Aside from watching movies and tv shows I enjoy history, a lot, and knowing the different aspects that brought us to this modern life as well as the tragic things we’ve been through to get here. For example pandemics, murders, kidnappings, and worse. So, when I see different documentaries of the traumatic things people, cites, or countries have been through, I’m instantly intrigued and that’s exactly what happened to me when I saw Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart pop up as a new documentary on Netflix. So, here’s my honest review on it!
When it begins, they show how the young girl, Elizabeth, was kidnapped, and it honestly broke me because her little sister was in the room as well but couldn’t do anything other than act like she was sleeping. What was even sadder was that, when the sister ran to tell her parents, they didn’t believe her at first and just told her she was having a bad dream. One thing I hate is when parents don’t listen to their children or don’t believe them. Especially when it’s about something scary or worrying (like, why would any child lie about that?). The parents soon start calling family and news for help to get the word out. They left the town devastated and in shambles and even I was in shambles of how easily she was taken from the comfort of her bed. I would’ve never imagined.
We fast forward a little bit and the family is in the process of trying to find leads with the help of the little sister, Mary Katherine, who was in the bed that night and heard the voice of the kidnapper. I felt really bad when watching this part because they were putting this little girl under a lot of pressure when she was already so scared and sad from losing her sister and not being able to do anything about it. She only heard the voice and said she recognized the voice. I was excited to hear this because it would be easier to find the kidnapper since he had a familiar voice. However, I hated how they didn’t believe her fully and took the wrong guy in for the kidnapping. That made me really mad because she was telling them that the person they have doesn’t sound like what she heard, and they just chose not to believe her again! Later on, they find out the cousin of Elizabeth was almost kidnapped as well and, at the crime scene, there was a chair pressed against the wall to reach the bedroom window, just like when Elizabeth was kidnapped. This was an amazing sign because it meant the kidnapper was nearby.
Months go by and then the movie shows us Elizabeth’s side, and oh my gosh! Let me tell you, it had me in complete tears as she listed the details of her kidnapping. My heart completely broke to know she is still living with this and was comfortable enough to realize out to the world this new you makes me so proud of this stranger. She starts off by saying how a gun was held to her head and she was told not to scream and just follow (this was the sentence her sister heard in the room that night). She then explains how she was led into the forest and up the hill scared for her life while telling the man not to kill or sexually assault her. I felt terrible and was already in tears and this wasn’t even the worst part. She arrived to this random campsite he had with his wife where they barely gave her food, forced her to drink beers and throw up, and sexually assault her. Mind you this happened multiple times a day, I was so sad to hear how bad a person can treat a little girl. Then, to top it off, these crazy people blamed it on God saying he told them to do it. This really made me mad cause, if you’re going to lie about your wrong doings, do not lie about God almighty. That’s just disrespectful, but we aren’t going to get into that, let’s continue.
As we reach the end of the movie Elizabeth explains how her kidnapper would take her out, and she would be seen by the public wondering if they would help or recognize her or even if she should just make a run for it. I personally am so happy that this crazy man took her out because this gave the case multiple witnesses and picture proof of her in stores and on streets helping prove that it was Elizabeth in all of those disguises. It was also perfect timing because, back at home, her sister, Mary, came to a realization of who it was, a man named Emmanuel. Let me just say, I screamed in joy when I heard this because, from hearing Elizabeth’s side, I already knew their name and hearing how the sister discovered it on her own had me filled with relief. The police began looking around and, eventually, found her walking down the street with her kidnappers, and they took her away to safety.
I really enjoyed this documentary and was really glad it ended with her being found because it meant my tears were worth it. If I were to rate this documentary, I’d give it 20/10. People need to see the real life troubles that are experienced all over the world so they can prepare themselves. People need to realize that even those closest to you can be dangerous and those who seem nice and sweet have the can turn out actually being something completely different.
