"The true story of a child's punishment that became a woman's crime."

2007

1h 37m

7.3(788 votes)

Crime

Drama

Horror

Overview

The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Elliot Page

Sylvia Likens

Catherine Keener

Gertrude Baniszewski

Hayley McFarland

Jennifer Faye 'Jennie' Likens

Nick Searcy

Lester Likens

Romy Rosemont

Betty Likens

Ari Graynor

Paula Baniszewski

Scout Taylor-Compton

Stephanie Baniszewski

Tristan Jarred

Johnny Baniszewski

Hannah Leigh

Shirley Baniszewski

Bradley Whitford

Prosecutor

Creative team

Directed by: Tommy O'Haver
Written by: Tommy O'Haver
Irene Turner
Produced by: Jocelyn Hayes

Similar Movies

7.3

1987

Dirty Dancing

Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

Movie

7.8

1959

Anatomy of a Murder

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.

Movie

7.7

2019

Boxed

The terrifying daring escape of Henry "Box" Brown, who used creativity and courage to escape from slavery in 1849.

Movie

6.4

2006

Wallander: The Secret

11-year-old Johannes is found raped and murdered. Investigations lead to a pedophile ring and detective Stefan Lindman's dark secret.

Movie

7.6

2002

Talk to Her

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.

Movie

6.7

1997

Absolute Power

A master thief coincidentally is robbing a house where a murder—in which the President of the United States is involved—occurs in front of his eyes. He is forced to run, while holding evidence that could convict the President.

Movie

8.3

1998

American History X

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

Movie

6.3

1954

Andha Naal

Rajan, a radio engineer, is found murdered in Madras during the tense World War II era, amid fears of a Japanese air raid on the city. CID officer Sivanandham investigates the case as each suspect—Rajan's wife, lover, relatives, and neighbors—narrates a different version of events, revealing hidden motives and secrets that lead to the truth.

Movie

10.0

1961

The Moises Padilla Story

The story follows an aspiring Negros Occidental mayoral candidate who was tortured and killed during election season in 1951.

Movie

7.0

1967

A Nun at the Crossroads

During an uprising in the Belgian Congo, a convent of nuns are besieged and the Reverend Mother is killed and Sister Maria is raped. Returning to Belgium, Sister Maria finds out to her horror that she is pregnant. Rejected by her family and her sister, she is told by the Vatican that she is supposed to either give the baby to the church and still be a nun or keep the baby and leave the order. This film follows her decision.

Movie

8.3

1994

Léon: The Professional

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Movie

6.4

2000

Italian for Beginners

Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.

Movie

3.5

2017

Siew Lup

Mia, an ex-prostitute, is trapped in a loveless marriage with the abusive Quan (Sunny Pang, who also stars in Headshot in this year’s Festival lineup), a butcher who runs a roast meat shop. When she meets sensitive funeral director Wu, their passion for one another escalates into an affair. But the path to true love is fraught with jealousy, forcing someone to make a deadly move.

Movie

7.8

1932

Freaks

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

Movie

7.0

1999

Mifune

Kresten, newly wed, is on the threshold of a great career success in his father-in-law’s company. But when the death of his own father takes him back to his poverty-stricken childhood home, far out in the country, his career plans fall apart. For one thing he has to deal with his loveable, backward brother, who is now all alone; for another, he meets a stunning woman who comes to the farm as a housekeeper, in disguise of her real profession as a call-girl.

Movie

7.4

2004

Bad Education

When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.

Movie

7.8

2005

Brokeback Mountain

In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.

Movie

7.5

1996

Breaking the Waves

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

Movie

7.0

2005

The Secret Life of Words

A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.

Movie

6.0

2022

The Anchor

A mysterious informant calls a broadcast news anchor to request that the anchor report on the informant’s inevitable death.

Movie

Recommended Movies

6.7

2007

The Girl Next Door

In a quiet suburban town in the summer of 1958, two recently orphaned sisters are placed in the care of their mentally unstable Aunt Ruth. But Ruth's depraved sense of discipline will soon lead to unspeakable acts of abuse and torture that involve her young sons, the neighborhood children, and one 12-year-old boy whose life will be changed forever.

Movie

7.6

1996

Sleepers

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

Movie

6.1

1996

Castle Freak

John Reilly discovers that his family's newly inherited castle in Italy is haunted by a relentless, bloodthirsty creature.

Movie

7.3

1991

Cape Fear

Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.

Movie

7.1

2008

Boy A

Freed after a lengthy term in a juvenile detention center, convicted child killer Jack Burridge finds work as a deliveryman and begins dating co-worker Michelle. While out on the road one day, Jack notices a distressed child, and, after reuniting the girl with her family, becomes a local celebrity. But when a local newspaper unearths his past, Jack must cope with the anger of citizens who fear for the safety of their children.

Movie

6.4

2017

Gerald's Game

When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie (who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house) faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.

Movie

5.9

2015

Dark Places

A woman who survived the brutal killing of her family as a child is forced to confront the events of that day.

Movie

The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story

7.1

2023

The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story

Based on a true story. 15-year-old Kara Robinson was kidnapped, assaulted and held captive for 18 hours. With her survival instincts kicking in, she plots a daring escape from the serial killer and leads police to his apartment.

Movie

6.3

1995

Tales from the Hood

A strange mortician tells four horrific tales to three drug dealers that he traps in a local funeral parlor.

Movie

6.8

1986

At Close Range

Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.

Movie

6.7

2001

Bully

A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.

Movie

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

7.2

2007

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical.

Movie

6.1

2016

Hounds of Love

When Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple, she soon observes the dynamic between her captors and quickly realises she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive.

Movie

7.0

2013

The Place Beyond the Pines

A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.

Movie

6.0

2019

1BR

When Sarah lucks into a sweet one-bedroom at Asilo Del Mar Apartments in Los Angeles, she thinks she's hit the jackpot. It's got plenty of space, friendly tenants, group BBQs and even a cute neighbour next door. All is not what it seems: loud noises start keeping her awake at night; her cat is missing; everyone seems to be a little too helpful and friendly, except for the weirdo, Lester. Soon, Sarah learns she didn't choose this apartment — it chose her.

Movie

6.5

2009

The Last House on the Left

When athletic teen Mari Collingwood opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family's remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget.

Movie

5.8

1999

Joe the King

A destitute 14-year-old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother.

Movie

8.0

2018

Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey

On the night she plans on taking her own life, 17-year-old 'Lisa McVey' is kidnapped and finds herself fighting to stay alive and is raped. She manages to talk her attacker into releasing her, but when she returns home, no one believes her story except for one detective, who suspects she was abducted by a serial killer. Based on horrifying true events.

Movie

7.7

1996

Primal Fear

Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.

Movie

6.0

1972

The Last House on the Left

On the eve of her 17th birthday, Mari and friend Phyllis set off from her family home to attend a rock concert in the city. Attempting to score some drugs on the way, the pair run afoul of a group of vicious crooks, headed up by the sadistic Krug.

Movie