Held (2020) Review

Held (2020) Review

Directed by Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing (the pair behind the Blumhouse horror sensation The Gallows and its hit sequel), with an assured script by Jill Awbrey, who also stars, HELD is a sleekly shot shocker, where a couple’s weekend getaway in an isolated, high-tech house turns into a nightmare after the phone rings and voice says “OBEY US!”

The film, which premiered at the Arrow Video FrightFest in London, features a marvellous lead performance by Awbrey in her debut feature role, with Bart Johnson (High School Musical) a charismatic screen presence as her husband. Cluff himself can be heard as the sinister voice that tells the couple “we know everything you did”.

For the most part HELD plays out as you would expect it to, there’s little initially in the way of surprises and there’s next to nothing that you haven’t seen done before. However, there’s a twist in the final act that jolts the onscreen tension up a bar leading to a climax that makes it worth sitting through the earlier more routine stuff for.

There’s the occasional ham-fisted moment – such as when Emma (Jill Awbrey) knocks over another glass of wine simply because the plot needs it to reveal that there’s a crawlspace that just might come in handy later – but fortunately such moments are few and far between. HELD is a well-acted, well-paced thriller that hits the spot nicely for an agreeable evening’s entertainment.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE