Date with a Kidnapper

Kidnapped Coed (1976)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Criminal Eddie Matlock (Jack Canon) kidnaps Sandra (Leslie Rivers) so that he can hold her for ransom and get a major pay-down from her rich father. A couple goons have other ideas but Eddie and Sandra hit the road where their adventure leads them to a strange farm house.

KIDNAPPED COED is the second feature from director Frederick R. Friedel. As with his first film AXE, this one here was made in North Carolina on an obviously low-budget but unlike that film, this one here really doesn't have too much going for it. I say this because like that film this one here doesn't have too much of a story but while AXE was rather weird in its own way, this one here just plays out like a no-budget version of BADLANDS.

I will say that the best thing going for the film are the performances by Canon and Rivers. I thought both of them were quite good in their parts and it's really too bad that there wasn't more of a story for them to act in. For the majority of the running time the two are sitting, standing or laying around and talking about subjects that don't really move the plot and instead are just downright boring. At 75 minutes the film seems double that and by the time the ending comes you're already out of it.

I will say that other than the performances there is a really campy moment that happens towards the end with a farmer. I'm not going to spoil it but the dialogue and acting had my laughing extremely hard.

Don't go into KIDNAPPED COED expecting sleazy no-budget bad film ineptitude. Frederick R. Friedel's terse, bizarre, dream-like 76-minute kidnapping-gone-wrong programmer is something of a mini-exploitation-masterpiece. It plays more like an art film, with carefully-framed tracking shots and compositions, focused on building atmosphere and silence rather than action and dialogue, and all sorts of little touches that could only come from the hands of an accomplished auteur with imagination to spare, not a talentless hack. On the minus side, the ending kinda leaves you hanging and wanting for more, and Leslie Ann Rivers' co-ed character is less fleshed out or convincing than John Canon's mummy's boy kidnapper. Canon is like the poor man's Nic Nolte--lotsa facial tics and jittery acting, but it works. If KIDNAPPING COED treads creakingly familiar path, Friedel's innovative direction turns it into something else entirely and makes it worth treasuring as a hidden gem. Cinematographer Austin McKinney also shot Friedel's AXE, the trash classic THE LOVE BUTCHER and Jack Hill's PIT STOP.

You would never think that a movie with a name such as "Kidnapped Coed" would be so..well..boring. But, it is. There are long stretches where absolutely nothing happens! I actually shouted at the screen several times, "DO SOMETHING!" and I'm not usually that agitated. This had so much sleaze potential and it bypassed all of its opportunities. There is a violent rape scene in the first 15 minutes, but it's ineptly staged and filmed in a slapdash manner.

Several other drawbacks: the girl is plain, to be kind and there is no nudity (It may have been cut-out, but I doubt it). There's also many odd plot devices which make no sense whatsoever.

I will say that the photography is excellent and the actor that plays the kidnapper is a fairly decent thespian. The subplot regarding his trying to relate to his mother in a nursing home oddly resonated with me since I've had some experiences with my own mom. I hate myself for tearing up during "Kipnapped Coed"!

Actor Jack Canon reteams with cult filmmaker Frederick R. Friedel for this exploitation-drama in which Canon gets to show a softer side. He'd previously played an unrepentant lowlife in "Axe"; here he's a small-time criminal named Eddie Matlock who kidnaps boarding house resident Sandra Morely (Leslie Rivers), intending to collect a ransom from her reasonably wealthy father.

But as writer / producer / director Friedels' story plays out, the relationship between Eddie and Sandra is developed in interesting ways. Put through more than one traumatic encounter, she becomes attached to Eddie as the two endear themselves to each other more and more. Their relationship even takes on a sexual bent.

The performances by Canon and Rivers are quite good, and Friedel crafts an entertaining film with some unexpected turns along the way. As we can see, Eddie dotes on his invalid mother (Gladys Lavitan), who lives in an old folks' home, although their own relationship is obviously rather strained. He just wants the best for her, though. And, although she name-drops her dad in order to gain an edge, Sandra ultimately thinks that her life with her parents is not all it's cracked up to be.

Excellent cinematography by Austin McKinney and superior hand-held camera operation add to the visceral feel of this deliberately paced feature, which does have a somewhat episodic nature. The no-name cast (this was filmed in both North and South Carolina) is generally watchable, with Charles Elledge an amusing standout as the aged farmer. Be sure to look for 'L.A. Law's' Larry Drake in a small role!

The only real problem is the ending, which is just a little too abrupt. It would have been nice to get just a little more time with the main characters. Even so, this is a pretty short film at just 76 minutes long.

Friedel (who also does the voice for Sandras' father) has also edited his two films "Axe" and "Kidnapped Coed" into one long crime saga entitled "Bloody Brothers". It's too bad he's made only a few films, as he is noticeably more talented than the average exploitation filmmaker of the period.

Seven out of 10.

Despite some fairly decent acting and cinematography, this movie has plot holes you can drive a truck through. These guys at this hotel must just wait around for someone to check in with a woman for them to rape, as there is no other discernible motive for them coming to the room. Even after she tells them that she's the daughter of a rich man, they aren't interested in earning a reward by rescuing her, or kidnapping her themselves as far as the audience is told.

Then there's the amiable old farmer that puts the kidnapper and the girl up for the night. At first he seems to be the first truly decent person seen in this film, then, for no apparent reason, he's a psycho. First, he spies on the lovers at night and is holding a knife. You're waiting for: A. One of them to notice the old psycho pervert with a knife. B. The old psycho pervert to use the knife. C. The old psycho pervert to decide against doing anything and slink away. You don't get any of this, the scene just changes to morning, inexplicably. Then the old guy comes at the kidnapper with a pitchfork. Why? I sure can't tell. He continues to attack the kidnapper who draws a gun and gives the old guy every chance to stop attacking. When the kidnapper is finally forced to kill the old farmer, the girl goes all hysterical about him being a murderer and runs away! What was he supposed to do? Let the psycho farmer impale him on the pitchfork?

Also there's some question about what happens in the final scene. I can't really elaborate without giving away the so-called 'surprise ending', but the DVD calls the scene "Dance of Death", which leads you to wonder if any death actually took place, because, if it does, you don't see it.

I watched this hoping for a good, old-fashioned exploitation sleaze film, and it wasn't that, but it wasn't good either. Make of that what you will.