the alleged abduction movie review

Entertainment

This Lifetime Movie Is Based On The True Story Of A Traumatic Kidnapping

According to its official description, Lifetime's Was I Really Kidnapped is based on a true story . However, which story, exactly, isn't clear. The movie follows a woman named Elle (Michelle Mylett) who's suddenly released on the side of the road after being kidnapped and tortured for an indeterminate amount of time. As she tries to adjust back to her regular life, police start questioning her about discrepancies in her story. When they begin to suspect she isn't telling the truth about what happened to her, Elle must fight to clear her name and identify her abductor.

The network doesn't specify which story this is based on, perhaps in order to protect the privacy of the people involved. However, the premise is sadly common in real life: survivors of sexual assault, in particular, have trouble remembering details about their attacks, and as depicted in the recent Netflix series Unbelievable (which is also based on a true story), are unfairly interrogated about them.

Because this is Lifetime, though, Was I Really Kidnapped takes it a step further. In the movie's trailer, it's not just Elle's memory that's questioned. Investigators also ask her if she experiences "delusions." One even remarks, "It was real" before pausing to add "...to her," seemingly implying that Elle's reality doesn't line up with what actually happened.

In another clip from the movie, Elle says, "I'm losing my mind" and admits that she is "having a hard time remembering anything" when she is asked about the incident. Elle's boyfriend Billy (Jacob Blair) appears to believe Elle's story, telling detectives, "I know something had happened to her. Someone did take her." And Elle's sister Jen (Anna Hardwick) is also by her side as she tries to piece things together after the kidnapping.

Although it's not clear which case (or cases) this story is based on, this isn't the first time a Lifetime movie has focused on a story about a kidnapping. There's actually an entire marathon of movies about kidnappings airing on the network Nov. 8 before Was I Really Kidnapped 's premiere, including Kill Ending , about an author whose daughter is kidnapped by someone who copied a plot line from one of her book s; Stolen from the Suburbs , in which a mother frantically searches for her daughter before human traffickers can sell her on the international market; and Girl in the Box , about a hitchhiker who is kidnapped and forced to be a couple's slave .

This marathon culminates with the movie of the night: Was I Really Kidnapped , in which it might be tough for viewers to know who to trust: Elle, who can't get her story straight, or the detectives whose job is to find out the truth.

• Movie - Was I Really Kidnapped? - 2019

Was I Really Kidnapped?  (2019)  Gone/ The Alleged Abduction

• Release Date: 8 November 2019 (US) (more)

After being kidnapped and abused, Elle is inexplicably released by her kidnapper. However, as her story seems inconsistent to the police, Elle strives to track down her abuser and prove that she's ...Read more been telling the truth.

• Max McGuire (Director)
• Andrea Canning (Writer)
• Michelle Mylett
• Jacob Blair
• Anna Hardwick
• Scott Gibson
• Allison Graham
• Kyle Buchanan

• Richard Chuang

• Jodi Larratt
• Paolo Mancini
• Richard Nash

After being kidnapped and abused, Elle is inexplicably released by her kidnapper. However, as her story seems inconsistent to the police, Elle strives to track down her abuser and ...Read more prove that she's been telling the truth.

• Release Date:
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• The Alleged Abduction

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The Alleged Abduction

Starring: michelle mylett, jacob blair, selected credits.

The Alleged Abduction

Cast & crew.

Michelle Mylett

Elle Whitland

Jacob Blair

Billy Johnson

Anna Hardwick

Jen Whitland

Kyle Buchanan

Ryan Lafferty

Max McGuire

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The Alleged Abduction - Full Cast & Crew

• 1 hr 28 mins
• Drama, Suspense
• Watchlist Where to Watch

Police try to piece together what happened after a woman is abducted and abandoned on the side of the road. But discrepancies in the victim's story suggest she may not be telling the whole truth.

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The Alleged Abduction

• M Michelle Mylett
• J Jacob Blair
• A Anna Hardwick
• S Scott Gibson
• A Allison Graham
• K Kyle Buchanan

Ratings & Reviews

User rating & reviews.

The Ending Of Abduction Explained

Taylor Lautner is best known for one of two roles: the shark-like preteen with anger issues in "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl" and his stint as the sweet yet strong Jacob Black in the "Twilight" series. After he became a household name thanks to the latter series, he branched out and tried his hand at lead roles . Unfortunately for him, his first foray as the leading man didn't go very well, and his 2011 mystery thriller "Abduction" is still clinging to a 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes .

