12 Best Kidnapping Movies on Lifetime

Lifetime has a range of abduction movies, each offering a different and gripping take on one of humanity’s most heinous crimes. Be it the character of the kidnapper or that of the abductee, the gripping individuals involved in the cases make the narratives equally shocking and compelling, some of which are based on true events. Whether you prefer real cases or fictional ones, Lifetime offers ample samples for both.

12. Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story (2011)

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Terry O’Quinn, and Sean Baek, ‘Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story’ is a gripping drama that tells the true story of a mother’s (Henson) search and rescue of her little son who is kidnapped by his biological father from their home in Queens, New York, and taken to North Korea.

In August 2007, Jeffrey Salko took his 6-year-old son Kobe and left for Seoul. This is when he was facing a prison term for failed child-support payments. Kobe’s mother, Tiffany Rubin, scared of losing her son forever, reached out to American Association For Lost Children (AAFLC) founder Mark Miller, who helped her get her son back. If you are interested in finding out what efforts were undertaken to bring Kobe home, you can watch ‘Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story’ here.

11. Girl in the Box (2016)

Directed by Stephen Kemp, ‘Girl in the Box’ follows a young woman who was kidnapped by a young married couple and held as a sex slave for seven years. Starring Zane Holtz, Addison Timlin, and Zelda Williams, the film is based on a true story that is described as unparalleled in FBI history.

On May 19, 1977, 20-year-old Colleen Stan was kidnapped while on her way to her friend’s house by Cameron and Janice Hooker. They subsequently imprisoned her within their home, keeping her locked inside a coffin-sized box for up to 23 hours every day. When she was out of the box, she was helping the couple do chores as well as performing as a sex slave. This went on till 1984. The question is: how did Stan escape? To find out, you can watch ‘Girl in the Box’ here.

10. Caught (2015)

In Maggie Kiley’s thriller ‘Caught,’ the narrative revolves around centers on Allie (Stefanie Scott), a young woman who gets into an affair with the much older Justin (Samuel Page). Unfortunately, Justin’s wife, Sabrina (Anna Camp), finds out about the affair and, using the assistance of her sister, Paige (Amelia Rose Blaire), kidnaps Allie. What begins as a fun game of torture soon takes a dark turn as Allie finds herself struggling to escape. It is a question of who breaks first: Allie or Sabrina? As the tension escalates, secrets are revealed along with vulnerabilities. You can watch the film here.

9. A Date With Danger (2021)

‘A Date with Danger’ is directed by Cat Hostick and revolves around Nikki, a new-in-town single mom, who befriends Liz, also a single mom. The two get along pretty well, with Nikki even getting a job at Liz’s boutique. However, Liz warns Nikki about the latter’s new date, Gavin, a local guy. Considering Gavin’s odd traits, Nikki decides to bring her relationship to a pause. However, Liz soon goes missing, and what’s strange is that Gavin has started behaving weirdly, thereby fueling doubts in Nikki’s mind about whether he is the one responsible for her new bosom friend’s disappearance. Lara Jean Chorostecki and Jamie Spilchuk deliver strong performances as Nikki and Gavin, respectively, capturing the story’s tension and urgency. You can watch ‘A Date With Danger’ here.

8. Secrets of an Escort (2021)

In ‘Secrets of an Escort,’ the film follows Connie, a single mom whose double life, as a hotel worker by day and high-end escort by night, takes a dark turn when her daughter goes missing. Maybe it is her double life and her mistakes that led to this tragedy. Now, she has to right her wrongs to get her daughter back. ‘Secrets of an Escort’ is directed by Nanea Miyata and stars Sheena Peña as Connie. You can watch the film here.

7. You Belong to Me (2008)

Directed by Richard Roy, ‘You Belong to Me’ follows Alex Wilson (Shannon Elizabeth), who has just come out of a messy divorce. Her ex-husband has been in prison for quite some time now and isn’t in the scene (yet). However, who’s in the scene is Alex’s colleague, Michael (Christian Campbell), whose continuous advances are paid no heed by her, who is currently with Chris (Andrew Kenneth Martin), her fiance. Shockingly, Michael ends up dead, and Alex finds herself protecting her son from an unknown killer. To find out who that killer is, you can watch ‘You Belong to Me’ here.

6. Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey (2018)

‘Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey’ is based on a harrowing true event that occurred in November 1984 in Tampa, Florida. The film follows Lisa McVey (Katie Douglas), a 17-year-old woman who is abducted and held captive for 26 hours and raped by Bobby Joe Long (Rossif Sutherland), a serial killer/rapist. Throughout the horrifying ordeal, Lisa uses her wits to befriend Long, strategically placing evidence and memorizing stuff around the house before securing her freedom. She then leads the police back to the house by remembering little details. You can watch the the film here.

5. Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard (2023)

‘Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard,’ directed by Michelle Ouellet, tells the true story of the murder of Heidi Broussard, whose body was discovered in the trunk of a car in Houston in 2019. The film shows Magen Fieramusca (Emily Osment) arriving at the side of her best friend, Heidi Broussard (Anna Hopkins), the latter being pregnant. Magen states that she, too, is pregnant. In a shocking twist, a few days after Heidi’s daughter is born, both the mother and the daughter go missing, and the suspicion of the authorities falls on Magen. You can watch the film here to find out the truth about who the killer is.

4. Girl in the Bunker (2018)

In the TV film ‘Girl in the Bunker,’ directed by Stephen Kemp, the chilling true story unfolds of Elizabeth Shoaf’s abduction by Vinson Filyaw. 14-year-old Shoaf was abducted on September 6, 2006, by Filyaw, who took her to an underground bunker, put her naked self in chains, and raped her for ten days. It was then that Shoaf managed to escape. Julia Lalonde plays the role of Elizabeth Shoaf while Henry Thomas plays Vinson Filyaw, both actors offering brilliant performances. You can watch the film here to find out what happened and how Shoaf managed to escape.

3. Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story (2008)

‘Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story’ is directed by Paul A. Kaufman. It tells the story of the disappearance of 10-day-old girl Delimar Vera Cuevas, who was considered dead after a fire engulfed her north Philadelphia home on December 15, 1997. Delimar’s mother, Luz Cuevas, refused her daughter’s death and believed that she had been kidnapped and the fire was planned. Soon, she found the truth that her daughter was kidnapped after spotting a little girl who resembled her and Delimar at an event six years later. Luz’s relentless pursuit of the truth eventually brought her daughter back to her. Judy Reyes plays the role of Luz Cuevas convincingly, while Ana Ortiz plays Valerie Valleja, the woman/abductor. The real name of the abductor is Carolyn Correa. You can watch the film here to learn more about how the event unfolded.

2. I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)

‘I Am Elizabeth Smart’ is directed by Sarah Walker and tells the true story of the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Ann Smart on June 5, 2002, in Federal Heights, Salt Lake City, Utah. She was taken by Mitchell (Skeet Ulrich) and Wanda (Deirdre Lovejoy), a married couple, and held captive at a camp in the woods on the Salt Lake City outskirts and then in San Diego County, California. Smart was found nine months later in Sandy, Utah. Alana Boden plays the role of Elizabeth Smart. Narrated by Smart herself, ‘I Am Elizabeth Smart’ offers an intimate and authentic perspective on Smart’s resilience and survival. You can watch it here.

1. Flowers in the Attic (2014)

‘Flowers in the Attic‘ is directed by Deborah Chow and based on V.C. Andrews’ 1979 novel of the same name. The plot is set in 1957 and centers on the Dollanganger children- four kids, all below 15- who, after their father Christopher’s (Chad Willett) death, are brought to their grandmother Olivia’s (Ellen Burstyn) place by their mother Corrine (Heather Graham). The kids are then locked in an attic by Olivia and manipulated by Corrine. The trauma the kids endure and whether they are able to escape from the attic is what we find out in this unforgettable story. The kids are played by Kiernan Shipka, Ava Telek, Maxwell Kovach, and Mason Dye. You can watch ‘Flowers in the Attic’ here.