Lifetime's thriller ‘My Daughter’s Been Kidnapped’ builds up the suspense ably as it reaches its twisted end
Rebeca Hughes's Lifetime film ‘My Daughter’s Been Kidnapped’ opens with a scene that sends a chill right down your spine, as a single mother Gina (Boti Bliss ) desperately calls out for her daughter Kelsey (Morgan Obenreder), who is seen lying in the school corridor.
However, the following scene sees Gina wake up to the disturbing dream while Kelsey is busy picking dresses with her best friend Tony for their day at the new school which they recently transferred to. Gina’s clearly overprotective of her daughter and hands Tony a medical prescription that Kelsey needs from time to time for her epilepsy.
The movie loses a bit of essence when it introduces us to Melissa, the popular high school girl, who easily befriends Kelsey and Tony with her charming words and of course, her hourglass figure. Next thing we know, Kelsey is one of the bikini-clad teenagers at Melissa’s pool party, prepping herself to kiss Jason. The movie manages to leave you shaken once again, as a girl’s body is spotted floating in the pool, who you would at first assume to be Kelsey.
Although Kelsey didn’t drown in the pool, she’s deeply submerged in sorrow, owing to her condition. And, when Gina subtly points at her disease, Kelsey snaps at her mother saying how miserable life has been for her due to her condition. Unable to watch her daughter suffer at the hands of the disease, Gina agrees to let her go out with Jason. However, the first date goes terribly wrong, when Kelsey suddenly disappears from mini-golf.
Gina then learns that other girls who may have been friends with Melissa have mysteriously ended up missing as well and slowly comes to the realization that the detective working the cases also may be involved. The rest of the movie navigates Gina’s struggles as she has only 48 hours to find her missing daughter, else she would succumb to her condition since she has left her medicines at home.
Each time you inch close to believing something you’ve witnessed, the following scene paints a different picture, thus retaining the mystery factor throughout the film. Is it Melissa? Who was watching Kelsey? You see yourself asking as the film nears its climax.
Just when you breathe a sigh of relief as one mystery unravels, new suspense surfaces revealing enough to grasp your attention.
The scenes in ‘My Daughter’s Been Kidnapped’ could have been crispier if more attention was paid to the little details. However, the Lifetime mystery film makes a perfect fit for a small-budget project, whose appeal is just enough to retain your attention throughout and offer an hour and half of entertainment, if high expectations are laid aside.
‘My Daughter’s Been Kidnapped’ premieres on Lifetime on February 9 at 8 pm.
