Films › Denis Villeneuve

Prisoners (2013)

Film

DirectorDenis Villeneuve

Meta takes3

Figures

Locations

Keller Dover's torture of Alex Jones in the abandoned apartment → The State of Exception

Form & technique

The film's musical score, particularly the low-frequency drones

Tropes

Keller Dover's violent pursuit of his daughter's abductor → The Fragile Alpha
Holly Jones's motivation for kidnapping children
Roger Deakins's desaturated and somber cinematography
Alex Jones's regressed, childlike state → The Unspeakable Void
Detective Loki's obsessive behavior and moral ambiguity
The differing responses of Keller Dover and Franklin Birch to their daughters' kidnapping

Films most connected to Prisoners

The Dark Knight (2008) — via The Unspeakable Void, The State of Exception
28 Days Later (2002) — via The Fragile Alpha, The State of Exception
Taken (2008) — via The Fragile Alpha, The State of Exception
Beauty and the Beast (1991) — via The Unspeakable Void, The Fragile Alpha
Donnie Darko (2001) — via The Unspeakable Void, The Fragile Alpha
Batman Begins (2005) — via The State of Exception
The Shape of Water (2017) — via The State of Exception
Brazil (1985) — via The State of Exception