Cleveland Abduction (2015 TV Movie) User Reviews

Tragic but true story of three women held captive for ten years

[Ed-Shullivan · 7/10 · 5 May 2015]

This drama is based on actual events that occurred over a period of more than ten (10) years. The actual perpetrator Ariel Castro was 42 when he first abducted Michelle Knight on August 21, 2002. Michelle was in the process of trying to regain custody of her son from the state when she was abducted. Michelle had agreed to get in to Ariel Castro's truck as she knew Ariel's daughter so she failed to see any danger in getting in to Ariel's truck at that time.

Subsequent to Michelle Knight's kidnapping Ariel then kidnapped Amanda Berry on April 21, 2003 and Gina DeJesus on April 02, 2004. The film focuses mainly on the relationship between the dominant kidnapper Ariel Castro (played by Raymond Cruz) and his first victim Michelle Knight (played by Taryn Manning). The film does more than an adequate job in the 90 minutes made available to capture the imprisonment of the three young girls and how Ariel Castro first physically and then mentally subjected his kidnapping victims to torture to the point that they knew if they even attempted to escape they would receive a beating.

Fortunately for the films viewers we were spared any vivid graphic violence and rape of the three girls. Actor Raymond Cruz recently starred in the multi Emmy winning series Breaking Bad as drug kingpin Tuco Salamanca. For those of you who have watched Breaking Bad you will be familiar with Tuco's violent and crazy side so when I first heard that Raymond Cruz was playing the role of the vile Ariel Castro I was a bit concerned that the film may include some gratuitous violence as it was in Raymond Cruz's capacity as an actor to emulate this scum of the earth kidnapper Ariel Castro. Fortunately the director Alex Kalymnios chose to maintain a factual film theme and limit the depiction of the hundreds of rapes and beatings that Ariel Castro subjected his victims to.

This 90 minute film also does a good job of encapsulating the friendship and feeling of family the three girls shared which most likely made it a bit more bearable under the circumstances of being chained, beaten and repeatedly raped. As in the actual events we get to see how Amanda Berry gave birth to Ariel Castro's daughter with the assistance of Michelle Knight who was threatened with death if she did not succeed in ensuring Amanda's baby lived.

It is sad to realize that Castro's first victim, Michelle Knight was considered a runaway and very little was done to look for her as she was 21 years old at the time of her abduction. The press and police had communicated publicly that she most likely chose on her own accord to disappear as she had lost custody of her son to the state. Taryn Manning who played Michelle Knight made the audience feel how a kidnapped victim may have despaired as the years progressed and the abuse continued. In fact the film also depicts how Ariel Castro beat Michelle up when he felt she was pregnant with his child and so he ensured Michelle would abort the fetus by hitting her in the stomach with a barbell and kicking her in the stomach.

This is both a film about hopelessness, family by circumstances, and the evil of men with no conscience. Castro was arrested on May 06, 2013, more than 10 years and 8 months since he first abducted Michelle Knight. As mentioned earlier the films run time was only approximately 90 minutes and maybe the producers could have provided more in depth of the psyche of both the perpetrator Ariel Castro and the victims at the time of their abduction who were Michelle Knight (21), Amanda Berry (she turned 17 the day after her abduction) and the youngest and last of his victims Gina Dejesus (14) had the film been produced as a 4 or 6 hour mini-series.

I felt the producers did a very good job in providing the facts of this 11 year case history. Remember when Castro was arrested on May 06, 2013, CNN news carried the story almost exclusively for the next two weeks, 24 hours a day. No one could believe that not one but "THREE" young girls who were missing and presumed dead for years were being held prisoners less than 3 miles from their own homes. By the end of the film it leaves us with the question if Ariel Castro deliberately wanted to get caught and so he neglected to lock the front door because he was behind on his mortgage payments, could not afford to feed his 3 captors and his child, and after close to eleven years of maintaining a prison in his home he had just had enough of the lies, beatings and rapes that he had been responsible for.

This is a tragic but true story that covers a lot of abuse and actual events that the kidnapper Ariel Castro was able to hide from his own children, his band mates who actually practiced as a band in his home, and his two brothers who were initially also arrested under the assumption that they had to have known about the kidnappings and 10 year imprisonment when in fact Ariel was able to keep everyone fooled including his own family by keeping locks on the basement door as well as the upstairs bedrooms and by sealed windows.

