Amish Abduction (2019 TV Movie) User Reviews

Didn't know a lot about the Amish

[Wizardone55-183-253464 · 4/10 · 25 July 2020]

This movie revealed that the people making it did not know much about the Amish. For starters they have their married woman wearing a bonnet with untied strings--for married women it is exactly the opposite. They also had their main female character, Annie, wearing her skirt too short, and once they even put her in a RED dressed -- something an Amish woman would NEVER wear.

They continued making mistakes during the entire film. Annie is much too outspoken for an Amish woman, and they put way too much lipstick on her. Amish women do not wear make-up at all.

They had her asking her young son to help her in the kitchen. Amish males do not do what is considered women's work--even as young boys.

In one scene they have the Amish at a church building. The Amish tend to meet in each other's homes for their sabbath services.

They did not do much better with their male Amish characters. Jacob, a married Amish man has a very poor beard throughout the entire film.

If Jacob wanted to leave the Amish and join what is termed "English" society, he had ample time to do so during Rumspringa--which usually begins around sixteen. Why would he suddenly now decide to split away from the Amish?

Furthermore, if an Amish person is divorced by their present spouse they cannot re-marry.

If you want to watch a movie about the Amish that gets it all wrong--then by all means this is the film for you.

If You're Looking For Realism...

[uncatema · 6/10 · 6 April 2022]

Don't even try. Since when is an LMN movie believable in the first place? All a viewer needs to do is insert tongue in cheek and try to have a few laughs. Besides, the best part of these schtick flick movies are the last 10 minutes. That's where you get all the laughs.

Not Even Remotely Accurate

[Stoshie · 4/10 · 3 July 2020]

I guess I am at a disadvantage, since I live in the area where this movie is supposed to take place. Plus, I'm surrounded by Amish farms on three sides of my house, and I know a fair amount about their culture.

This movie shows caricatures of what Amish people are like, not the reality. They don't dress right, the buggies are all wrong, the accents are wrong, and more. I could go on and on about all the things misrepresented here. Heck, they couldn't even pronounce the name of the city "Lancaster" correctly; they used the west coast version, not the pronunciation used in Pennsylvania.

I could probably get past all that if the plot were better. But the part with the guy providing whiskey to two of the Amish was unnecessary. It was a way to hide the rest of the bad writing. As for the main plot, eh, boring, and a variation on a theme we've seen too many times.

I'm shocked at the overall rating this movie got. Even without the cultural errors, this is by far one of the lesser Lifetime efforts.

Easily one of the worst "Amish" movies I've ever seen

[steiner-sam · 2/10 · 4 March 2023]

It's a drama about abusive family violence in a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Amish community. It follows the story of a young Amish mother trying to recover her son after her husband takes the son to Philadelphia to go "English."

Annie (Sara Canning) is married to Jacob (Steve Byers). They have one young son, Caleb (Liam Hughes); a later pregnancy ended with the death of the fetus. Annie's parents, John (Andrew McIlroy) and Betty (Gabrielle Rose), live next door; John appears to be the Amish community's leader. Jacob's brother, Thomas (Ryan Bruce), also figures in the story, as does a younger Amish boy named Samuel (Iain Belcher).

We learn early on that Jacob is dissatisfied with the restrictive Amish life and wants to explore the outside world. He wants Annie to join him, but she refuses. Meanwhile, we also learn that Jacob has issues both with alcohol and a quick temper. An encounter by Jacob and Samuel with an outsider ends badly. Nonetheless, John and Betty encourage Annie to be loyal to her husband. Then Jacob takes Caleb with him to Philadelphia and applies for legal custody of Caleb. Annie goes to Philadelphia, with Thomas as protection, and meets Jacob again in court. The judge's decision makes Jacob very angry, resulting in several acts of violence, including a climax in the family barn.

