Father That Kept His Daughter Locked in The Basement For 24 Years What Happened Next Shocked The World
Sarah, and her father, Don, rushing Marie to the hospital because she has trouble breathing. Sarah starts panicking when Marie stops breathing. She urges Don to drive faster. When they reach the hospital, Don specifically instructs Sarah to stay quiet in the hospital. The paramedics rush to help Marie. They give her oxygen and try to save her life. But all they get is a flat heart line on the monitor.
The story goes back 20 years earlier to a seemingly idyllic family dinner scene. Sarah and her sister Amy are having dinner with their parents, Don and Irene. The mood on the table changes as Sarah’s father shows his oppressive side, not allowing her to go to a party and showing his reign over the family. That night, Sarah sneaks out with her boyfriend Chris. Her parents later discover her room empty, and her father refers to her as a problem. At the party, Sarah has fun dancing with Chris, who later sings her a song he wrote especially for her. They express their love for each other and kiss. Sarah comes home in the morning. Don has been waiting for her all night. They fight, and Sarah says that the moment she turns 18, she will leave the family for good.
Sarah talks to her mother and sister about her plans to travel all around the country while working to support herself. Her dad overhears the conversation and goes to the basement where he reveals the existence of a secret room behind a bookshelf. Three months later, Sarah graduates. In a conversation Sarah has with her mom, it is revealed that her father has been spending more time in the basement, his man cave. When Irene leaves the house, Don tricks Sarah into the basement as she helps him carry a box there. He takes her into the secret room, telling her it is a bomb shelter made by the previous owner.
He locks her in the room, and she screams in panic, calling for help. Unfortunately, nobody can hear her as the shelter is soundproof. Her mother, worried about her whereabouts, calls the police. On the fourth day, her father visits her and coldly explains the logistics of her captivity. From now on, she will have to earn everything she gets, even the clean, ventilated air. Before he leaves, Don is taking advantage of Sarah.
A cop visits the family, saying that she has likely left for her planned long trip across the country. Her mother does not believe that Sarah would ever leave home without saying goodbye, especially before her 18th birthday. Alone and afraid, Sarah reminisces about her night spent with Chris. As the days go by, Chris comes to the house again.
Don lies to him and tells him that after graduation, Sarah ran away with her childhood neighbor, Steve. On the 21st day of captivity in the basement, she celebrates her 18th birthday, and her dad brings her a cake and a red nightgown as a gift. She asks for a clock, and he tells her that she has to do something for him so that he does something for her. When she disobeys him, he beats her. Almost a year after her captivity, she is revealed to be pregnant, and her water breaks. All alone, she gives birth to a girl named Marie. Four years later, Sarah is pregnant again. Don lives a secret double life, one with his wife Irene and daughter Amy, and another in the basement with Sarah and her daughter Marie.
Still worried about the whereabouts of Sarah, Irene wants to hire a private investigator, but Don firmly says no. As a gift for being good, Don brings a TV in the basement for Sarah and Marie. Later on, Sarah has a second baby, a baby boy named Michael. One night, Sarah makes her terrifying life story into a bedtime story filled with princesses and knights that she tells to her kids. Chris visits the house again, asking around for Sarah. Her sister Amy tells him the truth, realizing that Don lied to Chris. They talk about how horrible he has always been to Sarah. Amy is afraid that Don might have killed her, citing his personality and bad temper in the past. To make the time go by, Sarah creates imaginary adventures for her children to help them forget the outside world.
In the meantime, Don is confronted with his lies by Amy and Irene. A horrible fight ensues. Furious Irene yells that she’ll do everything in her power to find her daughter. During their fight, Don drops his keys on the armchair. Amy takes the keys and goes around to the basement to look for clues. Don finds her, gets his keys back, and fights with Amy. She is mad, afraid, and blames him for causing Sarah’s disappearance.
As time passes by, Sarah has another baby boy, who she names Thomas. Being nice and calm, Sarah convinces Don to take the third baby upstairs. She persuades him by explaining that there is no room for another baby in the basement and that she doesn’t have the time to take care of it. The baby is left on the house’s porch to be found by Irene. In a heartfelt note in the baby basket, seemingly written by Sarah, she writes that this is her baby and that she wants it to be raised by Irene. In the letter, she explains that she and her boyfriend don’t have the means to take care of the baby. In the basket, there is also another note from Sarah pleading for help. Unfortunately, Don is the one who discovers it and assaults her again.
