Lifetime has been focusing a lot on its Ripped From the Headlines series lately and that momentum isn’t going to fade any time soon. His latest film, The Girl in the Basement, is a terrifying story about an evil father who locks his daughter in the basement for a quarter of a century.
Although the events of the Lifetime movies are often dramatized a bit, is The Girl in the Basement a true story in essence? And if so, what is the story? Here’s a breakdown of all the known details.
The true story of “The Girl in the Cellar”
Lifetime’s Girls in the Basement focuses on the tragic story of Sarah. Don Nelson (Judd Nelson) takes Sara hostage in his basement. Irene Fisher (Jolie) lies to him and tells him that Sarah ran away from her. He keeps Sara captive in her basement for two decades, torturing and raping her.
Don is not happy when Sarah has more children. He convinces Irene that Sarah sent the baby to him where she left him.
Sarah finally manages to escape and tells her story to the media. The film ends with her family coming to terms with what Don has been doing over the years. What is the wild side of all this? Lifetime’s picture isn’t that far from the truth.
The true story on which the film is based is just as convoluted.
Based on a true story, The Girl in the Cellar tells of the tragic escape of an Austrian girl from captivity. Oxygen reports that between 1984 and 2008 Elisabeth Fritzl was taken hostage by her father. She was drugged with ether, handcuffed and kept in the basement.
The girl was forced to write a letter to her mother saying she ran away to cover her tracks. He continued to rape her seven times a day.
On August 28, 1984, 18-year-old Elisabeth Fritzl was captured by her father in a secret basement room, where he repeatedly raped her for 24 years. After giving birth to her father of seven children, she made it out of the bedroom in 2008.
– HistoryVille (@HistoryVille)
As in the movie, Elizabeth’s father tried to raise his children with his wife upstairs. He claimed that her daughter had sent him to take care of her. The situation remained unchanged until April 19, 2008, when everything changed. Elizabeth finally came out to take her oldest daughter to the hospital after she passed out in the basement. The public appearance raised many questions and the whole situation was quickly exposed.
Today, Elisabeth has changed her name and moved with her children to an unknown country in Austria. It has been difficult for Elizabeth to overcome the trauma these years have brought. Her new home appears to be under surveillance and it is said that she moved in with a long time bodyguard.