53 Days: The Abduction of Mary Stauffer

Since this movie is based on a true story, it is difficult to be hyper critical. I will say Alyson Hannigan's portrayal of Mary Stauffer was layered and well acted. Nice to see her step out of her comfort zone!

Lifetime took a terrifying, real story and turned it into a boring, glaringly fake movie.

The acting is absolutely attrocious. The little girl lacks any acting skills, I wonder who cast her in this movie, and why. As for the professional actors, especially the only name recognizable, Alyson Hannigan, they all should be ashamed of portraying of real life persons with such incompetence.

The soundtrack is cloying. The dialogue is inane. Eg., Question: "How long have you been watching me?". Answer: "Nobody will find you".

The scenario is illogical: the only time the abducted mother screams for help is several weeks after being locked in a closet when the kidnapper plays LOUD music!

Everything in this movie makes you aware how FAKE and idiotic it is.

Everyone involved in making this movie did an abysmal job.

Abducted: The Mary Stauffer Story is a heart-wrenching film based on a real-life ordeal that unfolded in the quiet suburb of Roseville, Minnesota. The film delves into the terrifying experience of Mary Stauffer, who was abducted from her own home, leaving her family and community in shock and despair.

While the film effectively captures the tension and fear surrounding the abduction, it also shines a light on the unwavering hope and resilience of the victim and her loved ones. The performances are commendable, particularly those of the actors portraying Mary and her family. Their raw emotions and genuine portrayals draw the audience into the harrowing narrative.

However, the film's pacing occasionally falters, and some scenes may feel drawn out. Additionally, the abrupt transitions between timelines can be confusing at times. Despite these minor shortcomings, Abducted: The Mary Stauffer Story is a poignant reminder of the importance of community support and the enduring power of human spirit in the face of adversity.

In 1980, school teacher Mary Stauffer (Alyson Hannigan) and her eight-year old daughter Beth are kidnapped by her former student Ming Sen Shiue. They are held captive for 53 days. It's a straight forward Lifetime woman-in-trouble movie. Alyson is good. Most of the actors are fine. Everything is fine and nothing's great.

Meh. True stories that have an underlying criminal element to them such as this abduction of a mother and daughter can appear to be suspenseful merely based on the action(s) of the perpetrator(s). This is a TV Lifetime film that stars Alyson Hannigan (TV star of How I Met Your Mother) in the role of the real life abducted mother and school teacher Mary Stauffer. Personally, I don't know how a teacher/mother is supposed to act over her 53 day period of abduction with her young daughter held hostage with her so I can only provide my opinion on whether this film was believable or not.

Unfortunately even with the factual evidence of the sequence of true events well documented Alyson Hannigan's performance would have you believe that her abduction and continued rape, night after night was a ho hum event. Maybe because Lifetime is a cookie cutter process, with limited costs and time to write a script, select the actors, tape the film and bring it to the small screen, they deliberately have a formula that does not provide sufficient time, costs and cast to warrant any consideration for an Emmy (or two) performance(s).

I am glad I watched the film before reading the historical events just so that I kept an open mind. Now that I have seen this Lifetime TV film, and read the background info on the criminal, 29-year-old Ming Sen Shiue (played drably by Howie Lai) I can close the book for good. It's a drab time waster that I cannot recommend anyone watching.

I give it a so-so 5 out of 10 IMDB rating