I hope the victims benefit financially from this film and if so I recommend the film to parents and children alike to ensure one of the films messages is clear. That message being if you are getting in to someone's vehicle make sure your family knows where you are going and with whom you are going. I give this true story a 7 out of 10 rating.

A Rather Distant Feel To A Real Life Horror Story

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 12 May 2015]

The Cleveland abductions ? You remember that don't you ? No ? Let me refresh your memory . , A couple of years ago police in Cleveland Ohio raided a house belonging to one Ariel Castro who as it turned out kept three young women as captives . One of whom Michelle Knight had been held prisoner for eleven years . You remember it now and it'd be impossible to forget this true life horror story and this TVM tells of Michelle's ordeal

Now to be fair having the story told through a television film via the Lifetime Channel is both a blessing and a curse . A blessing that we're not going to be subjected to extreme exploitation that's going to keep us awake for nights on end due to the disturbing subject material but at the same time a curse that the restrain of a TVM really doesn't do the story justice . In this medium it's a rather uneasy mix but doesn't stop an opening caption that "Contains distressing scenes . Viewer discretion advised" . The constant rapes and beatings of Michelle are thankfully left mainly to the imagination but at the same time you're left thinking that this isn't due to any cerebral reason except that you're not allowed to show that type of stuff on the channel . In other words the story is shaped by outside criteria that have got absolutely nothing to do with the story and everything to do with outside factors . Another irritant is that you never get to feel much in the way of Michelle's hopes of ever being rescued being dashed time and again which I'm sure must have constantly happened . None of this is helped by the feeling of time passing being conspicuous by its absence and much of this TVM feels like it has taken place in 90 minutes rather than the eleven years of Michelle's real time imprisonment . There's not enough foundations for the audience to emotionally invest enough in to Michelle's ordeal which is terrible but at the same time abstract which means despite the compelling subject matter the characters remain entirely distant

The Cruel Story of a Monster and His Victims

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 23 September 2015]

In 2002, the single mother Michelle Knight (Taryn Manning) is walking to the court for the custody case of her five year-old son Joey, of whom she had lost custody. She realizes that she is late and accepts the ride from her acquaintance Ariel Castro (Raymond Cruz), who is the father of a schoolmate. He lures Michelle telling that his dog delivered several puppies and he would like to give one to her for Joey. Once inside his house, he imprisons her with chains in a dark room. For eleven years, Michelle is beaten and submitted to sexual abuse and abortion. In 2003 and 2004, Ariel also kidnaps and abuses of Amanda Berry (Samantha Droke), who has a child with him, and Gina DeJesus (Katie Sarife). In 2013, Amanda succeeds in escaping from the house and the police arrive and release the women.

"Cleveland Abduction" is a great TV movie that tells the cruel story of a monster and his victims. The direction and performances are impressive for a movie made for television. I still recall this notorious case in the Brazilian news and it is very sad to see how cruel a human being can be. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sequestro em Cleveland" ("Cleveland Abduction")

Half-hearted storytelling lacking depth and conviction

[adamonIMDb · 6/10 · 25 November 2018]

I'm always keen to learn about real-life crime stories and the Ariel Castro kidnappings particularly interested me. The 'Cleveland Abduction' TV film is certainly an interesting watch, though that is down almost entirely to the subject it is covering and not the actual merits of the film. At best, 'Cleveland Abduction' is a solid portrayal of kidnappings, but in reality it could have and probably should have been at lot better.

The film seems to cover the bare minimum of the story, covering all the main events but without going into any real detail and with very little character development. It all feels very half-hearted and even the events the film does cover are portrayed without any real conviction and are less than convincing.

'Cleveland Abduction' is a fascinating watch, but almost entirely because of the story. The film itself is average at best, covering the minimum but lacking in depth and conviction.

brutal true story

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 6 July 2016]

It's 2002 Cleveland. Michelle Knight (Taryn Manning) is a struggling single mother. Her mother is unreliable. Social services is trying to take away her son. While walking to court to get him back, she is kidnapped by acquaintance Ariel Castro (Raymond Cruz). She is kept as a sex slave for 11 years during which he also kidnaps Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus. They finally escape in 2013.

