Held (2020) presents us first of all with some uncomfortable scenes relating to women travelling alone: after an initial scene, which we return to later, we begin in full with Emma (Jill Awbrey) who is on her way to a weekend retreat: as she responds uneasily to the taxi driver who asks her if her husband minds her ‘being alone’ in such a place (before demanding a tip), we learn that this is a wedding anniversary treat, or more accurately, a make or break weekend for their struggling relationship of nine years. Anyway, the suspect taxi driver is a red herring perhaps, as she gets to her destination safely. Husband Henry (Bart Johnson) has booked a very nice place for them both; arriving there first, Emma settles in and it seems cool enough, meticulously neat, completely controlled by an internet security system which does all the things people used to be able to manage by themselves such as turning lights on, locking doors etc. (There’s a landline phone, though, which is front and centre from the start, making me wonder if it would in some ways soon be Plot Relevant.)
Anyway, Henry arrives and, despite his best efforts, things don’t immediately go smoothly. There’s clearly something quietly seething away here, which is in the unsaid as much as in what’s said: it turns out a change of bedroom can’t do that much by itself. Who knew? But things quickly gets worse even than that. After drinking some of the whiskey in the house, both Emma and Henry grow woozy and pass out. Emma wakes up the next morning in different nightwear than she went to sleep in; the roses, the anniversary messages, the fresh coffee…someone has been in the house.
Now it seems they’re bereft of their mobile phones and car keys too, the Barretts find they are locked in the house and under the control of an unknown person who begins to dictate to them, controlling their every move. Obedience, they’re told, is key. This unseen person can see them via a network of cameras, and compels them to behave. This begins with an enforced ‘happy marriage’ shtick, which is uncomfortable viewing and – despite the disguised voice telling them what to do which sounds like Jigsaw from the Saw franchise – this discomfort is far more effective than the prospect of noughties-style ordeal horror, though there are some horror elements here, and more as the film proceeds. The treatment of the topic of gender, key here, is interesting: first, each character defaults to the masculine/feminine stereotypes of active/passive, even on top of the dictates of the watching party or parties. This is all interwoven with a real spirit of meanness, removing people’s personal agency and revealing them in their absolute worst light. But things and expectations do shift, leading the film in some ways which I certainly didn’t expect. This is testament to Jill Awbrey who, as well as taking a starring role also wrote Held, and is able to move things in increasingly tense and surprising ways.
It was also good to see some characters in the roughly 35-45 age bracket who are characters in their own rights, not simply there as bit-part players or, more often, as parents, who exist in the screenplay on behalf of others. There are some parallels here to other recent films, most notably the hi-tech house and the strained relationship at the heart of Gatecrash (2020) or the all-controlling technological thriller Shook (2020), and whilst technology is perhaps given a bit more clout in Held even that it has, giving what seems to be omnipotence to its perpetrators, it is used well to explode unpalatable truths about the Barretts’ marriage. Yes, there are some familiar, even tropey elements in the film and a handful of clunky pieces of expositional dialogue, but the way in which Held escalates its action in some surprising ways is every bit as successful as its more subtle, sinister moments. The emotional torments on offer make for phenomenally bleak viewing, but the OTT revelations which follow are very entertaining and successful in their own right. Held offers chilling and exhilarating fare by turns – impressive, entertaining stuff, and well worth a look.
Magnet Releasing will release HELD in theatres and on demand April 9th, 2021.