on and keeping my attention held until the credits roll. It doesn’t necessarily need to keep me on the edge of my seat provided there’s an interesting story unfolding and one that keeps me firmly invested.
For the most part, Found Alive manages to do just that.
The film opens with some sobering statistics about abducted women and girls and their chances of being found alive. And from there we’re thrown into a dramatic sequence involving a young girl, restrained in the back of a car being driven by her captor. A violent crash gives her an opportunity to escape, despite the desperate efforts of the man trapped in the wreckage to stop her.
It’s a convincing and well-executed opening that immediately establishes the disturbing subject matter.
Fast forward ten years and we soon learn that our captive girl who manages to escape has grown into Reeve LeClaire (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young woman still struggling with the psychological consequences of her ordeal. Although she’s physically free, the trauma of her captivity remains very much a part of her everyday life. Even something as ordinary as attending a house party can trigger memories and feelings she’d rather leave behind.
When she’s approached to help Tilly, a young girl recently found alive after spending a year in captivity in the hands of a psychopath, Reeve is understandably reluctant. She knows first-hand just what this child must have endured and the psychological effects it has inevitably had on her. Nevertheless, having received similar support after her own ordeal years ago, she agrees.
Their early meetings provide some effective moments. Tilly is frightened, angry and desperate to get away from everything associated with her abduction. Reeve understands those feelings, and there’s a particularly uncomfortable but moving exchange in which the two reveal some of the physical scars left by their experiences.
Moretz is convincing throughout, portraying Reeve as someone determined to move forward with her life while never quite being able to escape what happened to her. It’s a strong central performance, and one that helps give the story some genuine emotional weight.
But thankfully Found Alive isn’t content to remain a drama about two survivors.
As Reeve becomes increasingly involved in Tilly’s case, she begins questioning certain details surrounding the girl’s captivity. Her suspicions lead her to believe that the authorities might not have the complete picture, particularly when it becomes apparent that other girls may still be missing.
What follows is an increasingly complicated investigation involving disturbing discoveries, unexpected developments and some genuinely unpleasant individuals.
I won’t go into too much detail because much of the enjoyment comes from watching the story unfold and trying to work out where it’s heading. But its twisty-turny path succeeded in holding my attention and keeping me guessing about who might be behind this dark, disturbing case. And I became increasingly invested in Reeve’s determination to uncover the truth.
Interestingly, I wouldn’t describe much of the earlier part of the film as particularly suspenseful. There are unsettling moments, certainly, but it’s the mystery and the revelations rather than any sustained sense of danger that initially keep things moving.
And that worked perfectly well for me.
The performances are another strong point. Moretz leads a pretty solid cast, with the supporting actors providing convincing portrayals of characters who are frequently dealing with some uncomfortable situations.
The film also deserves some credit for the way it handles its more disturbing material. There are scenes involving captive girls and the threat of terrible violence, but the filmmakers frequently leave the worst of what happens to our imagination. Sometimes hearing something without actually seeing it can be considerably more unsettling.
As the investigation progresses, the stakes rise and Reeve finds herself in increasingly dangerous circumstances. This is where the film begins to deliver more conventional thriller suspense, including a tense rescue sequence and a final confrontation that brings her own traumatic history sharply back into focus.
The closing minutes are particularly frantic and bloody, and for the most part I found them satisfying.
There is perhaps a moment during the final confrontation when things seem to come a little too easily for Reeve, and I did briefly question how believable that particular development was. But that’s perhaps nick picking because it wasn’t enough to spoil the ending or undermine my enjoyment of what had come before.
What I appreciated most about Found Alive was that it kept giving me reasons to remain interested. Just when the investigation appeared to be heading in one direction, another revelation would introduce a fresh complication.
And through it all, Reeve remains a character worth following.
The film doesn’t reinvent the psychological thriller, and I wouldn’t suggest that every moment is packed with nail-biting tension. But given the strength of the story and its subject matter, it didn’t need to. The film handles some difficult subject matter reasonably well and benefits enormously from a convincing central performance.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Found Alive. It’s a well-paced thriller with some effective twists, strong acting and enough surprises to keep me watching with interest right through to its blood-soaked conclusion.
Sometimes, that’s more than enough.
