In Enemy Hands

Set during the deathly push of the U-boat war, an American crew on a long voyage home is knocked off course by catastrophe. Those who survive find themselves prisoners aboard a German submarine, where scant shelter and dwindling supplies tighten the noose. Under threat of execution and with every inch of sea air costly, the captors demand a grim bargain: the Americans must help fight for their own lives as a makeshift crew. Loyalties fray as fear collides with honor, and a fragile cooperation hardens into a perilous balance of trust. No one can tell who will emerge when the depth charges finally settle. The metal hull and cold water become as much an adversary as the gun crew, forcing risky decisions in cramped quarters.

Directed by Tony Giglio, this wartime thriller retools the captive submarine premise into a tense moral puzzle. It draws on the screenwriters Johnny Hartmann and John E Deaver for its core setup while delivering a lean, character driven clash under pressure.

Box Office Revenue: $64,236 worldwide, against a budget of $5.4 million. The film received a limited release and performed modestly, drawing a small audience attracted to WWII thriller atmospherics rather than blockbuster spectacle.

Reception and themes center on fragile alliances forged under extreme duress. The story probes loyalty, the moral cost of cooperation with the enemy, and how fear can force even hardened soldiers to question their roles in war. The performances anchor the drama, with William H Macy and Til Schweiger delivering restrained, conflicted turns that keep the dialogue sharp between action beats.

Despite its solid cast, the movie leaves a light mark on pop culture with few lines or moments that linger in memory. It's a lesser known wartime thriller that remains mostly of interest to fans of period war films who seek compact, tense submarine drama.