Gone

Genre: Drama / Thriller // Running Time: 94 minutes // Release Date: February 24, 2012 (March 16, 2012 - Taiwan) Cast & Crew at IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1838544/

Overall Rating 6.5 out of 10

Synopsis: A year after escaping from being abducted and taken to a remote location in the woods, Jill returns home to find her sister missing and fears that the same abductor has returned and took her sister by mistake. Unfortunately, no evidence was ever found and her case was never solved, so the police continue to believe she is simply suffering from mental health problems leaving Jill no choice but to track down the abductor by herself before he kills her sister.

I found this movie to be pretty gripping and interesting. It's a perfect length for this type of movie. I believe if you make these thriller, suspense-type movies too long, it's hard for the audience to maintain a decent level of nervous tension. This film did a good job of creating suspense, providing a handful of shady/weird characters that could be possible suspects, and keeping you guessing throughout the movie. I thought Amanda Seyfried's acting was also quite good in this film and her performance was definitely believable and added to the overall tension of the film. Without giving too much away, the sub-plot (shown in the trailer) with her being chased by the police for her vigilante-esque behavior is also pretty intense, with many close calls (as you'd expect).

Overall, I went in with low expectations and came away pleasantly surprised. Like I said, the film was the perfect length and I think that really helped to make it effective and enjoyable. I know this plot has been done quite a few times in the past, but you know Hollywood, it's either a remake or a rip-off ... or a comic book movie. I would recommend it as a date flick. It's not gory or gruesome, but exciting enough to put a little scare into the light-hearted movie goer. And the research says that a little fright is good for arousal, which is always good for a date right?