Kidnapped Coed (1976)

Back in the 70s when people made movies…

Kidnapped Coed also known as Date with a Kidnapper and The Kidnap Lover marks Frederick R. Friedel’s second film in a grand total of three. Along for the ride he has actor Jack Canon, musicians George Newman Shaw and John Willhelm and cinematographer Austin McKinney. All were participants in Friedel’s debut Lisa, Lisa, better known as Axe for marketing purposes. The Kidnapped Coed title, coined by notorious distributor Harry Novak, is likely an attempt to cash in on the Edmund Kemper case, better known as “The Co-ed Killer” a few years earlier.

Eddie Matlock (Canon), a small time criminal, kidnaps young Sandra Morley (Leslie Rivers) for ransom. This marks the beginning of a strange journey through North Carolina.

Kidnapped Coed feels like a string of almost random scenes that all add up as a whole. Eddie and Sandra encounter two other bad guys at a hotel, which she initially thinks will save her, but instead rape her. Eddie saves her and their journey continues to the next location. One particularly strange and quite humorous scene is when a group of female birdwatchers walk around close to their new hideout. It helps in terms of developing the tone of the story, because while it starts off rather tensely it becomes lighter and lighter during its course. Canon makes a great leading guy that at first glance seems like a cold and calculating criminal, but as the story progresses he comes off as slightly tragic and even sympathetic. The dialogue is sparse, but it says just enough to make an impact. This is also a movie where silences speak volumes. Eddie and Sandra’s evolving relationship feels credible and makes you wonder how it all will end. The ending is quite abrupt, but according to Friedel himself he chose a voiceover ending since there wasn’t any money left for further shots. An unhappy ending was filmed at first, but dropped to keep the in synch with the tone of the film.

Friedel has made the little exploitation film that could with Kidnapped Coed. He is given ample support from the two leads that raise it above its simple roots. The music works well and is an important ingredient when it comes to developing the feel of the film. It certainly left me smiling and didn’t shy away from experimenting. Cinematographer McKinney provides inspired shots that are frequently more beautiful than you would expect from such a film. He went on to shoot Galaxy of Terror (1981) and Jaws 3-D (1983) among other and was apparently even assistant director on Coleman Francis legendary The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961). Friedel readily admits that much of the movie wasn’t planned exactly like it turned out, but this seems only to have benefitted Kidnapped Coed. It also explains the episodic nature of it. Kidnapped Coed wasn’t a big success upon release, but remains an oddity very much worth checking out. If Terrence Malick had made an exploitation film out of Badlands (1973) with a lower budget I imagine it could have looked something like this.

7.5/10