"Amish Abduction" is easily one of the worst "Amish" movies I've ever seen. The isolated Amish "village" is presumably in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but the Amish don't live in villages. The Amish characters look like a bad version of some branch of the Beachy Amish but still use horses and buggies. Their schoolhouse has a steeple, which no Amish building would do. The account does not follow basic child custody laws, and an early act of extreme violence simply disappears from the story. Finally, the ending implies a new relationship for Annie, which the Amish wouldn't allow as long as Jacob was alive, regardless of his evil nature.

Lost me

[raronhiarakwas · 1/10 · 10 November 2019]

Couldn't get past the first half hour Annie the Amish mom lack of Dutch accents, plucked eyebrows and poor makeup. Not to mention clothes not hand seen made it fake. Poor research truly prevails over storyline.

Way off base

[togetherblessed · 2/10 · 30 July 2020]

We attempted watching this but initially could not finish it due to the obvious errors in portraying the Amish. I could not get past the full face of makeup used on the main character, lack of accent, mannerisms, cultural adherence of an Amish woman. Her over assertiveness for an Amish woman in the beginning was too much. We turned it off. However, I decided I would finish it today. Again storyline was interesting but lacked the authenticity it needed. Especially again, when the main character wore a red dress, an untied bonnet and her mascara smeared when crying after waking up from a nightmare. Speaking as a mother her assertiveness later in the movie depicted how she changed to protect herself and son is understandable but the actress made her too strong in the beginning where her whole character was unbelievable. I have finished it but have reservations about any research being done regarding the Amish, the roles and personas of the females and males both were inaccurate and embarrassingly ignorant of the culture.

Taking a Stand for Women

[lavatch · 7/10 · 8 December 2020]

"Amish Abduction" paints an ambivalent picture of a small Amish community in rural Pennsylvania. On the one hand, there are the values of decency, tradition, and faith in God. On the other, there are the temptations of the "English" and the modern world that beckons outside.

The conflicting forces play on Jacob Baker, first leading him to the bottle, then to crime. After accidentally murdering the man who was selling him the booze, Jacob kidnaps his young son Caleb, taking him to Philadelphia, where an attorney friend will assist him in gaining custody of the boy.

But neither Jacob nor his attorney, Richard Johnson, had counted on the will of Annie Baker, the wife of Jacob and mother of Caleb. The film belongs to Annie, who visits Philadelphia with Jacob's brother Thomas, and wins the custody hearing. Of course, that doesn't stop Jacob from violating the decree, giving Thomas a beating, and later returning to the Amish community to try to impose his will on Annie.

A weakness of the film was the one-dimensional characterization of Jacob, who turns into a monster early in the film. The inherent evil in Jacob twisted the film into a melodrama, as opposed to a thoughtful religious and cultural exposé.

My favorite character was Thomas, who represented the genuine goodness of the Amish community. There was a touching moment in a Philadelphia restaurant, where Annie's fortune cookie reads, "If you never give up on love, then love will never give up on you." Of course, the chemistry is there for the romantic connection between Annie and her taciturn brother-in-law.

But the main focus is the stand taken by Annie for women's rights in the traditional Amish community. As she tells her father, "Unless you have walked in my shoes, do not judge me." Annie Baker is a strong woman and an abused wife, who never let go of her commitment to love and protect her child, even at the cost of being "shunned" by her community.

More holes than a golf course

[mangreene-13233 · 1/10 · 17 April 2021]

After the assault outside the court, why wasn't the exact husband arrested for assault? Then he shows up at the hospital?

That's when I turned it off.

Wow so good

[jewelch · 7/10 · 5 August 2022]

This show was absolutely amazing. I kept wanting to whip that terrible daddy myself. You won't regret watching this movie. Heck yes I recommend it. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 8/4/2022.

L M A O

[zachsnyderproductions · 2/10 · 5 January 2021]

I'm giving this a 1 star, because I can't go any higher, but I am AMAZED at how ridiculously entertaining this was. I felt like I was watching an Amish soap opera.

Violence in the Amish community

[phd_travel · 8/10 · 22 January 2020]

Whenever they make a movie about the Amish it's quite watchable. This week's if not quite wacko is an angry Amish man. His wife loses the baby she is carrying so he wants to go and leave to live with the English. He isn't totally without some reason but he also has a temper and is quite abusive alcoholic and worse. On TV at least Amish can be violent too!

