The Deadly Trap (1972)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Atmospheric thriller / drama directed by René Clément, based on the novel "The Children Are Gone" by Arthur Cavanaugh, French produced and set in Paris with two major American stars, Faye Dunaway & Frank Langella plus the Canadian Barbara Parkins, it tells a story of Phillipe & Jill, an American couple with 2 kids, living in "the City of Light" for two years facing a marital crisis due to Phillipe's ultimately strange behavior & Jill's psychological problems. When their 8 years old daughter, Cathy & 4 years old son, Patrick are apparently kidnapped, Jill starts to uncover what's behind the mysteriously disappearance that might be related to her taciturn husband, Phillipe... Slow paced & dreary, but effective on the thrills, "The Deadly Trap" (original title: "La Maison sous les arbres") keeps the viewer guessing, even if the end result was not that exciting and a bit too predictable. Some major editing errors, the low budget & a "made for TV" look to it, prevented the movie to became a cult classic of the genre like the moody & similar paced, "Don't Look Now" directed by Nicolas Roeg that was released about 2 years later, but it had its moments of skillful direction and nice shots of a gloomy Paris during winter time. Faye Dunaway is very good in the lead role, from a devoted spouse & caring mother to a desperate woman fighting against her own psychological problems to remain lucid enough to find her children. Miss Dunaway's committed performance is a stand-out in the movie, elevating the final product to a "released to theaters" quality. A thirty-something Frank Langella, here some years before his iconic role in "Dracula", delivers one of his first experiences handling a quirky, odd, but somewhat darkly charming character, a kind of role he would be typecast for almost his entire career. In short, "The Deadly Trap" isn't for everyone, but for fans of low-key psychological thrillers, the 70's & especially, the actress Faye Dunaway, it worth a watch.

I give this movie a 5/10.. because simply, I didn't understand what this movie was really about.. I couldn't see what was going on until maybe 3/4 of the way into it.. Faye Dunaway,character was slowly losing her mind.. Was the movie set to be in Paris or not? There was a lot of mention of "Phillipe" going to Paris.. then out of the blue, they are all speaking french.. It was a super hard plot for me to follow.. I thought the kids had killed themselves or had been murdered.. I also didn't agree with the fact that the little boy was allowed to play with guns. ill give the movie another look over and see what elements I was missing..

The one-line summary of this review is French, translates itself as "I don't understand" and actually refers to several aspects of this film… I read several articles where acclaimed critics and fellow directors reward Réné Clément with the title of "the French Hitchcock". I sincerely hope they didn't base this recognition on seeing "The Deadly Trap" and, if so, I don't understand. I also don't understand half of what's going on this movie and I most certainly don't understand (or better yet: refuse to accept) how anyone dares to deliver such a completely incoherent and deceptively pretentious mess of a film! "The Deadly Trap" revolves on – believe it or not – absolutely NOTHING! At least until very late into the second half of the film, it doesn't. Faye Dunaway and Frank Langella star as a married couple living in Paris with their two children. He behaves increasingly suspicious and secretive regarding his employment (and I do mean secretive, as we never get told what exactly he does for a living) and she portrays the good housewife slowly but surely descending in a downwards spiral of paranoia and insanity. Jill continuously fears that the children will become the target of malignant individuals, but Philippe hardly ever listens to a word she's saying. Then, of course, the children do get kidnapped by an organization that wants 'something' from Philippe in exchange for the children's lives. Even during this crucial point in the movie, we still haven't got a clue what it is they want (except for 'information') and the supposedly worldwide and dangerous organization imprisons the children in a nearby house with only one female babysitter to guard them. That's just totally retarded. Réné Clément's direction is flat and uninspired and he doesn't even make full use of the wondrously picturesque Parisian filming locations. The original French title means "The House under the Trees" and refers to the organization's hideout, but the beautiful house only features in the film for approximately 2,5 minutes. Faye Dunaway, at the top of her ravishing beauty around that time, is the only positive note I can bring myself to write about this unimaginably disappointing movie. She's quite convincing in her role, even though she probably didn't know what it was about, neither.

Playing a woman of slowly deteriorating mental health, Faye Dunaway dominates this movie. She graces it with her beauty and just about manages to keep us watching a story that's flawed and filled with implausibilities (SPOILER: for example, how come an organization as powerful and sinister as the one the movie supposedly presents has left ONLY ONE person - and a foolish one at that - guarding the kidnapped kids?). It's flatly directed, too. (**)