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 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.

The viewers who are giving this a low score and saying it's impossible for something like this to happen or the victim is unlikable are the actual problem and why things like this continue to happen. As a woman who went through something similar but not nearly as scary as Samantha, I also did not immediately seek help for the situation because I was told I didn't have enough evidence and I believed no one would believe me. It's a sad time in our world when people not only judge a victim and basically victim shame but also do not believe her because of these judgements. And just because you can't find a ton of info online about it means it didn't happen? This started over a decade ago. Yes, the sentencing itself was recent but the events leading up to it were during a time when the internet and social media were not as rampant. Get your head out of the sand and maybe get off the internet for a while and try to imagine a time when you didn't rely on it for every single thing. Sad sad people out there.

Sam is strong, and naive at the same time, until her friends point out what he was doing. It is sad the police questioned her truth, and the DA, laughed it off in the beginning, then finally.

I would like to thank Sam, for opening herself up to the world, she will save many women from men like him.

Most of these negative reviews are from men, who are either stalkers, and women who for some reason dismiss this sort of behavior by men, because, "but he is so nice." I have spoken to my manager, she dismiss my complaint. I have spoken to HR, he listened.

I tell everyone if anything happens to me, they all have his name.

Someone complained about the cussing in the show. All I have to say is, I hope you are never stalked, track, or kidnapped, because cussing will be the last think you care about.

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.