"Abduction" had all the components to be a hit: action, romance, and plenty of twists. It featured Lautner as Nathan Harper, a high school teen who realizes his mom Mara (Maria Bello) and dad Kevin (Jason Isaacs) are not actually his biological parents. As soon as Nathan confirms his suspicions, Mara and Kevin are killed by mysterious operatives, and Nathan goes into hiding with his classmate Karen Murphy (Lily Collins) , who gets wrapped up in the mess. The bulk of the film is about Nathan and Karen running from the mysterious forces that want to hurt him, while attempting to discover the truth about his family history.

While "Abduction" was a bit of a mess, the ending left us with even more questions that will probably never be answered.

What just happened?

At the end of "Abduction," Nathan comes face-to-face with the main villlain, Nikola Kozlow (Michael Nyqvist). Seconds before Kozlow pulls the trigger to kill Nathan, a sniper takes Kozlow out. Nathan then gets on a phone call with his biological father, Martin Price (Dermot Mulroney), who not only shot Kozlow but has pulled some strings and managed to convince everyone to leave Nathan and Karen alone to live in peace.

"Abduction" ultimately had a happy ending, but the twisty-turny plot still left us with plenty of questions. Why does Martin have such a huge pull with the CIA? What is the purpose of Nathan being shirtless so often? How did no other passengers on the train hear the intense fight? As an MTV review succinctly put it, "Moments like these happen pretty consistently for the entirety of the film. It was a never-ending barrage of things that didn't make sense, whether small and subtly incompetent or glaringly over-the-top examples of idiocy, it was incessant." While we were happy to see everything wrap up nicely, there wasn't much of an explanation as to how things were taken care of — we sort of just have to accept that they were.

Abduction hurt Taylor Lautner's career

Though many action movies do well enough to pump out a few sequels, "Abduction" had such a negative reception that it's no shock the franchise ended there. What was a bit surprising was the negative effect "Abduction" seemed to have on Lautner's acting career. Aside from an overall Metsacore rating of 25 , Lautner's performance in the film was also overwhelmingly panned by critics. Catherine Brown of Filmink wrote "[Director John] Singleton is poorly equipped to handle teenage angst, a fact made far worse by cringe-worthy dialogue and a wooden leading man who proves that he has not yet developed the skills required to carry a film." A less harsh review came from Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly , who noted that Lautner "[isn't] a terrible actor, but if he wants a career after the Twilight fades, he'll pick better films."

Lautner has been in a few other projects since "Abduction," but he has yet to shake the reputation that precedes him. Hopefully, if he never makes a full-time return to acting, he has wisely invested his "Twilight" earnings. 

The Alleged Abduction

After suffering torment and abuse at the hands of her abductor, Elle is suddenly released on the side of the road.

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The Alleged Abduction Cast

Michelle Mylett

Jacob Blair

Kyle Buchanan

Anna Hardwick

Allison Graham

Richard Nash

Paolo Mancini

Jodi Larratt

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Lifetime’s Abducted by My Teacher: Is the Film Inspired by a True Crime?

The Shawn Linden directorial, Lifetime’s ‘Abducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story’ is a crime drama film that focuses on a 15-year-old high schooler named Elizabeth Thomas who struggles to make friends at her new school but soon begins to bond with one of her teachers, Tad Cummins. As time passes, he earns her trust and makes her feel safe before he starts to groom her. When one of Elizabeth’s schoolmates witnesses them kissing, Tad plots and coerces Elizabeth to escape the town with him.

Elizabeth’s disappearance leads to a nationwide manhunt, which ends more than a month later when the two are found in northern California, and Tad is arrested. During his trial, she shows courage and testifies against her perpetrator, sending him to prison. The theme of teenage abduction is central to the story of the Lifetime film, something which is not unheard of in real life. So, you are right to be under the impression that it might have something to do with an actual incident.

Abducted by My Teacher The Elizabeth Thomas Story is Based on a Real Case

Yes, ‘Abducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story’ is based on a true story. The screenwriter Kristine Huntley took inspiration from a harrowing real-life incident involving Elizabeth Thomas , a high school girl who was reportedly manipulated and abducted by her teacher Tad Cummins , bringing the heartbreaking story to life. It was allegedly in 2016 when Tad, a health sciences teacher at Culleoka Unit School in Tennessee, first came in contact with the 15-year-old Elizabeth, a student at the same school.

