Girl in the Basement

This film is inspired by the life of Elisabeth Fritzl and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, Josef.

I knew going into this that it is not a big budget movie. This is a lifetime movie. I know that people like to hate on these simplistic made for TV films but I happen to enjoy them regardless. As long as the acting is tolerable and the storyline is decently put together. This film met my requirements.

No. It doesn't have the greatest actors but considering the subject matter they were portraying, I thought they were fairly good. The subject matter is awful but there is no need to feel as though you will be watching horror level violence or sexual assaults of an overly graphic nature. This is tame in those regards.

I personally liked the film. I found it to be a decent watch. If you like Lifetime movies, this is going to be right up your alley. If you don't care for those types of films, don't watch it.

Why would they hire actress Elisabeth Röhm, to direct this film, when she's never been behind a camera before? This was such a troubling and horrific true story event, it needed professionals to tell it. The screenplay was on point, but Röhm's failure to direct her cast and scenes properly, really failed this film. Performances were adequate to decent, but that was strictly from the merits of the actors following a screenplay. Stefanie Scott's performance got better as the movie progressed, but I'm sure that was due to her getting comfortable with her character. Even Judd Nelson's performance was stale and amateurish, that with a better director, he would've shined. Had a seasoned director been involved, this could've been much more gut-wrenching and epic film. Nevertheless, it's a story that needed to be told, and I'm glad it was; It was a bold move for Lifetime to produce this. I just wish it was told in a better way. It's a generous 6/10 from me.

I knew something was off the moment our main antagonist delivered his first line of dialogue. He was such an atrociously bad actor throughout the entire film that it genuinely felt like a school project at times. It wasn't until the first cut to black during a tense moment that I realized this is a Lifetime made for TV type movie. With that taken into consideration, it held my attention well enough. What trumps even the poor acting and cinematography was the method of story telling. They attempt the classic move where they show a scene from near he end of the movie and then jump back 20 years earlier, slowly building back up to that moment to continue from it. The problem is that this particular scene shows us that any attempt at escape we see throughout the first hour will be unsuccessful, killing any tension and momentum. This was based off the harrowing real story of Elisabeth Fritzl, and more justice could have been done with it in the film realm.

The delivering through a low budget standardized package of generic tv drama prevents the implications of such events to be fully developed for its own flaws of mediocre acting, underdeveloped plot and neglected atmosphere.

Still, there's something remaining that may make the movie watchable but the disappointment that it should've been much better exists.

Disagree with reviews of bad acting. All actors did quite well with what was given them. They had to summarize 20 years into a 90 minute movie so at least it moves fast and keeps you engaged.

Yes it may be a lesson for creeps to repeat this crime but it is also a lesson for the people living around it.

• if a daughter had a shaky relationship with her step or real father and she disappears he likely had something to do with it
• if he spends a lot of time in the basement after the disappearance, check the basement
• if you check the basement and the size does not match up with the size of the house there are likely hidden rooms
• if you're a neighbor who sees a flashlight signal coming from the basement don't knock on the door and tell the occupant, call the cops to check it out.

He may have made the basement sound proof from her and her babies screaming but I doubt that if she banged on the walls or sink that the vibrations would not be heard upstairs.