It's a Lifetime movie. The brutal true story is told in a straight forward manner. Taryn Manning makes this more compelling than simply the material. The brutality is kept at a certain level since it's a Lifetime movie. It's a harrowing story. A couple of scenes after the rescue are actually quite heart-breaking.

Raymond Cruz is good but the story is mainly from one victim's POV

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 17 July 2015]

Raymond Cruz is a most effective actor. For those who watched 'Breaking Bad', Tuco Salamanca is one of the all time great TV villains thanks to Raymond's convincing intense performance. Here he is pretty scary as Ariel Castro. The real Ariel Castro looked more benign than him. Raymond is a bit too scary to be the wolf in sheep's clothing that Ariel was.

The story shows things from mainly one victim's point of view. Might have been better to show things from all three victims points of view. There was enough time to show how each was kidnapped and the background of each briefly so it's strange they didn't. In this sense the story could have been better written. The TV movie does not make it that clear how one of them couldn't run out while Ariel Castro was sleeping or something for such a long time.

Overall watch this for a TV version of the terrible crime.

I literally had tears in my eyes at the end of this movie

[Erik_Surewaard · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

Well... do I need to say more... This movie is well structured and shows great acting from especially the two main characters.

I think this true crime movie deserves a 7.4 (almost 8 stars).

The story sickens me, but it needs to be told

[pigsrings · 9/10 · 16 April 2022]

I thought the story telling was great. For the people asking why the horrendous acts weren't portrayed- it's not a snuff film. For those asking why we couldn't see more from the other victims perspective nor why the neighbours didn't speak out- it's a film that has a time restriction to it. For those wanting more answers to the complex relationship of a capture who violently, cruelly and mental manipulates his victims (I'm one of these)- again it's a film with time restrictions that issue in itself would result in a film of at least 6 months long I'm sure.

This film sickened me and I almost stopped watching because of the content. But I rate the film highly because the story was portrayed well and showed a horrific story as well as any Hollywood film could, plus the actors were great.

Very Decent But Leaves You Wondering

[zorroaca · 6/10 · 18 December 2021]

Should have been a series... maybe then it could have covered the rest of the girls. Other questions like how did they arrest him... how is it that they were not able to escape during all those years. The acting was good but the character building was a bit lacking and the full story unclear.

Rubbish

[aldstewart · 2/10 · 29 July 2015]

From the start it was clear that this TV movie was based on Michelle Knight's story and not that of Amanda Berry & Gina Dejesus'.It felt like only half of the story was being told, and not even truthfully told (the tying up and hoisting of Michelle) There was no way the makers of this film could ever have portrayed the tense,traumatic, life threatening ordeal that spanned 10 years into a movie of around 113 minutes. It started quite promisingly but rapidly descended into a rushed, lazy account with mediocre acting and what I can only assume is artistic license, why else would they stray from the actual story written by the actual person abducted! I'm sure this will not be the only movie made about such a horrific and truly astonishing event, my only hope is that it is made with more depth, thought, accuracy,and better acting. Get a decent director on board, one who cares about the delicate subject at hand.

well done film

[watcher2019 · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

No gory everlasting sex scenes. We can all imagine what this beast did to these young ladies. A dreadful life happening for all of them . How do you move on and live after that? Good old AC killed himself a month into his sentence. 3 very brave ladies. This film was well done, slow in parts. How did the neighbours not know? Couldnt be bothered.? There must have been a lot of screaming considering what he was doing to his 3 victims. I am always shocked by the attitiude of the American police on missing persons . There must be thousands in America and no one looks for them. As though everyone wants to disappear.

Emotionally haunting and eerily close to home

[quincytheodore · 7/10 · 11 August 2015]

Cleveland Abduction is very identical to case documentary or event reenactment, and it's highly effective. It doesn't present too much glossy cinematography to make it as authentic as possible, though still with enough restriction for the delicate subject. Acting from Taryn Manning and Raymond Cruz, the captor and captive, are brazenly intimidating to highlight the gruesome struggle.

It follows the event of actual kidnapping where a man, Ariel Castro (Raymond Cruz) abducts three women for eleven years. The movie depicts this horrendous act with superior acting and true to life visual. It occasionally looks devoid of color, grainy and dirty, while some of the outdoor scenery seems refreshing with cool ambiance. This presents the urban location in accurate perspective along with its darker shade.

