Prisoners (2013)

Prisoners is a grim, slow-burning crime thriller about how far a parent will go to protect a child. When six-year-old Anna Dover and her friend Joy vanish on Thanksgiving, small-town carpenter Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is consumed by panic and rage. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) follows official leads—including a suspicious man living in an RV, Alex Jones (Paul Dano)—but with little evidence the investigation stalls. As hours become days, Keller takes matters into his own hands, and the film pushes him and everyone around him into morally fraught, desperate territory. The movie is as much about obsession and grief as it is about the missing girls. Tension mounts through meticulous investigation, unexpected twists, and escalating confrontations that force characters to choose between law and vengeance. The story stays grounded in character, exploring how fear and hope warp judgment and how far ordinary people will bend their own ethics under unbearable pressure. If you watch Prisoners you’ll experience a dark, emotionally intense thriller: claustrophobic atmosphere, haunting cinematography, and powerhouse performances that make the stakes feel immediate and raw. Expect moral ambiguity, disturbing scenes and high suspense rather than tidy answers—this is a film that lingers after it ends and asks unsettling questions about justice, responsibility and the cost of doing whatever it takes.

Actors: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Runtime: 153 min

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery

7.6 /10 70 /100 8.2 /10 7.6 /10