Kidnappings are quite common in Haiti, enough so that, during the making of director Bruno Mourral’s film Kidnapping Inc., several crew members were taken and ransomed. Yet Mourral and his cast have marvelously found a sense of humor about the subject, crafting an action-packed comedy that makes light of the subject while still managing to take it seriously when it feels appropriate. This Haitian film is a true find, one that doesn’t let up from start to finish and tells a story that’s both entertaining and unexpectedly resounding.
Doc (Jasmuel Andri) and Zoe (Rolapthon Mercure) have a problem. They’ve accidentally killed the man in their trunk, the son of a prominent senator (Ashley Laraque) set to become the country‘s next president. While the man’s wife, Audrey (Anabel Lopez), enlists her lover, Eddy (Marcus Boereau), to deliver the ransom, Doc and Zoe spot a dead ringer (Patrick Joseph) for their captive and kidnap him and his very pregnant wife Laura (Gessica Généus), who is not about to let these two men with guns stop her from getting to the airport so that she can deliver her baby in Florida.
This film opens with a slow-paced introduction featuring its two protagonists conversing and then realizing their situation, and from there the action picks up incredibly quickly and doesn’t let up. When they’re in the middle of a foot or car chase, it’s easy to get swept away by the excitement and intensity, and there are frequent cuts to calmer moments that then lead right back in to the craziness and the chaos. It’s an expertly-assembled film that knows how to shift effortlessly from genre to genre while still maintaining a coherent tone and style.
Kidnapping Inc. benefits from a superb ensemble led by Andri and Mercure. Doc is stoic and serious, intent on getting this job done so he can get out of this business, while Zoe is talkative and easily distracted. The sweat that can be seen dripping down both their faces as they endure a much longer and more harrowing day than either expected is absorbed into their performances, conveying a physical exhaustion that only adds to their emotional distress. Généus is a fantastic foil for them, slightly afraid but more irritated by their intrusion into her life. Lopez, Boereau, Laraque, and Manfred Marcelin, as the corrupt police chief, anchor a slightly more dramatic section of the story that works just as well.
This film is well-placed in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival, where its over-the-top antics can best be appreciated. It boasts impressive production values and a more straightforward narrative style than other genre or experimental films that might typically populate the horror-heavy category. It also manages to navigate the tricky space between paying tribute to a disturbing phenomenon in Haiti and sending it up, merging those two radically different approaches to make something that, against all odds, is both great fun and isn’t easy to shake.
Though it is a comedy, audiences should still be prepared for a handful of scenes that are difficult to watch. This is the kind of film where someone getting their head bashed into a wall or the ground ends up producing laughter because of how it’s framed and the circumstances leading up to it, and there’s also a particularly unpleasant torture scene that should cause most audiences to cover their eyes while it’s happening. But Kidnapping Inc. uses stark violence to its advantage to show how quickly things can spiral out of control after just one small mistake. It also touches on friendship, loyalty, and love, even though most of those things aren’t always easy to come by with these layered and multi-dimensional characters whose behavior sometimes even surprises themselves.
Grade: B+
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Kidnapping Inc. makes its world premiere in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.