Caged is a 2020 American drama film directed by Aaron Fjellman and starring Edi Gathegi, Melora Hardin, Angela Sarafyan and Tony Amendola. Fjellman co-wrote the screenplay with James 'Doc' Mason. The film was produced by Pete Kirtley, Aaron Fjellman, Matthew Temple and Jessa Zarubica.
| Caged | |
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_Official_release_poster.png) Official release poster | |
| Directed by | Aaron Fjellman |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jessica Young |
| Music by | Cj Johnson |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Shout! Factory |
Release dates |
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Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editAn affluent African American psychiatrist is sent to federal prison after being found guilty of murdering his wife, and is then transferred to solitary confinement in the Security Housing Unit – (the SHU).
Despite maintaining his innocence, he finds himself a victim of prisoner abuse and, isolated and fighting for an appeal, slowly descends towards madness, pushed to breaking point by an abusive female guard hell bent on dispensing her own form of justice.
Increasingly haunted by internal demons and hallucinations involving his dead wife, he begins to question his own innocence and sanity, making his time in the SHU a never-ending nightmare.
Cast
edit- Edi Gathegi as Dr. Harlow Reid
- Melora Hardin as Officer Sacks
- Angela Sarafyan as Amber Reid
- Tony Amendola as Warden Perez
- Robert R. Shafer as Officer Ganser
- James Jagger as Zeke
- Andy Mackenzie as The Voice
- Jessa Sarubica as Receptionist
- J. M. Scott as Fish
- Jose Rosete as Inmate AA91763
- Kenyon Glover as Inmate AA90046
- Chris Blasman as Officer Jones
- Roberto Montesinos as Officer Mendez
- Grifon Aldren as Officer Adebayo
- Pete Kirtley as Biohazard Man
- Paul Hatter as Mancha -Thug in Shower
- Matt Ramirez as Primo- Thug in Shower
- Omar Heyward as Omarion – Inmate in Shower
- Nicholas King as Ground Floor Watchman
- Anthony Arrigo as Tower Guard
- Izzy Traub as Gen-Pop Inmate
- Steve Bakken as Officer Warren
- Gabriel Jefferson as Officer Green
- Hoyt Richards as Harper
- Anzu Lawson as Shannon
Filming and production
editFilming, under its working title of The SHU, commenced in October 2016. Principal photography took place at Remmet Studios, in Canoga Park, Los Angeles with exterior filming at Long Beach Shoreline Marina, Palmdale and Anaheim, California. Post-production video and audio editing was carried out in Los Angeles and at Pinewood Studios in Iver.[1]
Release and critical reception
editThe film had its world premiere at the Pasadena International Film Festival in 2020 and was nominated for Best Feature Film, with Aaron Fjellman winning the Best Director award.[2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the film was not released until 2021 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other territories.[3][4]
It received mixed reviews but Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 72% based on 18 reviews with an average rating of 6.1/10.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Listen Notes interview with Aaron Fjellman". Retrieved September 19, 2021.
- ^ "PIFF 2020 Nominees and Winners". Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ "DEADLINE". Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "insidepulse". Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
- ^ "Caged". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 2021-09-18. Retrieved October 30, 2021.