Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey

I usually avoid 'Made for TV' films at all costs. They tend to be poorly written, poorly acted and poorly produced over all.

This film blew me away. It was somewhat hard to watch knowing it's a true story, but this is unbelievably well acted. I'd never heard of any of the cast members, but the Protagonist, Katie Douglas was just incredible. If this woman doesn't become a huge star, there's something seriously wrong in Hollywood. Her performance was one of the best leading roles i've seen in quite some time. The emotion and feeling she exuded was what took this film from 'good' to 'excellent'.

The supporting cast done their bit too mind you, this was an all round effort.

The story itself is heartbreaking. This woman, Lisa McVey has strength and courage beyond that which any human should possess. To come through the ordeals she has and continue to help others suffering similar treatment is an inspiration. This woman is a true super hero.

This is a must watch film.

I thank my lucky stars to have been brought up by two hard working and loving parents. Although my own childhood and my four (4) siblings were brought up in a loving home with clean clothes and hot meals and much attention, some of our neighborhood friends were not so lucky. I realized at an early age what a neglected child who is continually traumatized can end up living a life much like Lisa McVey must have went through. I found the troubled childhood of Lisa McVey real and disturbing.

I give much credit to the actors who brought much realism to this fact based true life story. Those negative reviewers need to lighten up and realize how difficult it is for both the writer and director to encapsulate a harrowing real life child's drawn out trauma over multiple years into a 90 minute crime/drama made for TV movie.

Not all movies are meant to entertain but instead, to bring awareness to a particular horrible crime(s) such as murder, sexual child abuse, incest, kidnapping and/or rape. As for this film, the perpetrator, Bobby Joe Long, was convinced by his latest young victim Lisa McVey, to release her.

Lisa McVey now an adult, works in law enforcement and Bobby Joe Long was sentenced to death. Real life story. Real life drama. Real life outcomes. I give this made for TV film a highly deserving 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.

So I googled the true story after watching this as I thought for sure they must have dramatised it but its actually all true! I absolutely agree with the other reviews that it does feel like.. a TV movie the way its filmed (for UK people kinda felt like a channel 5 movie) however, that HONESTLY didn't take away from the story at all. Completely gripping, brutal but honest. Really good film.

Ok sometimes Lifetime Movie Network movies aren't the greatest, BUT, I continue to watch them because occasionally they will hit one out of the park, and this is a perfect example. This is a true story, not exaggerated or dramatized, the real deal on what really happened and Lisa herself telling in her own words what happened here and there was a perfect touch. Amazing but horrific story turned into a great movie! & for Lisa, I am so happy Lifetime got this right as she is an amazing woman and Lifetime captured that perfectly.

Horribly hard to watch in so many ways (almost everybody except Lisa McVey is an absolute a$$hole), but so empowering also. If this movie is even close to accurate compared to the real story then Lisa is a true hero. All of the actors are talented and the characters are intriguing, but by FAR the standout is Katie Douglas who plays Lisa. I'd never heard of her before watching this, but I'm now a huge fan. She was only 19 or 20 when she played this role but already had the rare skill of what I call "silent acting", the ability to relay emotion with nothing but facial expressions, eye movements, body language, and meaningful silence. She's a phenomenal actor. The other standouts are David James Elliott, who plays Sergeant Larry Pinkerton (one of the few good guys), and Rossif Sutherland (Donald's son) as the terrifyingly-disturbed and violent rapist/killer. Impressive cinematography, lighting, scoring, and overall direction add to the power of this movie. If you can make it through the first half of pure evil, you should be as impressed as I with Katie Douglas' portrayal of a truly remarkable young woman.