Girl in the Basement

Movie review by Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media
Girl in the Basement Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 14+

Abusive dad locks teen daughter away for 20 years; rape.

NR 2021 88 minutes
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Parents say

age 18+

Based on 3 reviews

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 3 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Girl in the Basement is a disturbing tale based on the hideous true story of an abusive, controlling father, as already portrayed in the book and movie Room. The father locks his high-spirited 17-year-old daughter in a hidden bunker for 20 years; rapes her repeatedly, resulting in four kids, one stillborn; beats her, and withholds food and clean air. A man feeds a hose pumping car exhaust into a room with several of his kids, with the intent to murder them. A girl has a near-fatal asthma attack. The man's cruel actions can spur some sobering conversations about abuse with mature teens. A teen boy kisses a teen girl and it's implied they have sex, but nothing is shown.

Community Reviews

Mrstudor
Mrstudor Adult
April 23, 2022
age 18+

I don't suggest children to watch.

The movie was very disturbing. Especially after the father tries to make his family sick by putting carbon monoxide into their room while they were sleeping. He was also cruel and sexually abusive. Physically and mentally to his daughter.
Regan21
Regan21 Adult
April 30, 2021
age 17+

i really didnt like it

i'm aware that when something is based on true events they cant be always 100% accurate but as someone who is aware of the real story; the way they set out to paint the father and his 'reasons' didnt sit well with me. he was abused and controlling , so yeah obvious like any teen who didn't like their parents she had dreams of moving away, but that's not why he locked her up. Just like many similar stories like hers , such as the book/movie Room her dad was just a psychopathic man who wanted to have his own 'sex slave'. it was nothing to do with her 'lack of obedience' or him wanting to control her. the real story also seemed to be pretty much premeditated, and he just capitalized on the fact that she had verbally indicated that she wanted to move away; so it would a much a easier way to control the narrative of her sudden disappearance. the rape wasn't just an addition to his ways of controlling her, but it was what he intended from the beginning. So if you're going to capitalized in this women suffering, at least tell the truth and not this distorted version where the dad was protected to the point where he became abusive. MAN WAS A PSYCO and deserves the death penalty. DISGUSTING.
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Based on a true events, GIRL IN THE BASEMENT walks us through the horrific 20-year confinement of a controlling father's 17-year-old daughter. Just before she reaches the age of emancipation, Don, the dad (Judd Nelson), locks Sara (Stefanie Scott) in his hidden soundproof bomb shelter and for two decades beats and rapes her and forces her to raise his two children. Another is stillborn. Sara insists he secretly bring another child to the house above to be raised by Sara's mother Irene (Joely Fisher), who believes the missing Sara left the child on the doorstep and ran away. As the two kids living in the basement with Sara mature, they treat Don as their dad, hoping to persuade him during his brief visits to let them live upstairs. He tells them they may do so as soon as their mother, Sara, starts to behave properly. The kids blame Sara until she finally tells them who Don really is, the rapist monster who is both their father and grandfather. As in the true story, an illness helps open the door to freedom.

Is It Any Good?

This is an example of well-made, ripped-from-the-headlines Lifetime Channel fare, and inspired by the same shocking events in Austria on which the book and film Room were based. Though difficult to watch, performances by Scott and Nelson are certainly solid. Girl in the Basement is effective but does overindulge in slowing the plot, with blackouts for commercials at key moments, and, as if to counter our knowledge of how the real-life story ended, plenty of manufactured suspense telegraphed by edgy horror music.

After all the film puts us through -- 88 unrelenting minutes of abuse and villainy -- it would've been great to get at least a glimpse of Don's punishment. Don himself tells us that choices have consequences, and the movie shows us his choices. Providing an account of the consequences he faced would've been satisfying. The Austrian man who committed these atrocities was found guilty of rape, incest, murder, and enslavement and sentenced to life in prison in 2009. A 2010 documentary, Josef Fritzl: Story of a Monster, tells that story.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the difference between disciplinarian parents and abusive ones. In what ways did the father go beyond normal parental behavior to criminal behavior?

  • Did Sara's teen rebellion seem within the normal range of behavior for the child of a strict parent? What do you think is appropriate parental response when kids don't follow the family's rules?

  • Would you like to have seen the father get punished? Why do you think the filmmakers decided to end the action before the audience could see his comeuppance in the criminal justice system? Did that absence diminish the movie's emotional impact? Why or why not?

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