Director: Harley Wallen
Year: 2026
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Plot:
Taken as a young girl, a woman is taken away to a strange facility and begins living with her kidnapper, growing up being brainwashed into believing that the kidnapper is her father. Trying to make her way away from him as an adult, she tries to make sense of his claims while trying to get past the crippled way of life she has because of being with him.
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty solid if somewhat flawed psychological thriller. This is at its best with the psychological mindset we see being inflicted on the girl throughout the film, as this provides some intriguing elements going forward. The central question at play at the center of the film, about whether the guy holding her hostage all these years was her father and trying to instill the idea of the unhinged mentality that he comes across as while doing this demented form of parenting, is an emotionally charged setup that provides everything with the proper context for later. As she tries to escape the situation and move on with her life, fearful of the impact he has had on her up till now, it serves to generate some wholly intriguing aspects detailing the trauma and abusive state she’s left in.
As a result of this, there’s a rather emotional component to what’s going on within her once the actual father comes back into the picture and the years of emotional and physical abuse that have taken their toll on her. The manipulation she’s suffered from harbors a severe mistrust and paranoia about the outside world, as a result, bringing about a stirring emotional charge as she tries to deal with the stunted real-world intelligence she suffers from due to trusting the wrong person while attempting to make her way through life, creating enough of a hook to keep this one going. The back-and-forth time shifts, showing how her present-day self is trying to adjust to get used to different elements of modern society while going back to see how her younger version was affected by his parenting and time with her, make for a nice counter to everything and move the film along as a result.
Overview: ****/5
An overall intriguing look at trauma and abuse, this one is a rather solid take that comes across rather well for the most part and manages to hold this up well enough against the issues here. Those with an appreciation for the subject matter or this style of indie fare will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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