Talks With Ti

The film then goes back in time to show us what seems like a normal suburban family on the outside. But it doesn't take long to see that the father Don has some deep rooted issues of rage. While his wife and older daughter think better of standing up to him, his younger daughter Sara refuses to back down.One day when he has had enough of her so-called disrespect, Don calls Sara to the basement under the guise of needing help.

He then traps her in a converted bomb shelter in the basement which only remains ventilated if he chooses it to be. Don then tells Sara's mother and sister that she has run away with her boyfriend, while he lies to her boyfriend saying she has run off with another man. It seems a little implausible that everyone believes Don's take on Sara's disappearance especially considering his violent tendencies. Stefanie Scott is extremely impressive as Sara, as her character graph not only has to encompass her as a vibrant young teenager but also as a battered mother of two teenagers.

While Don is cruel to his first two children with Sara, he treats Thomas like the son he's never had. It is only in his interactions with Thomas that we see some glimpses of humanity. In fact it is only by taking Thomas' name and Sara asking if Don will let Thomas' sister die, that Don agrees to take Sara and her daughter to the hospital.

This is where we see them at the start of 'Girl in the Basement'. At the hospital Sara then manages to escape from Don and get the help she needs. Don is then sent away to prison and Sara, her mother and sister are reunited.

The coercion, imprisonment, and incestuous rape endured by Elisabeth, the years of captivity she endured with her children.On Aug. 28, 1984, Elisabeth, then an 18-year-old waitress, was living with her mother, Rosemarie, and father, Josef, when he lured her to the basement of their home to help him place a door for an ongoing home project. Josef Fritzl, then a 49-year-old engineer and property developer, had spent years on a basement conversion project; placing that door, however, was the final step in building the prison where the young woman would be tortured for decades. As was outlined in Allan Hall’s book, “Monster,” while his daughter was holding the door in place, Josef Fritzl held an ether-soaked rag on Elisabeth's face until she passed out, handcuffed her, then locked her in the dark subterranean prison. Josef Fritzl decided that Lisa, Monika, and Alexander would be removed from the cellar and brought upstairs to be raised by him and his wife, creating what became known as the "upstairs family." Rosemarie believed her husband when he said each infant had appeared outside the home with a note from Elisabeth, asking for them to be taken in.

Josef Fritzl said after his arrest that he had abused Elisabeth since the age of 12, and decided to imprison her because she "did not adhere to any rules anymore," as was outlined in interview extracts sent to the Australian weekly, News. This logic of a deranged, controlling father is mirrored in “Girl in the Basement.” Fritzl also blamed his behavior on a disciplined upbringing in the Nazi era until the age of 10, as well as his treatment by his mother. Court reports later revealed that before her death in 1980, Fritzl locked his mother in the attic of her own home and bricked up the window.