grip

When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him.

[…] I lost something of the stifling fear that had gripped me, and could listen with more ease to what was going forward.

The movie gripped me from beginning to end.