Much of its better moments are from the good performance by the actors. It has surprisingly tender and sorrowful moments, all of which look genuine. This is not a well-orchestrated crime, yet it's incredibly shocking that the real person can maintain the act for so long. Raymond Cruz is a good cast for the role, he's often sickeningly brutal and easily becomes the fitting antagonist.

However, it does have some flaws. Several of the scenes try to depict the abuse, but they might feel heavy-handed in the approach. The camera is sometimes out of focus, it's probably intentional to induce realism, though it's a bit comfortable at times. The pace tends to screech a bit towards the second half despite the good intention of showing the aftermath or restrain for more gory moments. These don't take away the venerable effort to convey its message though.

Keeping the story grounded, it manages to tell the abusive story and its ramification with equal poise and intimate outlook.

Superficial treatment of a horrendous tragedy

[spotifeyeball · 3/10 · 6 May 2015]

Vapid, bland acting on the part of the lead who plays Michelle Knight, does not look like her, act like her, talk like her, I cannot understand why this untalented woman was cast as this part. She showed the least emotion of the three female actresses and I was wincing more for how bad her acting was than how horribly Michelle Knight was treated. I read Michelle's book and have studied this case and watched her interviews, this lead was horribly miscast. The male lead was not much better, he was way too good-looking to be that demon-man monster, he was too nice and not psychopathic enough at all. It was way too much of a story to cram into 90 minutes, I am not sure any movie or documentary or book will ever do justice to what happened to these girls and the daughter produced in captivity. The actresses who played Gina and Amanda were far better cast and were credible actors. As far as the storyline, it was superficial and glossed over so many important issues, like how the police ignored this man-- a man who had beaten his common-law wife to a pulp years before kidnapping these girls, how the police came to the home when there were reports of screams and noises and did not attempt to enter; how somehow this man was not considered a suspect in the circle of at least Gina's world when he had a violent history and knew her by way of his own daughter. I am stunned the police were this blind, how this man was literally hiding in plain sight for so long. My best wishes for these four victims in that home is that that their futures are filled with every good thing that they would like from now on, that they will find love and appreciation and healing and fulfillment. But if you do not know the story do not rely on this cheeseball Lifetime show. Read Michelle's book, read Amanda and Gina's book, watch their interviews. This was a waste of time and did not do them justice in any way. Someone out there make a better movie than this about what happened for 11 years in Cleveland!

Nice

[spieringsm · 7/10 · 30 November 2015]

I true story that has to. Be told so the victims can live on. I like the movie even its a horrible story. And I'm glad the women are saved en can live there life's even it most be hard for them. I hope the are happy now with there lives as good as it gets. And i also hope the men who did this will never leave jail. Somebody like him does not deserve the live his life ever in freedom he's a animal no worser than a animal. It was a difficult movie to watch but i am glad i did. I saw one of the women by the Doctor phill show i have real respect for this women that she told her story and still after all she come true have the power to go on with her life. Respect it most be hard.

Good psycho thriller!

[Guanche48 · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

I liked the film, exciting, tense, strong and also very sad. The actors do a great job!!

The struggle of the mother above all is impressive, so many years kidnapped! It left me with a bad taste in my mouth because it is based on real events.

It also left me with many doubts, .. I think there are opportunities to escape, specifically two! But I don't want to say much more. They even have a pen in the room, a potential weapon... but that's my doubt, I don't know what I would do if something like this happened to me. But the IF is there in my head, can't help it.

What hurt me the most is the fact that no one has done enough to save them, the passivity of the police is incredible!! Also from the neighbours, very painful to watch.

A must see if you like psychologically strong and tense movies.

Confronting

[becinreallife · 7/10 · 23 April 2022]

This was a great movie based on real life events. I found the movie to be quite confronting and had to look away from time to time. I found it to be an excellent portrayal that hits home.

The only thing I would have liked to have seen more of what happened after the women escaped and how they went on to live their lives after such horror and indecency.

Sickening, Heartbreaking, Hopeful

[butterflyJenna · 7/10 · 11 February 2023]

I almost stopped watching this movie because I didn't know how I'd feel about Taryn Manning in this type of roll. But what I came to find was the inability to turn it off for the sake of feeling like it was my feminine duty to watch this movie, listen to the story, and reflect on the very real foundations where this movie came from.

