Trunk: Locked In

Trunk: Locked In (German: Trunk – Locked In) is a 2023 German-language thriller directed and written by Marc Schießer, released on Prime Video on January 26, 2024 

The story begins with Malina Voss (28, portrayed by Sina Martens) regaining consciousness in the locked trunk of a speeding car, her legs paralyzed and a severe abdominal wound inflicted prior to her confinement 
 Armed only with her smartphone and resourcefulness, she must navigate a nerve-wracking race against time—dealing with waning battery life, spotty signal, and steadily rising panic.Adopting a real-time, single-location setup reminiscent of films like Buried and Phone Booth, Trunk: Locked In strips the narrative down to its essentials: survival. Malina attempts to call her sister, a police operator named Elisa (voice by Luise Helm), and even her father, as she tries to triangulate her location and plead for a rescue 
Each call escalates the tension, compounded by betrayal, unreliable family responses, and cryptic hints of organ trafficking.

Sina Martens anchors the film with a fiercely committed one-woman performance. With limited physical movement and only her voice, expressions, and body tension, she conveys desperation, pain, intelligence, and resolve 
Reviews celebrate her work as a “tour de force” that matches the demanding emotional and physical stakes of the premise .

Shot by Daniel Ernst and Tobias Lohf, Trunk uses inventive, dynamic camera angles—through taillights, broken reflections, and tight framing—to keep the trunk visually engaging 
Film Threat praises its “taut and visceral ride,” enhanced by a potent, immersive soundscape featuring breathy whispers, shifting gears, and pounding engines 
The overall effect is sensory immersion into Malina’s terror.

What begins as a brutal abduction soon unravels into something more personal. As Malina calls for help, she discovers her father balking at involving police; subtle clues indicate her boyfriend Enno (played by Artjom Gilz) may be entangled in the conspiracy 
 HighOnFilms reveals that Enno orchestrates the kidnapping to pay off debts—but when he learns she’s carrying his child, he attempts to rescue her, only to be killed by the driver 

Critics widely acknowledge the film’s claustrophobic intensity and technical achievement, though some question its plausibility or twist predictability. Rotten Tomatoes scores it at a perfect 100% on critics (albeit with few reviews), praising its tension . Dread Central calls it a “fast‑paced thrill ride,” while Wicked Horror sums it up as “simply complex”—strong in visuals and craft, albeit lightweight narratively 

In the climax, Malina disables the car, which plunges into a river. She breaks free from the trunk and swims to the surface just as police arrive 
This final surge delivers visceral relief and emotional release after nearly suffocating tension, reinforcing themes of resilience and personal transformation.

At under 100 minutes, Trunk: Locked In is a fiercely focused character survival thriller. It thrives on minimalism—maximizing performance, technical skill, and suspense while avoiding distraction. Though its twist may feel familiar and plausibility is stretched at moments, its energy, cinematography, sound design, and Martens’s gripping lead work in concert to deliver a rush of adrenaline. For fans of tightly wound, enclosed‑space dramas, this delivers a satisfying, claustrophobic knockout.