Posted: 11/21/2011

Carjacked

by Elaine Hegwood Bowen

Carjacked is a testament to the phrases: ‘revenge is sweet’ and ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’ Cute Maria Bello plays Lorraine, a recently divorced single mother whose hubby is a military guy who is trying to get sole custody of the couple’s young son. While in therapy, Lorraine is reminded that she is too soft. And lo and behold, shortly afterward she and her son are carjacked by a guy who just helped robbed a bank and is on the lam. Boy, did he mess with the wrong lady!

Stephen Dorff plays the carjacker named Roy, who forces Lorraine to drive to meet up with his accomplice who still has money from the heist. Possibly facing not only her death, but her son’s, Lorraine’s fight for survival summons up an inner strength and courage that she never thought she had.

At first, the ride starts off as smoothly as any carjacking can go, with Lorraine cooperating and asking when Roy will let them go. But at some point, after Lorraine and Roy strike up idle chit chat and she tries to stay calm, and he discovers that she had a cell phone that he didn’t know about, Roy makes a remark that he would hurt Lorraine’s young son. You can see her attitude change at that point, and she’s destined to get out of the situation—or at least get her son to safety.

During a rest stop, she’s able to let her son get lost in a group of schoolchildren who are on a field trip; this after she learns that Roy might be forcing the two of them to Mexico. Roy is furious at this point, and he drives Lorraine to the spot where his partner is waiting. At this location, he forces Lorraine in the trunk of the car and puts a couple of bullets into his partner; placing him in the trunk also.

He sets the trunk on fire, but that’s no match (excuse the pun) for Lorraine, as she pounds the lock off and runs into the field. Roy doesn’t have a clue that she has escaped. As she runs into the nearest restaurant on Route 66, somewhere between Mississippi and Louisiana, she watches out of the window as Roy carjacks yet another helpless female with a young daughter. Lorraine literally goes into overdrive and steals a truck from a man dining in the restaurant. She catches up with Roy, and to his surprise, forces him off the road with a shotgun, and the woman and the young girl escape. Roy is just as determined as Lorraine; they fight a bit, only to end up with Roy kidnapping her again.

The madness all ends up at another location, with both the cops on Roy’s trail and Lorraine still in his face. The end of Carjacked is so sweet; Lorraine wins in more ways than one.
Carjacked will have you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next go-around between Lorraine and Roy. Co-starring Joanna Cassidy, Catherine Dent and Gary Grubbs, Carjacked is an unforgettable ride into suspense and terror!

The Blu-ray™ and DVD are both available from Anchor Bay Films November 22. For more info, visit www.anchorbayent.com

Elaine Hegwood Bowen is an editor, writer and film critic in Chicago, who also serves as a news editor for FilmMonthly.com.

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