Throwback: Prisoners (dir. Denis Villeneuve), 2013

Somehow a French-Canadian was capable of reaching deep into the psyche of rural Pennsylvania to evoke the region's terrifying, grim essence. There are few places in the United States more terrifying than the large swath of Pennsylvania between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, which is exactly where Prisoners chronicles the Thanksgiving-day abduction of two young girls from neighboring households, ensuing recovery search, and past related crimes wading beneath the community surface. The eerie story visually and sonically is personified: gray, late-autumn color palette and constant mists of rain; slow, building string instrumentals; and, darkly dynamic performances from the star-studded cast. Even better, the two-and-a-half hour runtime flows quite easily guided by the underlying story arc, thriller-style twists, and smooth editing. Prisoners technically is the start of Denis Villeneuve's impressive English-language run which includes Sicario, Arrival, and Dune. Almost a decade-old, the film is well-worth a retrospective or first viewing.

Rating: 9/10