User reviews

A good b grade level thriller which holds you until the end . The villain Simon is well played by Shaun Benson . The film has a few twists : it did remind me of a few real life cases where someone was kept in the basement against their will.

A couple have their flat broken into. They go inside BEFORE phoning the police, and promptly get more stuff stolen by the homeless guy still there, who holds them at gunpoint. Deciding to move house, they end up living next door to a weirdo who dresses like a throwback to the 50's. He abducts the female to keep as his own personal slave in an underground shelter, making her a 'kept woman'. Will she ever escape? Can she ever rid herself of the awful dresses she's forced to wear? And who'd thought the police force could be so stupid?

Yes, I KNOW this is supposed to be a Made For TV Movie, but c'mon... the creep in the dapper suits and bow tie has been linked to the disappearances of students and has even been questioned by the police... So why isn't he linked to the investigation? Who knows. And the fact the husband believes his wife left him permanently after the most minor of arguments, leaving behind her phone and various other possessions... Hear that creaking noise? That's credibility being stretched to breaking point.

Still, it's not all bad. The movie paints a picture of a claustrophobic environment well, where Stockholm Syndrome can easily set in and your old life could soon fade to a distant memory. The acting is of a higher calibre than usual for this kind of production, and the intense moments scattered throughout will probably have you watching until the end. Until the climax, that is... When all the subtlety and understatement goes out the window in favour of a brainless violent confrontation, not to mention the cheesiest of 'uplifting' messages tacked on as an addendum. Yawn.

Still, seen much worse. Oh, yes I have... 5/10

Alrighty then! This is a glossy, well-made gem of a film about the psychopath next door. Who has a basement dungeon a-la 'Fifties-style and a fetish for pretty young ladies drawn - rather irrationally - from his inner social circle. Which makes him a suspect after each disappearance.

Fortunately for our goody-goody bad guy - Shaun Benson (as Simon) - he's super smart, super slick and super nerdy. It's the nerdy part that throws you. 'Cause, you know, nerds are supposed to be weird but meek.

This guy is weird and potentially murderous. So, when Courtney Ford (as Jessica Crowder) and Andrew W. Walker as (Evan Crowder) move next door, they have no idea that their skippy little bowtie-wearing neighbor has had Rachel Wilson (as Robin Simmons) imprisoned in his basement for years! Enjoy Troy Blundell (playing Tyler Haynes) as a thoroughly professionally and equally menacing policeman-friend who, in cahoots with Jessica's rotund detective-wannabe pal - Jesse Camacho (as Oscar Garrett) - will ultimately... well... just watch!

Dig the 'Fifties stokes, y'all and try not to see Ted Bundy in Mr. Benson's fine performance. That way, you won't see him coming! Redrum! Redrum! Redrum!

Of course there have been tens of thousands of real women who have been held captive against their will. As an example there were the three (3) young ladies that were held captive against their will for almost ten (10) years in Cleveland by the serial predator and rapist Ariel Castro. The 2015 film titled Cleveland Abduction documented in detail what these three women went through and how they eventually escaped Castro's in-house prison. (You can read my IMDB review on this film dated May 05th, 2015.)

This Lifetime film was deeply unrealistic by how blatantly neglectful both the local police and newspapers were in not covering the abduction story of missing women if it really did occur. This is a very much exaggerated "women held prisoner" by a neat and tidy wacko neighbor. Although the story line is an interesting concept in which the captor is still living in the 1950's based on his physical appearance, the car he drives, and how is basement prison is decorated with retro 1950's furniture and appliances, there doesn't seem to be any Dick Tracy around to solve the case of these missing women.

As in many other films, the ending leaves a lot to be desired and was a letdown for me. I give the film a 6 out of 10 rating.

There are some annoying plot holes, but the good acting made up for it. The ostensibly polite and helpful neighbour was a convincingly creepy villain. Less your out and out bloodthirsty sadist and more of a delusional but clever incel determined to bend women to his will. There was tension as we saw the heroine under Stepford wife indoctrination and I really wanted Simon to get his comeuppance.

After a frightening apartment robbery, attractive graphic designer Courtney Ford (as Jessica "Jess" Crowder) and her handsome fiancé Andrew W. Walker (as Evan Crowder) move into a picturesque suburban house. They are immediately welcomed by quirky-looking neighbor Shaun Benson (as Simon), a professor in "Men's Studies." He comes from a 1950s "traditional background," having a father who worked and a mother who cooked. Also an amateur crime investigator, Ms. Ford does not cook. She doesn't watch "Lifetime" TV Movies, either, or she would have known better than to get too chummy with quirky neighbors...

"Kept Woman" follows the formula for making these television movies fun. A great looking cast in an abduction fantasy, with some subtle humor; it's marvelously played. Michel Poulette's direction and the cool set design are quite nice, so stay tuned. The opening scenes are not strong, but they move the story along quickly. It would have been nice to build up more suspense between Ford and Mr. Benson, who is positively delicious as the male chauvinist professor. The "family" formed by Benson could have been further developed, also. Still, it's better to leave viewers expecting to see more, than wanting to see less.

****** Kept Woman (2/28/15) Michel Poulette ~ Courtney Ford, Shaun Benson, Andrew W. Walker, Rachel Wilson

I almost bailed before the opening credits had started. A NYPD cop shows up to a burglary dressed in a uniform that looked like a five year olds Halloween costume. I know it was filmed in Canada but the could have ordered an authentic uniform on eBay. Then the kidnapper's occupation: professor of Men's Studies. It Couldn't get more ridiculous than that. After that it gets slightly better. It's nothing you haven't seen a hundred times. Okay if you need to kill an hour and a half.