Once Elizabeth caught Tad’s eye, he allegedly started to shape a potential relationship with her by using his position of authority. Acting as her mentor and making her feel loved, he made her open up about her struggles with studies and making friends at the school, which he used to his advantage to get closer to her. As Tad started to groom Elizabeth, he took things further and reportedly started kissing and fondling her regularly. These alleged encounters continued until January 2017, when one of Elizabeth’s schoolmates claimed she caught the two kissing.

This led to the school authorities taking some strict actions against Tad, such as Elizabeth being removed from his classes and him getting suspended without pay. Even after the suspension, he kept in contact with his student, possibly planning to abduct the girl and disappear with her. On March 13, Elizabeth reportedly left home during the early morning hours, making her elder sister promise to call the police if she wasn’t home by 6 PM. After meeting with Tad, she did not return home as he was traveling out of town with the teenager.

Tad was fired from the school in the following days after the alleged kidnapping. While Elizabeth’s disappearance made the TBI issue an Amber Alert, he was added to the state’s ten most wanted list. Her family expressed concern when all the leads led to a dead end, stating , “The information that we need is not only from what people have seen and heard after Elizabeth’s disappearance but also from before. Facts about prior events, especially interaction between Elizabeth and Tad Cummins and statements made by both parties to third parties, may very well contain clues to lead to Elizabeth’s return.”

After 38 days of the nationwide manhunt for Tad and several useless tips, the authorities received another tip about a possible sighting of him and Elizabeth. They decided to check it out and located a Nissan Rogue, which they could confirm was Tad’s. After keeping the car under surveillance for several hours, they waited for him to exit the residence and finally arrested him, holed up in a four-wall shack in Northern California along with Elizabeth. Fortunately, the officials who rescued her described her as healthy and unharmed. Apart from being charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual contact with a minor, Tad also faced charges of possession of stolen property.

In April 2018, Tad pleaded guilty to charges of transporting a minor across state lines for engaging in criminal sexual conduct and obstruction of justice. Despite the prosecutors’ demand for a 30-year prison term for the culprit, the court opted for a middle ground and sentenced him to 20 years in prison with the condition that he would be registered as a sex offender after the release. So, now that the entire case has been brought to your notice, it would be safe to say that ‘Abducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story’ is rooted in reality and authentically portrays the shocking abduction of Elizabeth Thomas.

Read More:  Is Lifetime’s Abducted on Prom Night Based on a True Story?

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Quinn steps out of a park fountain in Vietnam with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he wanders through the city, piecing together clues to his past, he is relentlessly ... Read all Quinn steps out of a park fountain in Vietnam with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he wanders through the city, piecing together clues to his past, he is relentlessly pursued by mysteriously dangerous figures. Quinn steps out of a park fountain in Vietnam with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he wanders through the city, piecing together clues to his past, he is relentlessly pursued by mysteriously dangerous figures.

• Ernie Barbarash
• Mike MacLean
• Scott Adkins
• Truong Ngoc Anh
• 47 User reviews
• 18 Critic reviews

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• Trivia The film reunites Scott Adkins and Andy On for the first time in 18 years, having previously worked together on Tsui Hark's Black Mask 2: City of Masks.
• Goofs When Anna first interviews Quinn, we see on her list that she has misspelled "schizophrenic" as "schitzophrenic".

User reviews 47

• Brooklynsmagicmike
• May 31, 2020
• How long is Abduction? Powered by Alexa
• June 7, 2019 (United States)
• United Kingdom
• China (Foshan City, Guangdong Province)
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• CN¥40,000,000 (estimated)

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• Runtime 1 hour 38 minutes

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Common Sense Media Review

Underwhelming action thriller has deaths, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this action thriller stars Twilight hunk Taylor Lautner and rising star Lily Collins, so it's sure to attract teens. But there's a fair bit of violence, language, and intrigue that might make it too mature for tween members of Team Jacob. The more intense sequences include several…

Why Age 14+?

One "f--k," plus regular use of words including "bulls--t," "s--t," "ass," "d--k

Suspense and action-movie violence featuring hand-to-hand brawls and weapons (mo

An Apple laptop makes a few close-up appearances, as do an Amtrak train, an Audi

In the opening sequence, a bunch of high-schoolers drink at a weekend party. Nat

Parents are especially affectionate and do a touchy-feely slow dance that their

Any Positive Content?

