| Director | Rodrigo Cortés |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 91 min |
| Country | Spain |
| Budget | $2 million |
| Box office | $21.3 million |
In 2006, Paul Conroy, an American civilian working in Iraq, awakes to find himself buried six feet underground in a wooden coffin with only a Zippo lighter and a BlackBerry phone at hand. As he gradually begins to piece together what has happened to him, he recalls that he and several others were ambushed by terrorists, passing out after being hit by a rock. He receives a call from his kidnapper, Jabir, demanding that he pay a ransom of $5 million or he will be left in the coffin to die.
Conroy calls the State Department, which tells him that due to the government policy of not negotiating with terrorists, it will not pay the ransom but will try to rescue him. They connect him with Dan Brenner, head of the Hostage Working Group, who tells Conroy they are working to find him. Jabir calls Conroy again and demands he film a ransom video, threatening to execute one of his colleagues who survived the attack. Conroy insists that no one will pay $5 million, so Jabir drops the amount to $1 million. Despite his compliance in making the video, the kidnappers execute his colleague anyway and sends him video of the killing. Shortly afterward, distant explosions shake the area, which damage his coffin, causing it to slowly fill with sand. Conroy continues sporadic phone calls with Brenner, skeptical of his promises of help. Brenner informs Conroy that a man named Mark White was rescued from a similar situation three weeks prior and is now home safe with his family.
Conroy receives a phone call from his employers, who inform him that he has been terminated from his job due to an alleged prohibited relationship with a colleague. Because of this, he and his family will not be entitled to any benefits or pension earned with the company. Brenner calls saying that the explosions that damaged his coffin earlier were in fact F-16 bombings and that his kidnappers may have been killed. Conroy begins to lose hope and makes a last will and testament in video form, leaving his son his clothes and his wife his personal savings. Jabir calls demanding Conroy video record himself cutting off a finger, threatening Conroy's family back home if he refuses. Conroy complies with this demand.
Brenner calls and tells Conroy an insurgent has given details of where to find a man buried alive, and that they are driving out to rescue him. Conroy then receives a tearful call from his wife Linda, and he assures her that he is going to be okay. As sand continues to fill the coffin to dangerous levels, giving Conroy seconds left to live, Brenner calls and tells him that he and the rescue team have arrived at the burial site. Through the phone, digging is heard, but Conroy cannot hear any digging around him. The team digs up a coffin and opens it, but it is revealed with great shock that the insurgent led them to Mark White's coffin, the man Brenner claimed had been rescued. The film ends with Brenner profusely apologizing heavily to Conroy as the sand finally fills the coffin and Conroy, discouragingly accepting his grim fate, suffocates to his death.