Towards Darkness (2007) R - 3 Stars

In Colombia, every 3 hours somebody is kidnapped. 1 out of 10 victims never live to tell their story. This was a fact I was unaware of and even though the movie was not as exciting as normal large Hollywood productions, I still always love movies that open my eyes to something I am unaware of. In Spanish with English subtitles, and some speaking parts in English the ending is something I was not expecting.

Jose Guiterrez (Roberto Urbina) is a young man from Colombia who is studying in America. He has a lovely girlfriend in the states, but feels the need to visit his homeland in Colombia. Once he's landed, he's quickly reunited with his friends Jaime (Andres Toro), Pedro (Roberto Cano), and Luiza (America Ferrera) as well as his mom Marta (Alejandra Borrero) and dad Carlos (Tony Plana). Life is as if he had never left Colombia.

Luiza is his childhood sweetheart who he finds himself becoming involved with again. But many changes have happened in his home land and while visiting with Luiza, he is abducted on the city streets and taken away. When he awakes, he finds himself gagged and his legs and arms bound. Unable to speak, he lies there awaiting his fate.

Meanwhile his parents, have no choice but to hire special American agents to help in finding their son. The parents risk punishment from Colombian policy for not alerting the authorities immediately when he was taken. When their insurance company denies their claim for ransom money, Carlos must make a deal with Colombian drug lords to get it. But once yo make a deal with the "devil", you're in it for life. It's a race against time, and traffic, to get to the ransom drop location in time. The movie takes twist at the end that I was not suspecting and I must leave that for the viewer to figure out.

Peach Arch Entertainment - Negert Films
Director: Antonio Negret
Writer: Antonio Negret
Producers: Craig Anderson, Luiza Ricupero

I viewed 10/08