The only positive message in the movie is when Nathan's birth father says "I may

Nathan and Karen stick together, even when it would be easier for him to go off

One "f--k," plus regular use of words including "bulls--t," "s--t," "ass," "d--k," "hell," "freak," "Jesus" (as an exclamation) and "damn."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Suspense and action-movie violence featuring hand-to-hand brawls and weapons (mostly guns, but there's also a bomb). Nathan and his father have an extended "sparring" scene that bruises them both up and makes a hungover Nathan vomit. Although many characters are killed -- people are shot both execution style and from a sniper's distance, beaten mercilessly, thrown off a train, and blown up in an explosion -- there's very little blood. One of the most upsetting scenes is when a young girl is forced into a room and punched and terrorized by a hit man.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

An Apple laptop makes a few close-up appearances, as do an Amtrak train, an Audi, a Mustang, a BMW, and a Lexus. Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates must have cooperated with the film, because a game is part of a climactic sequence; PNC Park, Pirates paraphernalia, and the stadium's famous Roberto Clemente statue are all on full display, and Nathan wears a Clemente jersey.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

In the opening sequence, a bunch of high-schoolers drink at a weekend party. Nathan gets drunk and wakes up shirtless on the hostess' lawn. He later vomits after being forced to spar with his father.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Parents are especially affectionate and do a touchy-feely slow dance that their son sees. A guy keeps staring intently at a girl and vice-versa. At a pool party, some girls are shown in bikinis. Nathan is shirtless in a few scenes. After an intense couple of days of hand holding and near-death experiences, Nathan and Karen share a passionate kiss that ends up with her straddling him and his hands creeping up the back of her shirt.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The only positive message in the movie is when Nathan's birth father says "I may be your father, but I'm not your dad," indicating that the couple who raised him are Nathan's true mother and father.

Positive Role Models

Nathan and Karen stick together, even when it would be easier for him to go off on his own, and they're courageously willing to put themselves in harm's way for each other. Nathan comes to understand why his parents demanded that he know how to defend himself and why they kept his true identity a secret.

Parents need to know that this action thriller stars Twilight hunk Taylor Lautner and rising star Lily Collins , so it's sure to attract teens. But there's a fair bit of violence, language, and intrigue that might make it too mature for tween members of Team Jacob. The more intense sequences include several character deaths, execution-style shootings, sniper kills, and a couple of brutal beatings, one of which results in a man being chucked out of a speeding train. Even the teen girl is terrorized and beaten. (All of that said, there's not a lot of blood here.) Swearing includes "s--t," "ass," and one "f--k"); sexuality is mostly flirting, hand holding, and slow dancing -- plus one heated make-out session between teens. An early scene shows teens drinking, including the main character, who gets very drunk. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (10)
• Kids say (39)

Based on 10 parent reviews

Good MovieI

What's the story.

Nathan ( Taylor Lautner ) is a high school wrestling champ with attentive, affectionate parents and a few close friends. After he's paired up in class with his neighbor, the crush-worthy Karen ( Lily Collins ), the two start researching a sociology project about missing children ... only to discover a photo of a boy who looks a lot like Nathan. Curious about the uncanny similarities, Nathan contacts the website's chatline, which is actually maintained by a nefarious foreign baddie. Before Nathan can fully confront his mom ( Maria Bello ) and dad ( Jason Isaacs ), hit men strike the house, sending Nathan and Karen on the run. Reeling with grief and confusion, Nathan and Karen are advised by his therapist, Dr. Bennett ( Sigourney Weaver ), not to trust the CIA and are left on their own to evade both government and international operatives trying to track them down.

Is It Any Good?

The best part of this John Singleton production is the sheer number of excellent actors who pop up as supporting players. In addition to Bello and Isaacs -- who have more chemistry in a couple of scenes than Collins and Lautner in the entire film -- there's Weaver, Swedish star Michael Nyqvist (of the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ) and Alfred Molina , who plays a squirrelly CIA agent in charge of the mission to rescue Nathan. It makes perfect sense that Singleton recruited a cast of acclaimed actors to bolster Lautner's leading-man debut, but sadly he's not up to the task yet. If anything, he should find an ensemble where he lends support to actors like his co-stars.

