User reviews

First of all, I must say that the 2018 movie "Girl in the Bunker" is definitely a movie that is well-worth watching. Why? Well, given the storyline, despite it being something that might not sit well with everyone in the audience, but also because of some good acting performances.

I had not heard about writer and director Stephen Kemp's 2018 movie before now in 2021 when I stumbled upon it by random luck. The movie had an interesting cover which made me pick it up, and the synopsis seemed interesting enough, so of course I gave "Girl in the Bunker" a go.

Now, it should be said that the movie is revolving around a kidnapping and the perpetrator is somewhat of a foul character. But writer and director Stephen Kemp managed to serve the movie in a manner where it is watchable without crossing any lines, as he sets up the scenes that will prove bad and then skips to something else, letting the audience fill in the blanks. And that actually worked quite well in this movie.

I have to admit that I was enthralled by the movie, because it was a story that was well-written and well-told on the screen. The characters in the storyline were very believable and realistic, which definitely helped selling the movie quite nicely. And they had a good cast ensemble as well.

And speaking of the cast, then I must say that I was impressed with Henry Thomas portraying this character, given the nature of the character. Quite a bold move by the actor, but he nailed it with a stellar performance as Vinson Filyaw the kidnapper and sexual predator. And playing the victim Elizabeth Shoaf was actress Julia Lalonde, whom also put on a great performance.

"Girl in the Bunker" was a very entertaining movie, and it was one that definitely surprised me. I can highly recommend you spending the time on the movie, if you have the chance.

My rating of "Girl in the Bunker" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Great jobs by the lead actress Julia Lalonde who played Elizabeth Shaof the victim and by the lead actor Henry Thomas, who played perpetrator Vinson Filyaw. The film packed quite a bit of the true life crime events in the 88 minute film without ever over sensationalizing some of the more horrific moments this young teenager experienced while in captivity.

The stranger danger rule was ignored by Elizabeth Shoaf as she let her guard down when Vinson Filyaw introduced himself and pretended to be a police officer.

This should be a warning for all young girls/women and boys/men to pay attention to your surroundings and ask yourself the "what if" questions before allowing yourself to become thee next victim.

These types of abductions and rapes happen far too often and to some extent the producers have to share the blame for airing shows like these that give that very small percentage of whackadoodles ideas to copycat these heinous crimes.

I give the film a better than average 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.

The moral of a movie shown on Lifetime, 1st let's try to make R. Kelley the face of pedophilia while we promote our own movie about pedophilia. Movie should be banned for it's creepiness. This is why I stopped watching Lifetime a year ago because too many of their movies are starting to have that sick underlying message. Bored yesterday and messed up and put it on that horrible channel just to witness this nonsense.

On September 6, 2006, the 14 year old Elizabeth Shoaf was kidnapped by artifice while walking home from school in southern California. Vinson Filyaw led her to a bunker he had constructed in the woods. Over the next ten days, Elizabeth was held captive and raped repeatedly.

Unlike some such dramatisations, this one wasn't made in indecent haste, and as usual it doesn't stray far if at all from what actually happened. There are no graphic scenes even though lead actress Julia Lalonde was over the age of consent at the time.

Vinson Filyaw died in May 2021 aged just 51. It is doubly sad that a man of his obvious talents - how many people could have single-handedly constructed an underground bunker the way he did? - could not have put them to good rather than depraved use.

This is about ignorance for bad people around us. If we ignore them, they may damage us. It's police task to do it, but everybody should be more or less be responsible for what happens around him, at least where they live. Lesson is that it is dangerous to live ignorant life and ignore even small warnings we may notice in neighborhood. Movie is filled with fear, worry, hope, expectation, excitement, mystery, seek and hide. There is positive ending that brings us feeling of salvation and freedom. Had this movie just a bit more details, it could be worth 10 stars.