Prisoners

Play trailer

Prisoners

R

Released Sep 20, 2013

2h 33m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

250 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter's life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Prisoners has an emotional complexity and a sense of dread that makes for absorbing (and disturbing) viewing.

Read Critics Reviews

Kate Stables

Sight & Sound

Guzikowski's well-honed thriller occasionally idles under Villeneuve's dark character studies, but the director's powerfully imposed mood of dread elevates what might otherwise have been just a superior police procedural.

Jul 31, 2018

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

An increasingly sloppy thriller, filled with obvious clues, laughable red herrings, and halfhearted "shock" reveals, played at a snail's pace that lets far too much air into the narrative.

Jun 19, 2016

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

This film haunted me for days and weeks after seeing it, and the feeling still lingers.

Rated: A+

Apr 17, 2015

Full Review

Miles Surrey

The Ringer

The tense thriller that put its director on the map...

Sep 29, 2023

Full Review

Iván Kazi

EscribiendoCine

While the resolution is close to being predictable... the movie's strong suit is something else. The process, the content, and the journey are profoundly immersive. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Dec 7, 2022

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Prisoners” offers some slick foreboding, crafty twists, and a satisfying ending.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 24, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jess F

"Prisoners" is rich in compelling narratives and stellar performances from the ensemble cast. This movie had me love and hate Hugh Jackman's character which was so complex to the point of making me question my moral standards because I found myself empathizing with his character. On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal did a marvelous job on playing the frustrated cop: complete with all the intensity of his eyes and his intuition. While Gyllenhaal had more screentime as the lead, Jackman's performance really stood out for me. This film doesn't use jumpscares (often precluded by suspenseful music to build-up the tension and are often abused in this genre) in order to thrill the audience, but rather, moments of silence and stillness. Its calm and cold vibe stirs up the kind of anxiety it wants its audience to feel, and naturally, the audience would want to get rid of that uneasiness by knowing what's going on, thus, cleverly forcing them to watch the entire film which runs about 2 hrs and 33 mins. The director, Denis Villeneuve, incorporates his "less is more" style of using soundtracks in this movie (just like what he did with Blade Runner 2049) to emphasize the scenes, especially with the ending (heavens know how much I liked that ending). It's not rocket suspense but the simplicity of it makes your mind wander to other possibilities which I think is often a good indication of a brilliant film since it's open for other interpetations.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/25

Full Review

Emil P

Great actors, great story and great plot twist. One of the best thrillers i've seen.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

Full Review

Osamah S

Every moment was captivating. A masterpiece with plot twists.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/25

Full Review

Benjamín M

QUE PORONGA! Si sos un machote torturador te va a encantar, sino no la veas

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/03/25

Full Review

Andrew T

Amazing movie with amazing acting. Hugh Jackman portrays a desperate father perfectly.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/25

Full Review

Audience Member

An amazing movie. Love that acting. Definitely in my top 10 all-time best movies.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Denis Villeneuve

Director

Hugh Jackman

Keller Dover

Jake Gyllenhaal

Det. Loki

Viola Davis

Nancy Birch

Maria Bello

Grace Dover

Terrence Howard

Franklin Birch

Out of the Furnace

53%

52%

Out of the Furnace

Watchlist

Broken City

26%

40%

Broken City

Watchlist

Trance

68%

62%

Trance

Watchlist

Runner Runner

8%

33%

Runner Runner

Watchlist

The Counselor

33%

24%

The Counselor

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Hugh Jackman’s 10 Best Movies

Jake Gyllenhaal’s 10 Best Movies

Naomi Judd’s Five Favorite Films

View more photos

Synopsis

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old motorhome that had been parked on their street. The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces Loki to release his only suspect. Dover, knowing that his daughter's life is at stake, decides that he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Producer: Broderick Johnson, Kira Davis, Andrew A. Kosove, Adam Kolbrenner
Screenwriter: Aaron Guzikowski
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: 8:38 Productions, Madhouse Entertainment
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Disturbing Violent Content|Torture)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.0M
Runtime: 2h 33m
Sound Mix: Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

Most Popular at Home Now