Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez

Abby (Lindsay Navarro) is walking home one day after missing the school bus. Conspiracy nut Nathaniel Kibby (Ben Savage) offers her a ride. Zenya (Erica Durance) is her mother.

It's interesting that Ben Savage is doing this character. Actors, who play nice guys, often switch gears to do the evil role. Ben is fine as the creepy crazy nut. I don't know about the mask. Mostly, it's a standard Lifetime girl-in-peril movie. Apparently, it's a real story. I'm not going to look down on the story. It is what it is. The filmmaking is TV level with a few minor attempts at higher art. All these movies are pretty much the same unless the filmmaking can raise it up to Room. I don't expect more.

I know this is a lifetime movie but i thought it would be more in line with a movie like Cleveland Abduction in terms of quality. For starters, the actress playing 14 year old Abby looks like and acts like shes at least 30 years old, does not pass as a teen at all. They couldn't cast a Latina/Hispanic actress as the mom? This played a big part in why many believed the real story to be a hoax/ just some teen who got pregnant!! Ben Savage cant pull off serious/dramatic roles, the relationship came across as friendly and at worst, weird, instead of horribly abusive and traumatizing. The secondary actors were typical run of the mill bad actors. They dont have to be explicit but there was zero indication of sexual abuse. I know the real abby is listed as a producer but i feel this movie does her story a disservice.

I had high hopes for this movie. I really thought it would portray what the actual victim went through. The movie really did Abby a disservice. The movie doesn't show any sexual assault. No we don't need to see this in detail but they didn't even hint at it. There was one scene where she got shocked but other than that it the movie makes it like she was just abducted and friends with her abductor. We know she acted like his friend to plan her escape but the movie massively fails on what the victim actually went through. I would rather just have watched a documentary about it. This film was pointless to watch and kind of boring.

A mild movie that may not be true to the core and Abby's ordeal, but is nevertheless well-acted with gripping moments.

It flows well, is emotional enough, has some weak filler moments, doesn't depict the whole truth, obviously viewers are mad about it as to the real ordeal that Abby went through and I understand them.

Somehow and for some reasons it is depicted as such and that's the fault of everybody involved in the movie besides the cast. Foremost the studio that led the writers.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5
• Production value/impact: 6
• Development: 7
• Realism: 4
• Entertainment: 5.5
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 5.5
• Logic: 3
• Flow: 6.5
• Dark drama/thriller/psychological: 6.5
• Ending: 6.5.

The emotional and psychological abuse are toned down so much that it almost appears like a friendship. There is no indication of sexual abuse at all which completely removes the harrowing experienced the victim endured. The only point of interest was the mother's ordeal in dealing with the FBI. Taming the experience so much does such a huge disservice to such a frightening abduction. How could the real victim have been involved with this presentation?