Girl in the Basement
Published April 23, 2023
Film info
- Title Girl in the Basement
- Director Elisabeth Röhm
- Year 2021
- Run time 1hr 28m
- Genres Crime, Thriller
- Tagline Lifetime's Ripped from the Headlines series
Inspired by true events, this is the story of a teenager imprisoned by her father in the basement of their family home for over twenty years. The father told his wife and other children that she had run away.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:35 | How can that be Judd Nelson? |
| 5:43 | It’s weird to me to see people sitting out in the fields at night like that. Too cold, surely? |
| 10:18 | “Go, see the world. Be brave. Just don’t be reckless.” |
| 12:35 | She doesn’t seem very worried about the fact there are rats in the basement. I would be worried. |
| 15:11 | That’s some incredible soundproofing. The podcaster in me approves of that (and only that!) |
| 24:59 | Day 7. Has he given her food yet? |
| 30:48 | Not sure if a clock would make it better or worse. |
| 38:44 | So weird to think of a kid in the suburbs not knowing what TV is. |
| 41:32 | I’m amazed she can remember this song that she only heard once. |
| 48:55 | “What are we calling this one?” He says, like it’s nothing. |
| 1:00:04 | Tiny step back around the ‘ad break’ is weird when there isn’t one. |
| 1:08:42 | “He is my dad. He’s also your dad. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” How could you? |
| 1:26:27 | Bit of a sappy ending, but sure, it’s a Lifetime movie. |
Thoughts
This Lifetime movie seemed to be creating a lot of debate, so I figured it was worth a watch as it was available streaming on Paramount+. It was fine, but it does seem completely unnecessary - it doesn’t really do anything other than show the grim details, there’s no look at why, no talk about the aftermath. In fact, it comes to a slightly bizarre contented ending, which can’t possibly be related to real life. Horrifying story, but an easily missable film.
Rating: 3 / 5