In the end Taryn Manning did a phenomenal job at being a strong victim. What truly broke my heart was her almost attempted suicide scene, but she couldn't do it because Joey would need her. For years Taryn's character Michelle fought with hope, helping and protecting the girls who came after. She was the pillar of this story and what really effected me was when Michelle seemed hopeless for the first time and Gina was the one who had to make some hope for them to survive.

Ariel Castro was depicted by Raymond Cruz, who I can't imagine had an easy time being in this role, the abuse given and absolutely disgusting behaviour he had to act out was sickening to watch but yet was filmed in a respectful and tasteful manner.

Movies of this nature have a very unfortunate possibility of re-traumatizing victims from watching it when directors take certain scenes to far without thinking about the ramifications, but this movie walked along the edge steady and safely.

In the end because this movie is based on a very true story I cannot remove a star I wanted to from the way religion was played in this movie. To me I could not and do not love a God that has the capacity to allow these events to happen, but alas this wasn't my story and for that I will leave this at 7 stars.

This isn't a movie I will ever rewatch but it was one I will never forget.

Profound.

[luke-723-995001 · 9/10 · 4 May 2019]

I knew nothing of the case before watching this movie so I found the events beyond shocking. I was gripped all the away through. I found the storytelling suspenseful and I believed the performances. The faith of the lead character was deeply inspiring and I was left feeling equally moved as I was haunted. There were some particularly difficult scenes to reconstruct in this movie and I felt the filmmakers did a brilliant job in tackling such a challenging and sensitive set of circumstances. I would recommend this as a must watch.

My Review

[wrightiswright · 5/10 · 19 June 2019]

Films like this are why I never take too seriously the reviews on Amazon for movies, when something as mediocre as this can get an average of four and a half stars.

Basically, it's a retelling of the real life incident in America where three young females where kidnapped and held in a man's house for close to a decade, even raising a daughter together when one of the abused captives fell pregnant with his baby.

Despite all the elements being present for a riveting 'Based On A True Story' drama, you don't really get much of a passage of time here, nor due you really see any explicit scenes of the awful torture the girls must have gone through.

Basically, Cleveland Abduction is too fast-paced for us to develop an emotional connection with the victims, and too censored in it's approach to highlighting their horrendous treatment whilst imprisoned.

The actors play their parts well and from what I understand, the screenplay sticks mostly to the facts, but ultimately I can't help but feel a far more comprehensive mini-series was the way to go to document this modern tragedy.

Maybe we'll get one in the future, that'll tell us a lot more. I wait in hope... 5/10

Her son will come to her one day and we will wait for that day with her

[heidi_s-96221 · 9/10 · 9 May 2015]

First of all, I do not like shows of this nature and the happenings of what goes on with woman or men in nature. I do not believe these girls were giving much justice in this movie. Michael knights mother never looked for her, put up posters. If in fact someone seen this young lady in the Doller store talking to this man, and she did in fact wave to this no good of a mans neighbor before going in his house then this young lady should have been saved. The fact the the lady they show talking to the cop that she heard screams from houses nearby and then it stopped. Did the cop not check houses knowing that 2 girls were missing in the area. That part is so really, really sad. We will never know how these girls felt, never being in their situation. I believe cops could have put a end to this and Michaels mother could have also. You can not go back in time. It is still a shame that 10 years of these girls lives were taken. I do believe that her son will know who she is one day. Kids eventually know that they are adopted. I do not know, they just do. She has always said his name. You have to commend her for putting herself in the position to wait so that she does not disrupt his life. What he is probably 16 now. She will wait and it will be worth it. We all know that. She could have gotten him back because she did not sign papers to have him adopted. He will find out who she is and we will all wait with her. We will watch in years to come the reunion that the two of them encounter.

Close to home.

[d_penn · 7/10 · 5 October 2022]

I am a fan of watching and reading true crime stories. I mostly love when it depicts the strength of the victims. This movie has the warning that it may be too disturbing for some. I think it's one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. The reason for that is not only the story, but the production, direction, and acting. Taryn Manning was amazing and so believable . Also, Raymond Cruz( whom I absolutely loved in The Closer ) was the reason it initially caught my eye. He deserves an Academy Award for his depiction of Ariel. I watched this movie and couldnt stop thinking about it. It brought so many tears to my heart and just watching it was wow.

