Where can I watch Girl in the Basement UK 2022?

The film was made as part of Lifetime's Ripped From the Headlines collection and was directed by Elisabeth Röhm, who is best known for her roles as an actress in Angel as Kate Lockley and in Law & Order as Serena Southerlyn.

The film is a difficult watch and features distressing subject matter, with Röhm telling The Wrap: "Lifetime has broken boundaries with this movie by telling a story that’s a call to action about abuse on a very significant level."

But how can viewers in the UK watch the film? Read on for everything you need to know about how to watch Girl in the Basement in the UK.

Girl in the Basement originally aired on the Lifetime Network in the US in 2021, and is currently available to rent and purchase stateside through Amazon Prime Video.

However, here in the UK the film is not currently available to stream, rent or purchase anywhere. If it does become available anywhere, we will keep this page updated.

What is Girl in the Basement about?

The film's official synopsis reads: "Inspired by actual events, Girl in the Basement is the horrific story of Sara (Stefanie Scott), a vibrant teen girl who was looking forward to her 18th birthday so she could move away from her controlling father, Don (Judd Nelson)."

Is Girl in the Basement based on a true story?

While the film changes names, locations and doesn't strictly follow the exact events that occurred in real life, it is tragically based on a true story.

In the film, Sara is a stand-in for Elisabeth Fritzl, an Austrian girl who was imprisoned by her father Josef in the basement of her family home. She was kept there for 24 years, during which time she was repeatedly raped and abused and gave birth to seven children.

She was discovered and freed in 2008. In 2009, Josef Fritzl pleaded guilty on all accounts to the charge of manslaughter by negligence of his grandchild, and charges of false imprisonment, incest and rape of Elisabeth. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and remains in prison.

By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Who stars in Girl in the Basement?

The film stars Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) as Don, while Stefanie Scott (Insidious: Chapter 3) plays Sara.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by Joely Fisher, Emma Myers, Braxton Bjerken, Jake Nuttall and Emily Topper amongst others.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can find help, support and more information at Rape Crisis and Victim Support.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is out now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.

"Some Spoilers Will Follow*

The real story, upon which the movie is based, is actually so much worse. I'm deducting one star just because I really wish they hadn't left out important details of the real story. For example, "Sarah", played expertly by Stefanie Scott, actually had even more children with her father (SEVEN in total), and more than one died. And Sarah wasn't rescued by telling a nurse in the hospital "I need help". The Austrian girl, Elisabeth, on whom "Sarah" is based, actually was forced BACK to the basement dungeon after this first appearance in the hospital. It was a much more drawn-out rescue, with, thankfully, quite a few hospital workers becoming suspicious and acting on it.

Psychological torture was well illustrated in Girl in the Basement. For some reason, many abusive males like to say to their victims, "Do you UNDERSTAND?", as Sarah's rapist father does here repeatedly. They want to confuse their victims into thinking this is NOT coercive abuse but somehow a deficit in the victim's cognitive abilities.

And, in reality, Elisabeth's mother was much more passive than is portrayed here, and it is an important digression. (Also, the entire incident actually happened in Austria, so we don't know what kind of country-specific gender roles may be playing out there). The movie makes it seem like her mother was much more of an advocate for her than she actually was. Typically, passivity in mothers IS what is seen in these situations, because that passivity ENABLES the preliminary abuse. Elisabeth was actually sexually assaulted by her father when she was just 11 years old, not 18 as is in this movie. And there would have been signs of that there were also ignored by her mother.

I WISH that this were a world where uttering "I Need Help" to a professional would suddenly activate a domino effect of clear-cut assistance. But, in today's world, rampant with corruption and incompetence, that is sadly not the case.

Where can I watch Girl in the Basement 2022?

Where can I watch Girl in the Basement Film UK?

Is Girl in the Basement on Netflix UK?

Where is Girl in the Basement available?