Claustrophobia (2011)

Directed by: Bobby Boermans | 90 minutes | thriller | Actors: Dragan Bakema, Alison Carrol, Jappe Claes, Ernst Dekkers, Peter Faber, Frits Lambrechts, Dennis Overeem, Rogier Philipoom, Harry van Rijthoven, Nienke Römer, Thijs Römer, Carolien Spoor, Juliette van Ardenne

Contrary to what the title suggests, ‘Claustrophobia’ is not a horror film about a group of people who are confronted with gruesome murders in a closed room. In any case, there are only a few small horror elements in the film and it is above all a thriller. Debut director Bobby Boermans wanted to make a genre thriller loosely based on the stories surrounding people like Marc Dutroux and Josef Fritzl. However, there is no form of social criticism. It’s the thriller for the thrill. Unfortunately, the film falls seriously short on that point.

‘Claustrophobia’ opens with two young children. She’s a head taller than him and he gets to kiss her when he sits in a cold store in an abandoned morgue. He prefers not to, but the hormones do their job and soon he is trapped in a small dark room and she runs away. Fast forward to the present, where Veterinary Medicine student Eva (Carolien Spoor) visits a room with a sweaty caretaker who collects the rent in cash and soon turns out to be a voyeur. The room is beautiful, but there are still things from the previous occupant. He had suddenly left with the northern sun, says the caretaker. When she looks outside, she is incessantly stared at by the neighbor across the street. However, as is the case in movies, Eva sees no reason not to take the room.

She meets neighbor Alex (Dragan Bakema), a neat young surgeon. It’s up to her best friend Cynthia to hook up with him and get Eva to his room. When Eva falls asleep on the couch the next morning and wakes up chained to a bed in a basement the next morning, that’s the signal for Cynthia to disappear from the script. From now on, it’s about Eva and her kidnapper. Well, and about detective Danny de Koning (Thijs Römer), who likes to break the law in his search for the missing Eva, just like in American series and, despite his frequent use of an iPad, does not bother to inform his colleagues about his activities.

Most of the movie takes place in the basement. The makers will have thought the ideal location for an exciting film. That may be, but a basement doesn’t get exciting on its own. Even Eva doesn’t seem very impressed – at first she just assumes it’s a joke. A clumsy choice by the screenwriter. The kidnapper keeps an eye on her with cameras and an intercom system. When he comes to visit Eva, he wears a suit with a gas mask. But the question of the identity of the kidnapper no longer needs to be asked after half an hour – he is quickly overpowered by the student. What remains is the ‘why?’ And that, although far-fetched, turns out to be not exactly innovative.

The film relies on a rather weak script in which too many clichés have been developed too poorly. The most striking outgrowth is the actions of detective Danny de Koning. It’s not Thijs Römer’s fault, he plays his role nicely undercooled, but the script simply prescribes that De Koning behaves like a half-sole. There are few, if any, surprises, and when they do occur (for example with the peeping neighbor across the street), they appear to be mainly intended to be funny and completely out of tune with the rest of the film. Compared to illustrious predecessors like ‘Misery’ or ‘American Psycho’, ‘Claustrophobia’ therefore has very little to offer, despite mainly good acting by the cast and excellent camera work.