Vague Visages’ Trunk: Locked In review contains minor spoilers. Marc Schießer’s 2023 Amazon movie features Sina Martens, Luise Helm and Artjom Gilz. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

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The typical tech-themed chamber piece production engages the audience through relatable cell phone imagery: someone gets stuck in bad situation and needs help, and so they find a way to communicate through social media. However, Trunk: Locked In — a German Amazon Original from Marc Schießer — prioritizes visual language over trendy storytelling. Structured around a female doctor trapped in a traveling vehicle, the 96-minute movie feels urgent and alive, thanks to Daniel Ernst and Tui Lohf’s fluid cinematography. If a standard tech thriller relies on the WHO and WHY, Trunk: Locked In stays focused on HOW the protagonist might escape.

Sina Martens headlines Trunk: Locked In as Malina, a doctor who anticipates a six-month South American adventure with her fiancée, Enno (Artjom Gilz). The film begins in media res, with the protagonist waking up in a trunk and desperately trying to reach friends and her father, Wolfgang (Charles Rettinghaus). Some phone call conversations seem overly rushed — meaning, the dialogue feels recited rather than natural — yet the atmosphere created by Schießer oozes with detail as the camera circles around the frightened protagonist. In addition, the well-structured script links a traumatic event from Malina’s past to the motivations of a 911 operator named Elisa (Luise Helm). Even if it’s unclear why the protagonist would only send a screenshot of her kidnapper to just one person (her father) — rather than everybody on her contact list — Trunk: Locked In’s exciting first act moves along swiftly, with strong character development setting the tone for all of the middle act madness.

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Trunk: Locked In’s middle section reveals the identity of Malina’s captor, which amplifies the suspense through both disturbing imagery and slightly comedic moments. Schießer also includes some big musical sequences (Marianne Rosenberg’s “Ich bin wie du” plays twice) that spotlight Martens’ acting ability while allowing the cinematographers to expand their color palette. On paper, Trunk: Locked In might appear to be a visually dark film, but it’s very much a colorful thriller — the result of the protagonist’s frantic behavior. Malina smashes things, she pokes holes and quite literally brings in light from the outside. More importantly, Schießer and company lock into specific items that may or may not be useful to the main character. Elsewhere, the filmmakers slow the action down for practical reasons, usually to execute minor scares — glass in a finger, a gaping wound on Malina’s stomach. As the protagonist’s screams get louder, the suspect list grows wider.

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Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve recently stated that “Frankly, I hate dialogue… pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema.” Agree or disagree, the Dune director is clearly a visual thinker. Likewise, Schießer also seems invested in visual storytelling, as his Trunk: Locked In imagery strips the narrative down to the fundamentals, with the dialogue supporting the visual foundation. From a performance perspective, this approach might not be ideal, certainly for actors and actresses who value chatty Aaron Sorkin-style dialogue or dramatic monologues. But Trunk: Locked In isn’t of the Oppenheimer ilk and it’s certainly far removed from Barbie. Schießer’s Amazon film is an imaginative thriller, one that requires the performers to think visually like the director. Trunk: Locked In is one of those small-budget productions that American Fiction director Cord Jefferson referenced at the 2024 Academy Awards, stating, “Instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies. Or 50 $4 million movies.”

Trunk: Locked In released on Amazon in January 2024 via Outside the Club.

Q.V. Hough (@QVHough) is Vague Visages’ founding editor.

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