There's an abduction of the child, custody fight and finally a pretty exciting violent fight. Because they are Amish the violence is much more scary. Sara Canning is watchable but doesn't talk like an Amish with the quaint vocabulary and accent. Steve Byers is good as the angry Amish man.

Worth a watch.

Sara Canning- Enough said

[tomc-14973 · 7/10 · 25 March 2021]

The story line was so so. Those reviewing who questioned the portrayal of the Amish..get over it. It's a movie. It was respectful of their community and educational about their ways. Sara Canning is a fantastic underrated talent who I thoroughly enjoy watching anytime. I would like to know why a name such as Kimberly Sustad doesn't even get a mention in the cast credits...strange.

Need a new researcher!

[cockadoody73 · 4/10 · 23 February 2021]

The sheer volume of goofs and misinformation in this movie makes it so bad that it's actually the most entertaining thing about it. It's ridiculously far fetched.

Amish couple, Jacob and Annie, live in an Amish town that seems to consist of two houses and a church. They live with their small son in what looks like a very small community by Amish standards. Jacob begins to lose all interest in the Amish lifestyle and voices his desire to go and 'live among the English', an idea that Annie rejects instantly over dinner. Jacob tells her he is sick of the same mundane life, sick of fixing barns and ploughing fields. He then catches sight of Samuel, a young man who likes to get drunk and buys whiskey from a townsman who has tried to increase his prices for said whiskey. Jacob goes with Samuel to confront the man - as you do - and a fight ensues. Jacob punches the man, he falls, hits his head and dies. Jacob hides the body by covering his face with leaves (yes he does) and runs away. Jacob then becomes more erratic and decides he'll run off to the big city, taking his son with him. The whole thing just gets more ridiculous from there. Annie travels to the city with Jacob's brother for what is probably the fastest a custody case has ever taken to get to court. Annie and the brother share a room, she dreams of leaving the hotel wearing a short skirt and seeing her son who no longer recognises her. There is sexual tension between Annie and the brother, it boils over to the point where she - shock horror - suggests he sleeps on the floor of her room! It's all a bit soap opera level melodramatic to say the least.

The custody case is resolved in record speed, Annie returns to the tiny village and Jacob follows to get his revenge. It's ridiculous to day the least, but also quite entertaining. The main problem I have with this movie is the fact that there looks to have been very little research into the Amish lifestyle and their communities. Annie wears an unties bonnet - Amish women wear tied bonnets. Annie wears a short red dress - something an Amish woman would never do. The village children wear modern coats with logos, not an Amish practice. Annie seems to dictate to the men in her life, unheard of in Amish life. Annie's professionally shaped eyebrows, running mascara and full face of make up, really?

The part where Annie orders a bunch of Amish elders around then tells her Dad that she is 'fighting back' for Amish women is laughable. There are plenty of really good movies that depict the Amish way of life - Witness, Amish Grace, An Amish Murder - but this isn't one of them. It's laughably entertaining, but too far fetched and frankly stupid.

Amazing

[ericweinstock-21341 · 10/10 · 5 April 2020]

Riveting! So interesting. respectful of the Amish world, but still a story anyone can relate to. Loved it!

AMAZING Movie - Definitely Something to Watch

[gthewolf-50545 · 10/10 · 5 February 2023]

This movie was honestly the best movie I've watched in awhile. The plot and acting really sealed the deal for how great this movie was. It really opened my eyes to the Amish lifestyle- and WOW! The main woman character, Annie, and the male antagonist, Jacob, were amazing in their roles! The foreshadowing was superb, and I was on the edge of my seat during every moment of the film. This movie made me really recognize the effects and signs of spousal abuse, and I definitely think this movie accurately potrayed this injustice, though maybe a little exaggerated. The relationships, both familial and romantic, were developed very well and the tension between the characters were very realistic. My favorite quote is definitely, "I imagine you in english clothes..." said by the character Jacob, to Annie. Definitely a movie to watch on a Saturday night for fun.