As Twilight heartthrob Jacob, Lautner's intensity makes him downright irresistible -- especially if you're only paying attention to his shirtless scenes. But the truth is that as adorable as Lautner may be -- and as gifted with the physicality necessary for an action career -- he lacks the acting range to carry a movie's emotional center. The scenes of Nathan crying are painful to watch, because you can tell how difficult they were for Lautner. And the screenplay doesn't do him any favors; it has him speaking and acting in a completely unbelievable manner for a guy who's just lost his parents. Collins is cute enough, but aside from one admittedly steamy kissing scene, the two don't conjure any heat.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the amount of violence in the film. Is it cartoonish and unbelievable or realistic and disturbing? How does that affect its impact?

What are some other movies that feature the "hidden identity" theme? Why do audiences respond to orphaned characters? Name some other famous pop-culture orphans.

How does the movie portray teen drinking ? Does it have realistic consequences?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 23, 2011
• On DVD or streaming : January 16, 2012
• Cast : Lily Collins , Sigourney Weaver , Taylor Lautner
• Director : John Singleton
• Inclusion Information : Black directors, Female actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 106 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sequences of intense violence and action, brief language, some sexual content and teen partying
• Last updated : June 7, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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What to watch next.

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Abduction (2019) Review

“Abduction” Theatrical Poster

AKA: Twilight Zodiac Director: Ernie Barbarash Cast: Scott Adkins, Andy On, Truong Ngoc Anh, Lily Ji, Aki Aleong, Daniel Whyte, Mike Leeder, Tom Caserto, Brahim Chab, Philippe Joly, Semiquaver Iafeta, Jai Day Running Time: 98 min.

By Paul Bramhall

I confess to having intentionally avoided the Scott Adkins vehicle Abduction in 2019. In a year which saw the British martial arts star either headline or feature in the likes of Avengement , Triple Threat , and Ip Man 4: The Finale , the Roger Corman produced sci-fi romp backed by China felt like it had a “we all have bills to pay” vibe written all over it. You know the ones that occasionally pop up in any actor’s filmography who isn’t regularly headlining big budget Hollywood productions – Incoming , Green Street 3: Never Back Down , Legendary , the list goes on. It had always remained a curiosity somewhere in the back of my mind though, so as 2020 draws to a close I decided to give it a go (I know, checking out a movie a year after it was released is no biggie, but Adkins cranks them out so fast that Abduction  is already 7 movies ago).

The main draw behind Abduction is the reunion of Adkins and Andy On, 17 years after they went head to head in the Tsui Hark directed 2002 Hong Kong flick Black Mask 2: City of Masks , back when they were both starting out in the industry. In a word of warning, anyone hoping to see the pair in a slightly less out-there tale than what their first outing offered (in short – Adkins as a mad scientist mixing up the DNA of pro-wrestlers with animals) will be left disappointed. While there’s no pro-wrestlers in sight, instead we have an alien race who’ve parked up above a fountain in Vietnam (invisibly, of course), and need human qi to be able to return home. We learn that some people have stronger qi than others, which includes Adkins’ daughter and On’s wife, so when they’re both kidnapped by the aliens to be drained of their lifeforce, the pair team up to rescue their abducted loved ones.

Before proceeding any further, I should point out that the Blu-ray of Abduction (yes, we love our physical media here at COF) comes with 2 versions of the movie – the producers cut, and the director’s cut. The version being reviewed here is the director’s cut. The director in question is Ernie Barbarash, a journeyman director who exclusively works in the DTV field. Barbarash has worked with Adkins before on 2011’s unremarkable Assassination Games , which pitted Adkins against his childhood hero Jean Claude Van Damme. In addition to Assassination Games , he also helmed the Van Damme vehicles 6 Bullets and Pound of Flesh , as well as the Michael Jai White actioner Falcon Rising . While none of them match up to the DTV action flicks that the likes of Isaac Florentine and Jesse V. Johnson crank out, at best Barbarash’s work is passable entertainment, at worst mediocre and plodding.

The out-there plot then could well be what results in Abduction  being so entertaining. Working from a script by Mike MacLean, whose illustrious credits include penning Dinocroc vs. Supergator , Sharktopus , and Piranhaconda (notably all also produced by Roger Corman), the fact that Abduction doesn’t take itself too seriously is arguably its biggest strength. Until they officially team-up, Adkins and On mostly act as if they’re in 2 completely different movies, which works in the narratives favour. After being kicked out of the alien’s base in the opening scene and finding himself in a fountain in the middle of Ho Chi Minh, Adkins realises he has no memory and is stuck with a stutter.

