On April 18, 2025, a thriller movie was released on the OTT platform Netflix named “iHostage”. The movie is directed by Bobby Boermans and is claimed to be a real-life incident. He admits that he lives near the Apple store where this incident took place. The whole episode left him dumbstruck. He decided to recreate this occurrence and leave an inspiring thoughtfulness in people.
What Happened in the Apple store in Amsterdam?
During the busy hours of a street in Amsterdam, a 27-year-old man entered and kept someone hostage for around 5 hours at an Apple store nearby. The hostage was an old Bulgarian man in his early 40s.
On 22 February 2022, at 5:30 pm, he held hostage the luxurious Apple store. Although the police were called and they reached the location within 10 minutes. The situation was horrific. Still, people tried their best to stay out of the sight of the gunman. He demanded cryptocurrency worth 200 million euros and a safe exit. Police have been careful because he could have carried explosives with him. Even after the mess and critical situation, the police managed to get 70 people out of the building.
At 10:30 pm, the gunman asked for water. This was his biggest neglect. Police sent a robot to send water inside the building. He sent one of the hostages to fetch it. On the contrary, the person took it as an opportunity to run out of the building. When he exited the gate, the police got the criminal under their official vehicle. It was a rather crisp movement that saved innocent lives who were experiencing this traumatic incident for the last 5 hours, continuously.
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How did Bobby Boermans portray the Apple Store Incident?
As relieved Boermans was after finding out all the hostages survived, he got more interested in letting people know about the bravery and intelligence the police used to sabotage the criminal. Thus, he decided to recreate this incident into a movie.
For the characters, he chose to portray only five main leads and included only the scenes associated with the break-in. To note, he gave them fictional names to ensure none of the victims feel targeted once the movie is released.
Conclusion
The iHostage Movie gives the audience an uneasy feeling in their pits. It keeps them on the verge of jump scares. The film is not just about portraying a criminal case, but also the back story of every criminal who has undergone a traumatic or rough past. It was found after the real incident that the gunman had several other cases registered in his name. He was facing mental issues due to something that happened in his past.
In this light, the film iHostage suggests that one should always take care of their mental well-being and understand the other people’s mental state.
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