The Dutch thriller iHostage, which premiered globally on Netflix on April 18, has rapidly climbed the platform’s trending lists across multiple countries. Inspired by a real-life 2022 hostage crisis in Amsterdam, the film reenacts the tense standoff that unfolded at an Apple Store in the city’s bustling Leidseplein Square.
Directed by Bobby Boermans and written by Simon de Waal, iHostage was produced with significant input from sources close to the original case. The creators aimed to reflect the facts of the incident while changing names and dramatizing certain sequences. The film is performed in Dutch with English subtitles and has gained widespread attention for its realistic tone and gripping tension.
Why It Matters
iHostage debuted on April 18 and quickly broke into Netflix’s Top 10 in several countries. The film’s popularity has reignited public interest in the 2022 hostage event that briefly gripped the Netherlands and drew international attention for its dramatic conclusion.
Netflix’s Tudum site described the film as a “psychological thriller” where “a tech store becomes the backdrop for a harrowing hostage situation,” with events unfolding largely from the perspective of the hostages.
Peter Dejong/AP Photos
Is iHostage Based on a True Story?
Yes. The real incident took place on February 22, 2022, when a 27-year-old man armed with an automatic weapon entered an Apple Store and took a Bulgarian tourist hostage. He demanded €200 million, or $227 million U.S. dollars, in cryptocurrency and safe passage, holding the victim for over five hours.
Four other individuals hid in a storage closet throughout the ordeal. As The Indian Express reported, the standoff ended dramatically when the hostage made a run for safety and the suspect was struck by a police vehicle. He later died from his injuries, People reported.
The story captured national attention in the Netherlands, where such incidents are rare, and now reaches a broader audience through its dramatized depiction on Netflix.
What is True in Netflix’s iHostage Movie?
The movie iHostage remains largely faithful to the real 2022 Apple Store hostage crisis in Amsterdam, retaining core elements like the setting, the suspect’s ransom demand in cryptocurrency, the duration of the standoff, and the resolution involving police intervention after the hostage fled. Accurate too is the presence of hidden hostages in a supply closet.
What’s dramatized includes character names, personal backstories, emotional interactions between hostages, and stylized negotiation scenes. While the film mirrors the timeline and tension, it introduces fictionalized dialogue and relationships to enhance psychological drama, diverging from the real event’s more transactional and abrupt dynamics.
“I was able to speak with people from the police force who were directly involved,” de Waal told Netflix’s Tudum. “I wanted to know if they agreed with how things were portrayed, how events actually unfolded, how things were said … I wanted to stay as close to the truth as possible.”
Who is Abdel Rahman Akkad?
The real-life suspect behind the Apple Store hostage crisis was identified by Dutch authorities as Abdel Rahman A., later publicly named in media reports as Abdel Rahman Akkad. He was a 27-year-old Dutch citizen with a criminal record, including a prior conviction for illegal firearm possession, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Beyond his demand for cryptocurrency, Akkad’s motivations remain unclear. A closing card in iHostage notes that the suspect’s intent was never fully explained, according to Netflix’s English subtitles.
What People Are Saying
Director Bobby Boermans told TIME: “Fortunately, hostage situations like this are scarce in the Netherlands. That’s what made this incident bizarre. A man, demanding 200 million in cryptocurrency, chose to take a hostage in broad daylight on one of the busiest squares in Amsterdam.”
What’s Next
With its success on streaming charts, iHostage adds to Netflix’s expanding roster of international thrillers inspired by headline-making events. The platform has not indicated whether sequels or similar Dutch-language adaptations are planned.
