I Know My First Name Is Steven

What an incredible TV movie,it left me speechless and disturbed for days. Corin Nemek was amazing and very real as Steven,I have seen many of his film and was a Parker Lewis fan when I was little but this was one was his best performance. I think it's very hard to give this film a critic because I don't think this film was made to entertain us ,it was made to educate us on the subject of Child abduction,I don't know about you but as soon as I have kids,the first thing I'll teach them is "NEVER talk to strangers" Parnell is the devil impersonated , how can you take a sweet little boy and strip him of his innocence? I hope he wont get away with it this time(He has been locked up again last year). That scene(The most disturbing scene in the movie if you ask me) were you see Steven at age 9 , smoking a cigarette while watching TV made me very sad because you just knew that it wasn't the same boy,all his childhood was destroyed and he was a child no more.

People need to see this movie,it's an important life lesson.

God bless the late Steven Stayner.

I remember so much of this movie even though I was only 9 at the time, it was that good. For 15 years now all I had to go by was I knew the title was something like "I know my name is Steven" but didn't really go into looking for it. I'm so glad that I just happened to look up Luke Edwards because of another movie he was in or else I wouldn't have come across one of the most unforgettable movies I've seen in my childhood. Hopefully now I'll be able to buy it and add it to my collection. I highly recommend this movie to anyone even if you don't have children and if you do have children, make sure that they see this movie so then they are aware of how dangerous is it to walk alone even if you think the street is safe. It never hurts to have someone with you just in case. The most memorable part of this movie is when Steven paints his name on the garage and when his father is washing the garage door after he gets kidnapped..... well it's a part of the movie that no one should forget. Excellent movie!

I first watched this TV movie when I was 9 or 10, and it haunted me for a long time afterwards. Many years later I came across the book, and although this fills in a lot of the gaps that the movie leaves out, the movie does a better job of dramatising the situation without the over emphasis on the goodness of Steven's family, and the evil of his kidnapper that the book gives. It's a shame that all the details could not have been included in the dramatisation, as the full story would have made the story even more tragic, and that bit more realistic. A 5 hour movie would not be that practical though I fear.

The abuse of Steven is left up to the imagination in the TV adaptation, which is tactful to the family of Steven, but does gloss over the point that Steven was severely sexually abused and raped, and that Steven was okay with his friends suffering the same fate when they visited. These little details and many others like them make for a more frightening and even more gripping one than was produced. This is a shame, but understandable for a low budget US TV movie.

Generally, this is well worth a watch, though the book is better factually; but I'd probably give it a miss if you have young children.

This movie leads you to believe Parnell was sentenced for kidnapping and sexual assault, but he wasn't. He was sentenced only for kidnapping. That's why the sentence was so low. According to Steven Parnell molested the boy over 700 times, including almost 100 rapes. He molested other boys as well. The police had proof of this. Steven was ready to testify. Despite all this, Parnell NEVER EVEN GOT PROSECUTED for these crimes. He was released on parole after ONLY 4 YEARS and then after 2 years probation he was free. To do what he wants and see who he wants, including young boys. He even worked with kids until they found out who he was, thanks to this mini-series I believe.

Read the book if you can find it.

Steven Stayner unfortunately died in a motorcycle accident some years later.

Shows the Horrors of what happens to children when Kidnapped and abused. The Cast was excelent. I give it ten stars. I don't think anyone Who hasn't been through something like that can imagine what that poor kid went through. Steven is gone now, But I hope His tragic story is told again and again. And maybe someday America's children will be safe, and no longer be robbed of their innocence.