Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror

I'd heard of this case through close friends and followed the story as it was updated through a small news station. Hearing this more intimate re-telling made me realize how much worse the situation was for her and how disturbing the perpetrator was. He was calculating and clearly preparing for this abduction. I'm so glad she made it out alive and is using her voice to educate others on the dangers of stalking and sexual violence. People don't believe women as much as they should.

The only reason I'm commenting is because I'm seeing so many reviews saying that this never happened. I know Christopher personally. He talked to me over a decade ago about her. I still have all the messages. He even asked me to attend the Red Wings game with him because she didn't want to go.

He told me the whole story about how he kidnapped her. Watching this documentary to me was like watching a rerun of a story I already knew. At any rate, I assure you, it happened.

First of all, the victim, Samantha is unlikeable and hard to believe she is a therapist, the way she shrugged off red flag after red flag is disturbing.

In addition, this came off as a mockumentary and not a serious documentary.

However, despite the above, the reason I'm calling bs on this is due to the fact that there is NO report anywhere online regarding this crime or sentencing. For such a serious crime, there should have been quite a few news stories on it, but not even ONE. The only stories floating around are referencing this "documentary".

Highly disappointing, I stopped watching after episode one.

The documentary largely relies on the victim's narration with recreated visuals, giving it a lighter tone than expected. The victim, officers, and others speak very casually, often smiling and joking, which undercuts the sense of dread. With a title like "13 years of terror," it never builds the intensity or eerie atmosphere the story demands. Instead, it portrays the obsession of one individual in a way that feels easy to watch rather than unsettling. An okay watch, but far from haunting. What puzzled me most was how everyone interviewed seemed rather at ease when the film called for greater seriousness.

This is a horrific case that is emblematic of the toll stalking takes on victims, and I couldn't imagine having to deal with this for over a decade. It details some of the struggles victims go through to be taken seriously, and it isn't until something truly horrific happens that action is taken. Restraining orders, even when granted, are just a piece of paper, and it wouldn't have stopped this guy from what he was determined to do

As a man I don't think I can ever really put myself in the shoes of someone like Samantha. Yes, men can be and are stalked, in fact I've known it to happen to someone personally. However, almost every woman I know personally has a story of someone showing up randomly, following them, calling constantly, etc, and there is no way to tell when someone is going to cross the line into something devastating

I think the story was told well by Samantha, and the documentary did a good job going through the timeline and highlighting the repetitive nature of what Samantha was dealing with to the point it just became part of her routine. It's sad to hear her doubt her own intuition and question whether she was reading too much into things when the red lights were glaring. It's even more infuriating to know that there wasn't much she could do about it, and when she tried she was denied

However, the tone just seemed off the whole time. Everything was told in a light way as if they were just retelling what they had for dinner yesterday. The way events were explained just didn't match the serious nature of what happened. In fact, I questioned myself a couple times if this was an actual real story or a fictional dramatization because it all seemed so disconnected

I don't know if this was a deliberate choice of the producers or just their natural demeanors regarding serious events, but it was everyone from Samantha's friends, law enforcement, judges, and Samantha herself that just seemed so unemotional through it all. This makes me believe it was a production choice to try and keep things as light as possible which, if true, was a bad choice because this is a horrifying story that is more common than anyone would like to admit

Overall, I'm glad Samantha has the strength to tell her story, and I'm glad she no longer has to live with that fear literally following her around every day. We need much tougher laws surrounding stalking.