The Girl Who Got Away

We are introduced to Christina, the only survivor of a house of horrors. Although there is gore, this is really not a horror movie. Elizabeth Caulfield kidnapped children, each one a year after the previous one, and killed all but Christina. Christina is making a new life for herself as a teacher, when Elizabeth Caulfield escapes during a traffic accident while being transferred. Police are certain she will track down Christina, but Christina won't run, saying "she took everything from me once. I can't let that happen again." It is a small town, and one officer, Jamie, winds up trying to protect her. Jamie perhaps plays the best role of any of them, and he starts to realize that not everything adds up, and goes over the case. He finds there are lots of secrets. As the search for Elizabeth continues, the body count in that small town starts to climb, almost anyone who is connected with Christina. While there is a simmering pot at the start, it slowly starts to raise to a boil. And those are some of the problems with the film. Whether it is the script, the editing or characters, it gets confusing near the end. It is however, worth staying to the end.

This is a visually captivating psychological thriller that I really enjoyed. This is def more silence of the lambs then Halloween though.

I am all about imagery and the cinematography here does a great job of showing the emotional weight of the story, making you feel the trauma and fear that the characters experience.

The play between shadow and light is particularly effective, with dimly lit scenes that create a sense of unease. This visual style reflects Christina's inner struggles, played by Lexi Johnson. You can really feel the weight of her past which helps you connect with her journey.

The settings throughout the film-ranging from tight, shadowy interiors to wide, empty landscapes-enhance the mood.

This film is probably not for everyone I will say that but If you appreciate films that use visuals to tell deep emotional, sometimes crazy stories, this one is definitely worth a watch!

Without giving much away - this is a brilliant movie for what it is. Was pleasantly surprised that what i thought was happening was close but the twists left me guessing until the very end. A few jump scares but builds a good storyline and the thriller/psychological terror is more the backburn to that. Strong cast performances.

This was an interesting one and done for me. You have to be patient as it is quite slow moving, but it does move and slowly reveal some twists and turns in the plot. If you want full on terror and horror, then you may not be so thrilled here. :( The acting was pretty good and the storyline was creepy, but they really didn't let us see what happen all those years to those girls, so that was left to your imagination. Which I found irritating.

Overall, a decent slow burn mystery that people with patience and not here for a gore-fest will probably enjoy watching, at least once.

One day in 1998 in the town of Mesena, New York the serial killer Elizabeth Caulfield is arrested. This brings to an end ten years where five young girls were kidnapped. Only one survived; Christina Bowden. Twenty years later and Christina is still living in Mesena where she works as a teacher and is contemplating adopting a troubled teenage girl. Then one day Elizabeth Caulfield escapes from custody. Christina is warned by police officer Jamie Nwosu but refuses to leave town; soon people close to her start turning up dead... it looks as if Caulfield is after the girl who got away. Or is there more to it than that?

This film got off to a solid start and progresses well enough. In many ways it goes as expected; that is to say there are plenty of twists, some better than others. Most of the murders appear off screen but those that are shown are reasonably but not excessively gory. The Upstate New York setting was good although much of the action takes place indoors. The acting is solid enough, nothing to trouble the awards panels but certainly not poor, at least not in the main roles. At a little under two hours it is a bit too long; it could have done with trilling it down by ten to twenty minutes. Overall I'd not say this was a must watch but it is okay if you enjoy the genre.