Michael Finuoli

Held for Ransom is a 2000 direct-to-video film about five high-school students that are kidnapped and held for ransom in a remote swamp area in Florida. It was directed and written by Lee Stanley based on the novel by Lois Duncan.

Sergeant Todd is a veteran soldier for an elite group of the armed forces. After being defeated by a new breed of genetically engineered soldiers, he is dumped on a waste planet and left for dead. He soon interacts with a group of crash survivors who lead out a peaceful existence. The peace is broken as the new soldiers land on the planet to eliminate the colony, which Sergeant Todd must defend.

A group of attractive women get together for a weekend of bonding, hoping to relax and getaway from the anxiety of their boyfriends. The women travel out of town which leads them to picking up men of questionable integrity. The next problem is what will they tell their boyfriends when they get back home.

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.