Playing his character like a mix of Adam Sandler in The Waterboy and Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em , it’s a rare comedic performance from the British thespian, and it surprisingly hits all the right notes. While Adkins stumbles around Ho Chi Minh trying to remember who he is and being slapped in the face by locals before he can spit out what he wants to say, On on (no spellcheck, this isn’t a double up of word usage) the other hand plays a poker faced former military man turned assassin under the employment of the local Chinese gang boss. After doing one last job to send a message to a rival gang trying to encroach on the Chinese’s turf, he wakes up one morning to find his wife gone, and despite having what he assumes was a dream about the aliens abducting her, believes it was the rival gang taking revenge and goes on the warpath.

The two men are eventually brought together by Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, the star of the still unreleased in the west Vietnamese action flick Tracer . Ngoc Anh plays a psychiatrist who ends up with Adkins on her couch, and although reluctant to believe his story about aliens abducting his daughter, after she visits the park and meets an equally befuddled On who teleports in front of her eyes, she decides to connect the pair. Soon the truth about the aliens is revealed, and if they don’t get their victims “strong and beautiful qi” they choose to eat them “like chicken”!

Despite how goofy everything sounds so far, there are elements of the sci-fi concept which are actually rather cool. The alien’s ability to split reality is visualised through On opening the bedroom door to find the aliens abducting his wife, and the bedroom floating off into space while On remains stuck in the doorway (think the hypnotism scene in Get Out for reference). It’s clearly budget friendly, but nevertheless proves an effective way to convey the concept. Small touches like the fact whenever On tries to enter the bedroom after the event results in nausea and disorientation further help to establish the rules of the world Abduction takes place in. Speaking of hypnotism, I confess the scene contained here involving Ngoc Anh hypnotising Adkins is probably one of the funniest ever committed to screen, and unlike a lot of his performance, I don’t think this particular instance was intentional.

But let’s be honest, nobody is clocking into an Adkins flick to see how well he can act hypnotised, we’re here for the action. Thankfully Abduction gives both Adkins and On a number of opportunities to strut their stuff. The fight choreography is handled by Tim Man, who by this point has worked with Adkins on multiple occasions as both choreographer and occasional onscreen opponent, with assistance from the main villain of Boyka: Undisputed , Brahim Achabbakhe. Achabbakhe gets to pull double duty, playing the head henchman of the rival gang On goes after, as well as one of the aliens. On gets into brief scuffles with both characters, with the outcome of one definitely more successful than the other. Adkins and On also get to team-up for an entertaining 2 vs 2 battle against HK regulars Tom Caserto ( Big Brother ) and Semiquaver Iafeta ( Helios ), which involves some nice impacts and grappling.

The highlight for the fight action though goes to a battle between Adkins and On, resulting from Adkins being taken over by the aliens, and effectively becoming a kung-fu terminator. In an interview I did with him in 2018 he’d mentioned he was carrying a few injuries while filming Abduction (which at the time was going by the title Twilight Zodiac ), however based on this fight you can’t tell. The flashy aerial kicks may be absent, but I enjoyed the more grounded aspect of it, and the presence of On feels like it brings an element of the classic HK choreography style. There’s a nice flow of exchanges, and Adkins genuinely feels like a force to be reckoned with, conveying plenty of power behind his blows.

If anything, I was a victim of my own expectations when it came to the finale. Having seen Achabbakhe return as one of the aliens after his role as a henchman, I’d been expecting things to build up to a confrontation pitting Adkins and On against his enhanced skills, and nobody choreographs a 2 versus 1 fight quite like Tim Man! But alas it wasn’t to be, and instead the real finale is martial arts free, instead opting for some sacrificial heroics to stop the victim’s qi from opening a portal back to the alien’s home world. It’s enjoyable, and involves the kind of cheesy low budget CGI that used to populate early 2000’s sci-fi B movies. It sounds like a negative, but I find low budget CGI being used to create an effect that can’t be done practically much more charming than big budget CGI explosions and fire, so it anything it only contributes to Abduction’s B-movie appeal.

Seeing Adkins play somewhat against type, combined with On who we frankly don’t see enough of, easily make Abduction worth a watch. The fact that it’s about qi sucking aliens in Vietnam, well, that’s just a welcome bonus.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10

15 Responses to Abduction (2019) Review

About time Paul!!! Been waiting for your review for this film for ages. isn’t CHINESE FILM expert Mike Leeder is in this one as a bloody leather face guy… I keep on seeing photos of him in full costume on social media… does he gets his ass beat by Andy On?

