Cleveland Abduction (2015)

AKA: –
Directed by: Alex Kalymnios
Starring: Taryn Manning (Michelle Knight), Raymond Cruz (Ariel Castro), Samantha Droke (Amanda Berry), Katie Sarife (Gina DeJesus), Sloane Coombs (Jocelyn Berry), Pam Grier (Carla), Joe Morton(Agent Solano)
Country: USA, Effed Up American Films
Language: English (Optional Eng Subs)
Runtime: 01:27:20
Genres: Based on a True Story, Captivity-Kidnapping, Sexual-Violence against Women

Plot – Spoilers:
Based on the Ariel Castro case.

Michelle is a 21-year-old single-mom who’s trying to make sure her son doesn’t end up in foster care. On her way to court, her friend’s dad offers her a ride and Michelle spends the next decade locked up in his suburban home.

For a TV movie, Cleveland Abduction surprisingly holds strong while taking on its subject matter. The choice of a 37-year-old actress to play a 21-year-old is initially jarring, but to Taryn Manning’s credit, she does put herself through some physically challenging and harsh moments. The real Ariel Castro claimed to have never planned the kidnappings and just went along with his seemingly crude plans, hoping to stretch his luck as far as it would go. And that’s probably why he set up fake escape opportunities early on, because he thought his luck would bail on him and a real slipup would happen – by beating fear into his victims, they wouldn’t even bother trying.