As is often the case in the Bava-verse, Kidnapped turns out to be located at the intersection of every dime-paperback plot, in that wild space populated by crooks, vampires, astronauts, and cowboys, all tromping inexorably to The End.

Quite cynically, Bava evokes a human society where no one is to be trusted.

Its stripped-down malevolence is certainly effective, and the maniacal performances provide the kitsch.

Definitely one of Bava's more pessimistic films, but it shows just how far the master was capable of stretching into a more realistic, less expressionistic palate.