It couldn't have been more than five minutes into "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" when my girlfriend leaned over and asked: "What kind of a movie did you say this is?" It was just at the point where Gemma Arterton was tied spread-eagled to a bed with a ball-gag in her mouth, and her burly kidnappers were proceeding to cut off all her clothes.
"Mmmmm, I'm pretty sure it's not torture porn," I said, not entirely confidently. Fortunately I was right.
After gesturing in a seriously seedy grindhouse direction at the outset — the sort of nasty exploitation flick where you feel like downing a double shot of disinfectant afterward — "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" moves straight into claustrophobic head-games and morphs into a delightfully delirious suspense flick. It's one of those "stick a couple of people in a small room and watch them lose it" movies, in the tradition of Richard Linklater's "Tape" or the original "Sleuth."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.