Abduction is traditionally a subgenre of thriller films, though it can also fall under the horror and exploitation umbrellas. The protagonist can be any of the people intimately involved with the case – from the abductees themselves to abductors to bereaved family members to the law enforcement officials investigating the case. It all depends upon the story a given filmmaker wants to tell. With an extensive library of films belonging to every subject imaginable, HBO Max offers a wide variety of stories to its audience, including movies that are centered around a character landing themselves in a pickle when they are abducted.

8. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, based on Robert Kurtzman’s story, ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ is more than a kidnapping movie that does justice to the titular theme. It is an action horror that follows brothers/ fugitive bank robber Seth (George Clooney) and Richie Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) who, while escaping after robbing a bank, take a pastor and his two children hostage and arrive at a strip club in the Mexican border. While waiting for their contact, the brothers get involved in a brawl only to find out that the natives of the bar aren’t humans but vampires. Their new job is to survive till dawn, as only after sunrise is it safe to get out and escape. ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ won the Best Horror Film award at Saturn Awards, making it clear how entertaining and effective the movie is. You can watch it here.

7. Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

‘Live Free or Die Hard’ is the 4th installment of the ‘Die Hard’ franchise starring Bruce Willis as police detective John McClane. It is based on the 1997 article ‘A Farewell to Arms’ written by John Carlin for Wired magazine. In this one, set on the 4th of July, we see McClane going against a guy named Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) who, assisted by his team of expert hackers, plans to cripple the United States infrastructure by means of a three-stage cyberattack that shuts down the transportation system, disables the financial system and cuts off public utility systems like gas line, electric grids, telecommunications, and satellite systems.

Amidst the chaos, McClane, accompanied by a hacker named Matthew Farrell (Justin Long), has to locate and stop Gabriel. The catch? Gabriel has McClane’s daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The movie doesn’t as much delve into the father-daughter relationship but does make it clear that the relationship is strained. So, a potential catharsis is involved, considering McClane rescues his daughter. If you are looking for an all-out action movie involving a kidnapping, ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ is an effective choice. The movie is directed by Len Wiseman. You can watch it here.

6. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)

‘Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!’ is a Spanish dark romantic comedy that stars Antonio Banderas as Ricky, a 23-year-old psychiatric patient. After his release from the facility he was in, Ricky decides to seek out Marina Osorio, an actress and former porn star. They slept together once when she was in the facility for her drug issues. Ricky finds her and tries to get her attention, though Marina doesn’t recognize him. Ricky then captures her and keeps her restrained in her own home, declaring that he has done this so that she will fall in love with him. To find out what Marina does, you can stream the movie here.

5. The Missing (2003)

Directed by Ron Howard, ‘The Missing’ is a revisionist Western film. Set in late 19th century New Mexico, the plot revolves around Magdalena ‘Maggie’ Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), whose eldest daughter, Lily, is abducted by the renegade Apache Pesh-Chidin or El Brujo and his followers during a raid. They intend to sell Lilly and the others they have captured in Mexico. Desperate to get her daughter back, Maggie reaches out to her estranged father, Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones), who had abandoned her and her mother years ago, for help. Feel free to check out the film here.

4. Body of Lies (2008)

With a stellar cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, and Oscar Isaac, ‘Body of Lies’ is directed by Ridley Scott. The movie shows CIA agent Roger Ferris, based in Jordan, planning to capture a terrorist named “Al Saleem.” However, his objective is botched after his girlfriend is kidnapped, and he faces the choice of surrendering for her release or risking her life for his motive. On top of this, he also has to deal with his strained professional relationships with his superiors Ed Hoffman and Hani Salaam, who are Jordan’s head of security, which are a result of the differences in each of their approaches to apprehending the terrorist. Whether and how Ferris is able to save his girlfriend and bring down the terrorist is what the thrilling movie entails. You can watch it here.

3. Fargo (1996)

A black comedy written and directed by the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan Coen), ‘Fargo’ tells the story of Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macy), a car salesman hailing from Minneapolis and facing a cash crunch. He decides to use his father-in-law’s money to come out of it. He thus hires two thugs, Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaer Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), to get his wife kidnapped, and the ransom shall be split among the three of them. But things do not go as planned, and three people are killed. This brings persistent and pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) onto the case. True to the genre, the movie has a lot of dark humor, and thanks to the acting prowess of Buscemi and Stormare, it never feels over-the-top.

There are many reports regarding the truth behind the plot. The director duo stated that they wrote a fictional story based on a real incident that occurred in Minnesota in 1987 and later contradicted that the murders didn’t happen in Minnesota, while many Minnesotans speculated that the story was inspired by an attorney named T. Eugene Thompson who hired a man to have his wife killed in 1963. The special edition DVDs stated that the film was inspired by the murder of Danish flight attendant Helle Crafts at the hands of her husband in 1986. In 2015, Joel Coen even stated that the whole story is fictional. So, no one really knows the truth behind the story, or at least no one is willing to tell. You can watch ‘Fargo’ here.

2. Man on Fire (2004)

‘Man on Fire’ is directed by Tony Scott, based on the 1980 novel of the same name by A. J. Quinnell. The movie is set against the backdrop of Mexico City, which has fallen prey to kidnappings, 24 in a 6-day period, and tells the story of hopeless and depressed former CIA operative John Creasy (Denzel Washington), who is given the responsibility, albeit a reluctant one, of guarding 9-year-old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning), daughter of industrialist Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony) and his wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell). Slowly, Pita begins to make life seem less harsh for John, who starts to smile again. But his smiles are short-lived as Pita is also kidnapped, and he receives a bullet in the process. Wounded and enraged, John vows to find each and every single person involved in the kidnapping and, in his endeavor, digs up corruption in high places of power, which plays a huge part in the kidnapping racket.

Denzel Washington is a feast for the eyes as no-holds-barred agent John Creasy. And we cannot help but connect this character to another character he immortalized, i.e., Robert McCall in ‘The Equalizer’ franchise. We never know; maybe his performance in ‘Man on Fire’ inspired the franchise makers to greenlight it. Be that as it may, this movie is another proof of Denzel being an action star. You can stream ‘Man on Fire’ here.

1. Room (2015)

Brie Larson won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as 24-year-old Joy Newsome, who was kidnapped by a guy named Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) 7 years ago and has since been routinely raped inside a 10-by-10-foot space she calls the “Room.” It has only a skylight, and the door is locked with a keypad whose code only Old Nick knows. Five years ago, Joy gave birth to Jack (Jacob Tremblay), who has been brought up with utmost care and thinks that the room is his whole world. Nick isn’t bothered about Jack, who his mother puts inside a closet so that neither he nor she can see each other during Nick’s “visits.” Wondering what would happen to them if something happened to Nick, Joy chalks out a plan to escape. But she also fears how the outside world will affect Jack, who has no idea of it at all.

The movie, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, is based on the 2010 novel of the same name, written by Emma Donoghue, who based it on the Fritzl case. Donoghue also wrote the screenplay for the film. “Room” is both horrifying and beautiful, and this is what makes watching it a deeply moving experience. You can watch the film here.