The answer to all of your questions is – yes! Rumour has it that Leeder is actually playing the same character as he did in ‘Fearless’, so if you’re interested to learn about the referees fate 13 years on, this is the place to be.

We should also point out that this review is dedicated to Dan Hagen!

Hey, thanks for the shout-out! Life’s been wearing on me these past few days, so it was a nice surprise to wake up this morning and see this.

The initial vibe I got from Abduction wasn’t too dissimilar from yours. I ended up putting it on one night while doing laundry, with a very casual “let’s see what the hell this thing is” kind of approach. What I ended up getting was a fun, warm-hearted sci-fi action flick, with both Scott Adkins and Andy On putting on strong and likeable performances.

I had no idea there were two different cuts. The version I watched was simply streamed off of VUDU (no physical), and a little bit of investigation leads me to believe that this may have been the shorter producer’s cut. While I doubt there’s much difference, the blu-ray’s already been on my wishlist for a while now, so, hey… there’s one more excuse for me to finally buy it. 🙂

Excellent review as always. Cheers.

Cheers Dan, and we can now make if official, you’re a COF influencer! (The 2nd most sought after influencer title after Instagram :-D)

NO PAUL ! NO ! YOU WILL NOT GIVE THIS A HIGHER RATING THAN SEIZED ! NO !

C’mon, this was far more entertaining than ‘Seized’ ! The good news is, the soon to be released millennial romantic thriller ‘Dead Reckoning’ got a lower rating, which now looks like it’ll be kicking off the 2021 Scott Adkins-athon.

Also Paul what exactly is the difference between the Producer’s cut and the Director’s cut of this film ? :O

That’s a good question, I did fast forward through the Producer’s cut, and honestly didn’t notice any discernible difference. Maybe co-producer Mike Leeder could shed some light on the matter?

I definitely liked this better than Legacy of Lies.

the years had taken their toll on Referee Randall, but the Aliens did offer a steady supply of wellington boots and coco pies, and a man has to live!

A lot of fun making the movie in both Vietnam and China, we had a great team and i managed to craxk my sternum fighting Andy On(my fault) which was fun!

The difference between the two cuts were very minimal, I think it was just a couple of dialogue beats

While the Iqiyi version is a bit more Andy focused in the edit

I had a decent time watching Abduction. As I’ve mentioned before, the movie felt like it was written by Giorgio A. Tsoukalos from that aliens show, and there seemed to be some influence from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

The beginning with Scot Adkins’ stutter made me cringe, but the action beats were good. I’m glad that Scott Adkins and Andy On were given a proper fight scene together after that messily choreographed fight in Black Mask 2.

What are some other good movies with Andy On that show off his abilities? I need to explore his filmography some more.

Also, I re-watched the fight scene at the end where Scott Adkins becomes imbued with alien powers, and it made me realize that I need another Universal Soldier movie ASAP.

Hey Dan. There’s a few! For me my overall favorite fighting performance of his is in Dennis Law’s ‘Bad Blood’ (inexplicably re-titled ‘King of Triads’ for its US release) from 2010, the same year he had what’s probably his most distinctive performance, as the villain in Yuen Woo-Ping’s ‘True Legend’ . He’s fought Donnie Yen twice, playing the villain in both 2011’s ‘The Lost Bladesman’ and 2013’s ‘Special ID’ (in which he ironically replaced Vincent Zhao, his co-star in ‘True Legend’ ). He’s close with fellow thespian Philip Ng, and their co-starring roles facing off against each in 2014’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Shanghai’ and 2019’s ‘Undercover Punch and Gun’ are both worth a watch. For outright fun, it’s hard to go wrong with 2014’s ‘Zombie Fight Club’ .

I finally caught this and agree with Paul, that large chunks of Abduction feel like 2 movies haphazardly stitched together, and unfortunately I was more interested in the half NOT having Scott Adkins.

I was wishing I could have seen more of Andy On as a slick assassin facing down Russian mobsters as opposed to Stuttering Scott hunting down inter-dimensional aliens harvesting DNA and rebuilding some super feng shui compass to get home.

I checked this out for Adkins but it’s On who walks away with the movie’s coolest scene: Offering his captors tea and snacks before beating seven bells out of them. Abduction could have used more of such scenes.

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