Poor Even for TV Standards

[jenniferconleykc · 3/10 · 26 February 2017]

I want to start off my review by stating that the victims, Michelle Knight (Now Lily Rose Lee), Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus deserve all respect and dignity for the atrocities they went through.

This film does not give them that, especially Amanda and Gina.

We can disregard the bad taste in making a film about a horror. The point of such films should be about informing people of what happened and how such horror should be watched out for and how people can help in these situations. It shouldn't be about entertainment.

The sin of this film is that it clearly is a message to entertain people and not on the truth.

This film focuses on one of the victims, Michelle, and that is probably one of the worst decisions made. It almost ignores the other two which is beyond frustrating. Why were their stories not worth being told? Why did we only see their families grief through the eyes of Michelle? Worse, the grief was shown for the purpose of highlighting the fact that Michelle had no one looking for her. Instead of feeling pain for Gina and Amanda's families, we were supposed to feel sadness that Michelle did not have that. Important moments like when Amanda learns of her mother's death from a news story were told strictly through Michelle's eyes when it would have been better served to have been told from the grieving daughter.

Michelle's story deserved to be told, but so did Amanda's and Gina's

Another problem is because this is a film meant to tell strictly Michelle's story and also with the guise to entertain instead of inform, the filmmakers made the decision to twist the truth to pull focus onto Michelle. This causes problems because in many instances it makes the other two victims appear worse. They present both Amanda and Gina as entirely subservient to Ariel and completely under his thumb from the beginning, both too afraid to even entertain the idea of escaping while Michelle is always looking for ways to get out. When reading the book written by both Amanda and Gina it is clear that both of them tried to find ways of getting out, including a moment where Amanda considered stealing the very van they were all abducted in. By trying to prop up Michelle as the "strong one" they make the other two look meek and ignore the bravery of ALL THREE of them.

But the example that bothers me the most is at the very end of the film. After the three of them are rescued it shows them all trying to move on. In a particularly tragic scene Gina informs Michelle she wants to stop talking to her for a while so she can move on. Its' sad because its supposed to highlight the fact that Michelle is alone again, no family, no son and now now help from the other two people she could share her story with.

The problem is that this simply is NOT true. The fact is it was Michelle who needed to separate herself from Gina and Amanda and told them both this, even though they are still in contact to this day. Gina and Amanda see each other every week and are in constant contact and in fact wrote a book together. Michelle needed to separate herself from them in order to heal, since she was older and went through some atrocities they did not (such as being forced to miscarry 5 times and losing custody of her son) it is certainly understandable that she would need space from her two fellow captors in order to heal

For the film to completely lie and try to paint Michelle as the one abandoned is a complete and utter disservice to Amanda and Gina. It is horrifying that they would decide to mute the voices of two of the victims.

I know this film was based on Michelle's book, but that doesn't mean it was right to almost ignore the stories of Gina and Amanda. All three of them deserve more than this piece of crap.

Very painful

[MeiSsLman · 8/10 · 3 July 2018]

Fight for your son and then you be kidnapped, raped and tortured for many years . very sad after being freed you have to sacrifice the most cherished possessions (your son)

Many sad moments in this Movie I really enjoyed it

Well done movie

[mkaykrempel · 1/10 · 3 May 2019]

I raised a family just outside Cleveland. No store or restraunt here took down the fliers until the women were rescued. I lasted 10 minutes with this movie, it totally sickened me and made me cry. NO one who does such a horrible things should achieve celebrity status! Remember the names Michelle, Amanda, and Gina! As for the criminal, his name should be FORGOTTEN!

Outstanding

[melissamcdaid · 9/10 · 6 September 2015]

Taryn Manning plays a tremendous part in this true story. While I understand many viewers frustration at the focus being mostly on Michelle's character, I believe that it is important to remember that the film is based mostly on Michelle's book which helped steer the story in that direction. Although difficult to watch at times due to the implied brutality, I was unable to take my eyes from the screen the entire movie. Depicts the story of these 3 young girls (and not forgetting the daughter) excellently while allowing an understanding as to why the girls were never able to escape. This would have been an 8 star review if not for the performance of Taryn Manning, which bumps it up to 9 stars.