I can’t say I’ve been locked in a trunk before. I’d imagine it’s not a fun experience IRL. But when done effectively on screen, the setup makes for a fun and thrilling experience. That said, trapping an audience in a confined space is a delicate weave to thread, and when done wrong, can be a torturous slog. Feeling claustrophobic is a sensation unlike any other, causing our brains to short circuit, and in this sense, is no different either as a real-life partaker, or a viewer.
Trunk: Locked In, a new thriller from Amazon MGM Studios, weaves that thread wonderfully, somehow trapping the main character, and by proxy the audience, in a twelve-by-twenty cubic foot sized trunk (yes, I looked up how big a trunk is) for an hour and a half, while maintaining a sense of thrilling energy to go with the claustrophobic anxiety of the scenario. The ‘confined space’ sub-genre has seen its share of entries in the past, with moderate success. A few examples being Brake, with Stephen Dorff, Buried, with Ryan Reynolds, and Phone Booth, with Colin Farrell, although Phone Booth had a much bigger scope than the aforementioned Brake and Buried. Trunk: Locked In, from German writer/director Marc Schießer, is a welcomed addition to this sub-genre, sharing similarities regarding creative technical execution to go with entertainingly simple scenarios, and of course, third act twists…
Like I had mentioned previously, Trunk: Locked In, known in German as Il Bagagliaio–In trappola–is a thriller from Amazon MGM Studios, distributed and released by way of the Amazon Prime Video platform. Amazon MGM Studios intrigues me. Without getting too into the weeds here on nitty gritty behind-the-scenes stuff, I find MGM being acquired by Amazon to be hugely important and reflective of the modern state of the movie business. That goes without saying, obviously, and isn’t exactly uncommon in the modern industry, but it is an important thing to note here because of the sheer enormousness of Amazon, and deeply rich history of MGM Studios. The marriage between a prestigious vestige of Old Hollywood, and a modern tech conglomerate, is the prime example of Old Hollywood succumbing to Silicon Valley. Since this acquisition was done in 2021, for a whopping $8.5 billion, Amazon MGM Studios has found success with mid-budget ($20-$80 million) movies for adults. Mid-budget, R-rated movies for adults have become rare in the movie industry, like Siberian tigers. MGM has a long history of mergers and acquisitions, to go with debt issues galore. The MGM library has been passed around enough where it could be mistaken for a big game of Hollywood Yankee Swap, but with movie titles. Alas, amongst all of that turmoil and strife, MGM has a level of prestige that Amazon Studios doesn’t. Fusing the rich history and prestige of MGM with the unlimited resources of Amazon can make for a real powerhouse of (gulp) good in the movie industry, and can hopefully save the Siberian tigers from extinction, so to speak. That all might be over-simplified and optimistic, but whatever. And in my opinion, the MGM lion roaring to start a movie gives that movie immediate credibility. And it roars again here…
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Trunk: Locked In, from writer/director Marc Schießer, and starring Sina Martens as Malina, opens with Malina awakening to find herself trapped in the trunk of a car, and from there, her struggle to escape ensues, along the way uncovering the mystery behind why she is in this predicament. Very simple, but that simplicity is beautiful. I hope the word ‘simple’ doesn’t come off as a criticism, because it’s not. What makes Trunk: Locked In such a fun experience is that it focuses all of its energy on unique technical execution more so than bogging it down with unnecessary plot points and character development. Of course, since it is a modern movie in the year of 2024, cell phones exist. Cell phones have killed the thriller genre because in practically any situation, the person in trouble can pull up their phone, call the police, text a meme or a gif to a friend, with the help of Siri, or Google Assistant, and then scroll Instagram while waiting for assitance to arrive.
In Trunk: Locked In, Malina has access to her phone, but that phone is a crucial device for moving the story along, providing key plot developments and building suspense. Malina calls for help from the trunk, first her family, and then the police. Being trapped in the trunk isn’t Malina’s only issue. Malina is bleeding out from a kidney robbery!
One thing is made clear from the beginning, there is a mysterious and shadowy English-speaking man who is driving the car and is responsible for this ‘kidnapping’. Does this man just want to cash in on a ransom? Is this personal? Who can Malina trust? Everything is on the table from start to finish, and Trunk: Locked In does a good job with not tipping its hand early, and keeping the audience on their toes…
There are really only two onscreen performances in Trunk: Locked In. Of course, one being the main character of Malina, played by Sina Martens. The other is of the shadowy English-speaking man, credited as The Driver, played by Poal Cairo. There isn’t a whole lot of meat on the bone character-wise for either character, but both performers do a good job of bringing an energy to the movie that works well. Sina Martens’ performance as Malina is really impressive, as I’d imagine that it is quite difficult to get into a character without physicality, especially when confined in such a small space, and then also carry the emotional weight of the movie just by talking on the phone frantically throughout. Poal Cairo, as The Driver, has a menacing voice that is perfect for this movie. The Driver is an old school movie villain that is dark and mysterious, with a memorable voice that makes it very clear that this guy isn’t fucking around. Trunk: Locked In isn’t exactly an acting showcase, but the performers know the assignment, and execute just fine…
On the technical side, I think Trunk: Locked In is a magnificent accomplishment in maximizing on such a simple premise, and confined location. The camerawork in the trunk is absolutely superb and reminds me a lot of David Fincher’s Panic Room, where the camera moves so fluidly through the walls and pipes, up-down and around without being dizzying. By trapping the audience in such a small space, even a short movie can feel long, because of how stagnate the camera can be due to the physical limitations of the set piece, this being a trunk of a car. But in Trunk: Locked In, the camera moves with ease amongst the rear end of the car, moving smoothly and changing vantage points seamlessly between the interior of the trunk and exterior of the car. Trunk: Locked In not only maximizes coverage inside the car, but also outside the car. Once the taillight has been busted out, the view of the exterior from the interior of the speeding car, in the rain, is visually spectacular, as well as thrilling…
There is a lot to love visually, and the story works well in its own right, but the one gripe that I have with Trunk: Locked In is that it is missing just one extra action-packed scene. And I don’t necessarily mean a traditional action sequence with explosions and whatnot, but more so just one extra tense scene with effective buildup and satisfying payoff. It could have played anywhere in the movie, but like I said, my one gripe is that it is missing one more thrilling sequence. An hour-and-a-half runtime is great for a movie like this, nice and tight, but an additional five-to-ten-minute sequence would’ve been really additive. All in all, it is still a tightly constructed movie that is very well-executed, but I couldn’t help but feel like it was missing a little extra juice…
Calling something ‘simply complex’ is paradoxical, but I see Trunk: Locked In as a complex execution of a simple story. So I believe that calling Trunk: Locked In ‘simply complex’ is actually an appropriate characterization of the movie, and a compliment. Seemingly bygone are the days of movies like Trunk: Locked In being released wide theatrically, which is unfortunate, but luckily, for a while now, there has been a streaming market that is tailormade for movies like this. Trunk: Locked In isn’t a deeply dense drama or an explosive action movie. You’ll probably forget about it soon after watching. But I feel like you’ll have a great time, and I highly recommend seeking the flick out. Trunk: Locked In is a good movie, well-executed and beautifully average…
Wicked Horror Rating: 7/10
From Amazon MGM Studios, Trunk: Locked In is streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video as of January 26th, 2024.
