Malina (Sina Martens) wakes up to find herself in the trunk of a car – hence the title, apologies to anyone here for elephant-related action – but you’re here now, so you may as well read the rest of this. Unable to extricate herself from the vehicle before it sets off, her mobile phone is the only means of communicating with the outside world. Malina needs to find a way to inform the authorities of her ever changing location, but also must embark upon a mission to unravel the mystery of how she came to be in such a predicament in the first place.
Firstly, and for our UK readers in particular, I am going to get any potential jokes about Das Boot out of the way right now. It was mentioned in a chat when I was asked if I’d like to view this film; I laughed at the cinematic wordplay; we need speak about this no more. Secondly, for those of you who read the above paragraph and thought “How does she still have her phone”?, that’s cleared up in the opening sequence.
Modern day folks in peril stories usually require their protagonists to wind up in a remote location with no signal, or to have their phone run out of battery life, or to have it broken, and so on, and so on. One of the fun elements of writer/director Marc Schießer’s film is that Malina’s phone has to function fairly well in order for her to search for vital information and to chat to the various people who will help and/or hinder her along the way.
Yes, the story can’t resist the odd moment of crappy reception and the terrifying prospect of reduced internet speed, but the bulk of the tale hinges pleasingly on our heroine being able to get into touch with the world around her. There’s even an amusing early search for articles on how to free yourself from a trunk. I’ll leave you to guess just how useful that area of cyberspace is.
The early details about Malina establish that she’s resourceful and smart, with a medical degree that turns out to be very handy when it comes to a spot of lengthy, grisly self-repair in the first act. This area of expertise also feeds into the admittedly short list of reasons as to why someone might want to kidnap her, as we’re drip fed details about a tragedy which previously occurred on her watch.
The setting is less claustrophobic than it initially threatens to be, with gliding camerawork giving us a tour of the space at regular intervals. Also, the focus is more on Malina’s phone interactions than the close up, breathy panic prevalent in other titles such as Buried. A broken light cluster also allows a glimpse into the outside world, as well as being the viewpoint for an inventive action sequence as Malina attempts to turn the tables on her captor.
Trunk is a watchable, sporadically suspenseful thriller with a fine central performance from Sina Martens. As the only person on screen for a large chunk of the runtime, her portrayal of the capable yet psychologically frail Malina more than holds the interest and Schießer’s screenplay takes the requisite amount of care in building a layered, winningly flawed character who doesn’t turn into an invincible ass-kicker out of nowhere, but whose cerebral, practical approach is her weapon when confronting an increasingly desperate series of situations.
Martens’ sterling work makes it all the more disappointing the final act heads into all too familiar territory, with a plot swerve I suspect a lot of viewers will see coming from a mile off. In addition, a certain member of the cast is consigned to a stock fate, which is played out in such a way that even casual film fans will be able to walk through it beat by beat. Having been gripped for much of the first hour, the reveals of the last thirty minutes and the mundane motive rob the climax of momentum, although Malina’s ultimate fight or flight decision is nicely staged.
The late in the game shortcomings of Trunk shouldn’t be a barrier to enjoying what is, for the most part, a decently engineered, single location nightmare with a keen sense of pace and a good grasp of when to unveil those vital, extra pieces of information. Its resolution may opt for the efficient as opposed to the electrifying, but there’s still a certain amount of satisfaction to be gained from the movie as a whole, even if some early moments may hint in the direction of an unexpected road which is never taken. If nothing else, the undoubted presence of Sina Martens is likely to keep you watching.
Trunk (2024) launches on Prime Video on 26th January 2024.