Not only was this movie believable, it was the best Lifetime movie I'd seen in the last 5 years. I had become so bored with the way the movies have morphed into the same online girl looking for love or adventure, or compromised teachers, or killers so silly that I didn't care what they did just as long as I could turn the channel. This story line was carefully written and pieced together, with great acting, so that it kept be on the edge of my seat throughout. The foreshadowing and clues leading to the climax and ending couldn't have been better. The movie deserves a second viewing to catch every aspect of the suspenseful writing. Wonderful...can't say enough good things about this movie.

The first few minutes almost swayed me away - the robber sucked at acting. But despite being a made for a TV movie, this had some thrills and chills throughout.

I thought the two leads (Jessica & Evan) and the neighbor (Simon) played their roles with tenacity. Simon's character had a dark and ominous aura to him, specifically with the voice that he used.

The limitations were that the viewer doesn't fully understand Simon's motivations for entrapping women into his basement and making the room into a 1950s atmosphere. Also Evan and the police officer (Tyler) each entered Simon's home without any backup. They had substantial evidence that Simon was sadistic and creepy, and yet they just mosey on into his home without a care in the world.

Ultimately it was a decent movie, slightly gory but with a strong script.

Suspicious about 'extra groceries', really? Im a single woman who brings in 150$ (5-6 bags) worth of groceries at a time because I hate shopping. I end up with a lot of throw-away, unfortunately. He had 2 bags of groceries and she's suspicious of that. A stretch to produce a plot. That's the ridiculousness of this movie. I'm kind of shocked at the average 6.2 rating. This Is definitely a far-below-average movie. The dialogue is corny, the plot, stupid, the 'based on a true story', absurd, the acting, OTT and subpar, it's totally corny. I've seen FAR better movies with a lesser rating.. perhaps people are rating on a Lifetime movie scale? If you enjoy the after school soap opera, maybe its great. If not, don't bother.

I support all things Canadian so I gave this movie a go. Of course we all know that Canada doesn't have the huge Hollywood budgets. So if you go in knowing that, then you'll enjoy this movie.

A bit far fetched at times, even a bit surreal. But overall a nice flowing story. Acting was solid, again considering the cast isn't Hollywood A listers.

I recommend this movie to any true movie fan.

I was pretty surprised at this one, it was much better than I was expecting for a TV movie. Story was good with a couple clever tricks up it's sleeve. It kept my attention and was entertaining with a solid cast. Everyone did a great job especially the leading lady. I wish as a whole it was a tad darker and creepier but, again, it was a made for TV movie. Give this one a shot, I would recommend.

It's a B movie for sure and at first it might seems like a Hallmark quality flick but the storyline is decent. The ending is predictable but it's fine.

I loved the movie. It wasn't a typical cheesy LMN tv-movie. I thought Courtney was excellent, and this is Benson's second LMN movie where he plays the psycho bad guy, Prescription for Danger (2017). Oh and there are two more recent movies which are similar in concept, a British movie called Crawl to Me Darling (2020) and the recent Anna Marie Dobbins movie Women (2021). All three great movies!

This suspenser amounts to a surprise sleeper, at least in my little book. It's a grabber the whole way. So what's up with new neighbor Simon, now that Jessica and hubby have moved into an older conventional neighborhood. Simon seems pleasant enough, living alone in a residential house. Still, Jessica detects something suspicious, but what could it be. After all, Simon's a college professor and looks respectable enough. Meanwhile hubby's off to work every day trying to pay bills leaving Jessica alone in an unfamiliar new house. Thus, an undercurrent of suspense builds as everything seems so ordinary on the surface.

I'll jump ahead, while trying not to give away too much. Simon is fascinating in his motives. Does he think he's a kind of god or a Big Brother creating a 'peaceful' paradise for his subjects. After all, he condemns the outside world as dirty and wanting, and all his subjects have to do is follow the rules and they'll be abundantly provided for in everything but their freedom. So what will his inmates do under the stultifying conditions: simply succumb in confined comfort and leisure or maybe plot silently an escape. In short, which is more essential to a person: freedom or comfort. Then too, how could anyone escape the locked-in isolation even if they wanted to. After all, Simon seems able to see most everywhere. Thus tension builds.

Good move by the producers making both the movie's ordinary looking neighborhood so ordinary and the talented cast appropriately unglamorous,. Both do a lot to unsettle viewers who may then wonder about undercurrents in their own circumstances. I know I did. I guess my only gripe is with a showdown that lacks the fertile imagination of the overall film. Nonetheless, the final scene itself amounts to a triumph in poetic irony.

Anyway, catch up with the flick if you can. It's not only a load of suspense, but offers a thoughtful subtext as well.

Jessica (Courtney Ford) and Evan Crowder (Andrew W. Walker) decide to leave NYC after a robber breaks into their home. They move to the country where they hope to live a safe suburban life. Jessica is concerned about their oddball neighbor Simon (Shaun Benson) who later kidnaps her. She is held captive along with Robin Simmons (Rachel Wilson) in his 50's lifestyle basement. Evan seeks help from his NYPD friend Tyler Haynes and Jessica's fellow amateur sleuth Oscar Garrett.

The creepy story has some potential and I like some of these actors. Somehow, this feels a little light despite the brutal violent story. It's probably the lower budget and some less than stellar plot points. I do come back again and again to the basement decor. I get the idea of the 50's looking prison. It's a trap. It's not scary enough but it's not real enough. It's fake at a lower price point which takes away some of the intensity. This has the potential of a good indie horror but it doesn't quite hit its target.

Great movie and an easy watch! Scarily believable but acting was superb. I'd watch it again to take in all the details missed which made this so cleverly made.

Just my type of film...

Although a bit far-fetched in certain spots,it was a decent story. Enjoyed the choices,in actors & viewed it a few times. Worth checking out,if you haven't.