The Abduction of Kari Swenson

Unless you are familiar with the kidnapping event the movie is based on, there are some surprises that you will not see coming. Two mountain men, a father and son, played by M. Emmet Walsh and Michael Bowen, kidnap Olympic athlete Kari Swenson, Tracy Pollan, "because they need a woman" in their Montana mountain lair. They are relentlessly pursued by a Sheriff, Joe Don Baker. The very uneven editing causes the film to constantly be cutting back and forth between the manhunt and Kari Swenson's personal demons from her ordeal. For a TV movie, this is way above average, and special mention must be made of the excellent "Philip Glass like" soundtrack. Rather than going for sensationalism, the film concentrates on character development, and it far exceeded my expectations. - MERK

This movie is terrific. It does a wonderful job of telling the story of Kari Swenson's nightmarish experience. Everything fit together perfectly; the acting, the scenery, the music...there was never a dull or boring moment. It's the kind of movie that you don't stop thinking about for days afterward. I highly recommend seeing it.

In Pollans only real leading role, she shines as the title biathelete whos kidnapped by father and son mountainmen. Held in the freezing cold for over a day, shes eventually left alone when the crazies get scared off by rescuers. After a grueling search, shes finally found and tries to rebound before heading back to the compete for the US. Theres a lot of great work here by a ton of veteran actors behind Pollan, such as Walsh, Baker, and Ronny Cox. And, man, does Sylvester Levay supply some extremely creepy music for this. You wouldnt expect something so chilling for a made for tv pic, but you get it here. His score, coupled with Pollans identification of the two guys at the police station, gripped me like crazy. Very compelling drama at work here.