Naman Shrestha
With Simone Stock occupying the director’s chair, Lifetime’s ‘The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story’ is a crime drama movie about brainwashing and keeping a vulnerable teenager hostage for several years. Inspired by a horrible true story, the narrative focuses on a 14-year-old student named Tanya Kach, who recently begins to go to Mulberry Middle School. Not only are things not particularly happy and positive at her home, but she also becomes the subject of constant bullying from her peers at her new school. As the feeling of loneliness takes over, the school’s security guard, Tom Hose, befriends her and provides the comfort she very much needs.
However, Tom has ulterior motives when it comes to Tanya. As the two get closer to each other, he lures her to his house and gives her a room. Taking advantage and control of the vulnerable girl, he brainwashes her and sexually abuses her for more than a decade or so. When Tom believes that she is completely brainwashed and dependent on him, he allows her to step out of the house and get employed. Now that Tanya is away from her captor’s control, she decides to talk about her situation and work towards her freedom. As the story moves from Mulberry Middle School to Tom’s house, the circumstances for Tanya only change for the worse.
Where Was The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story Filmed?
‘The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story’ was shot entirely in British Columbia, primarily in Vancouver. One of the pivotal cast members, Jordyn Ashley Olson, took to social media and expressed her experience. She stated, “This was one of the best filming experiences of my life, I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone involved. You guys worked so hard on this, and that was clear everyday since day one.”
Vancouver, British Columbia
Although the real-life case of Tanya Kach took place in Pennsylvania, the production team of ‘The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story’ set up camp in the city of Vancouver, which is situated in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. In order to shoot the scenes set in Mulberry Middle School, it is likely that they utilized the campus of an actual institutional facility in the area. As for the portions involving Tom’s residence, where he holds Tanya hostage for a decade or so, they were supposedly recorded in and around a real-life property.
The filming unit of ‘The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story’ also captured the modern and captivating skyline of Vancouver for establishing shots of the movie. Thus, you might be able to spot several prominent buildings and landmarks in the backdrop, such as Canada Place, Harbour Centre, the Lions Gate Bridge, Living Shangri-La, the Vancouver Convention Centre, and the Dominion Building. Many filmmakers have made the most of the city’s vastness for shooting purposes over the years. It has hosted the production of ‘Bad Times at the El Royale,’ ‘The Crush,’ ‘Double Jeopardy,’ ‘One Of Us Is Lying,’ ‘Death and Other Details,’ and ‘Prison Break.’
The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story Cast
Jordyn Ashley Olson dons the garb of the titular character, Tanya Kach, in ‘The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story.’ Breaking through the industry in the early 2010s, Jordyn has had a successful acting career as she has been featured in numerous shorts, movies, and TV shows. You might recognize her from her pivotal roles in ‘The Dating Journal,’ ‘Consensus,’ ‘The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story,’ ‘Season’s Greetings,’ ‘Cop and a Half: New Recruit,’ ‘Karen Kingsbury’s Maggie’s Christmas Miracle,’ ‘Darrow & Darrow,’ ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,’ and ‘The InBetween.’
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Robert Baker portrays Tom Hose in the Lifetime movie. Throughout the course of his career, he has given many memorable performances in projects like ‘Save Me,’ ‘Virtually Heroes,’ ‘July and Half of August,’ ‘Drawn Into the Night,’ ‘Valentine,’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Moreover, Jordana Summer features in the role of Stephanie Darlet in the crime movie as well.
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