The years go by in captivity. The children develop an extraordinary imagination, expanding their mom’s bedtime story. By now, Sarah has been in the basement for 14 years. Marie has grown into a beautiful young girl. That one night, she tries out makeup. When Dawn shows interest in her beauty, Sarah begs Don to leave her daughter alone. She does not want her to be assaulted. In return, Don shuts down the power, which controls the clean air. While gasping for air, Marie expresses her concerns about never meeting anyone and having no friends. Throughout the conversation, we realize that Marie has no idea that Don is both her grandfather and father.
Now grown, Thomas finds his grandmother crying in his mother’s bedroom. Irene misses her daughter and talks to Thomas about how magnificent Sarah is. At the same time, in the basement, raindrops start dropping from the ceiling. Sarah climbs up to discover a damp roof. Using a spoon, she digs her way to the surface, where she flashes a distressed signal. A neighbor notices it and tells Don about it. Rather than checking it out, Don beats Sarah, who is pregnant again. The beating causes her to lose her baby. As she sobs from the pain, Sarah has a stillbirth, and Don buries the baby in the yard.
Don goes to the basement and complains. He also praises Thomas, who is now a strong athlete. When Marie and Michael ask when they are going to be led into the outside world, Don blames Sarah for her bad behavior. She is the reason they are down there, trapped. Pressured by her children’s endless questions about their life in a fit of rage, Sarah shouts and demolishes all their furniture. Exhausted, she falls to the ground, remembering her happiest moments with Chris. Her children put a blanket on her and clean up their home.
They apologize to her. Emotional, Sarah tells them that they’re old enough to hear the true story behind their life in captivity. So far, they knew that Don lives upstairs with their Aunt Irene to help take care of Thomas. Sick of all the lies, she tells them everything, starting from the fact that her life is the inspiration of their favorite bedtime story. Gently, she explains that Don is her dad as well as their dad. The moment Marie finds out the painful truth, she has a severe asthma attack. The children now feel that there is something wrong with them. Sarah reassures them, telling them that she loves them and that Don is the only one to be blamed.
A year later, another incident occurs between Don and Michael. After Don insults Sarah and her appearance, the food for the basement is being rationed, as Don is having trouble at work. Soon, he loses his job, facing foreclosure. Don tries to suffocate the family in the basement. He connects the car exhaust fumes with the air vent. He gets interrupted by Thomas in the garage, who unknowingly saves their lives. While Don and his family have a fun barbecue in the yard, Marie is sick, struggling to breathe. Don refuses to take Marie to the hospital. Sarah begs for his help. She promises not to say a word about anything. Don agrees.
Twenty years of captivity have passed, and we are now at the beginning of the film when Marie is being rushed to the hospital. Sarah is extremely worried about Marie’s life and feels truly relieved when the doctors save her life. When the nurse asks for more medical history, she is told that Marie is homeschooled and has only been treated with natural remedies.
Sarah slowly scans the hospital, seeking a way out, but she looks tired and lost. In an attempt to escape, Sarah spills water on the medical forms and separates from Don. Seconds before Don gets to her, Sarah reaches the nurse, confessing she needs help. A police officer goes to talk to Don. The police arrest him. Sarah announces this to Marie. They are safe and free. The house is filled with police who free Michael as well. Irene and Thomas are devastated when they see Michael gasping for air as they take him out of the basement. Don sees everything from the back of the police vehicle.
Later on, during a beautiful summer’s day, Marie, Thomas, and Michael play in the countryside, while Sarah, Irene, and Amy watch over them from the house’s porch. Marie notices someone coming from the driveway. It’s Chris. He arrives on his motorcycle, together with Sarah. They go for a walk. He feels sorry for not trying harder to find her and for believing in her father’s BS story. He gives her a gift, a pink motorcycle helmet he bought for her at the age of 18 when they were planning to embark on a journey. Finally happy together, they go on their long-awaited motorcycle ride.
