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In 1977, a girl is kidnapped and kept in a coffin-sized box. When her captors let her out, it’s only to abuse her horribly. Will she ever escape?
“Girl in the Box” is in many ways a difficult movie to watch. If it were not based on an actual kidnapping and subsequent events, one might argue that the story is neither believable nor plausible. And yet since the story became public, the scenario of long-term confinement, contract of indenture, sadomasochism, and psychological conditioning has inspired plotlines for television in series titles that include “Criminal Minds,” “Law and Order,” and “Ghost Whisperer.”
In 1977, Colleen Stan, 20 years old, was hitchhiking from Oregon to California when she was kidnapped by Cameron and Janice Hooker. For seven years, she was held hostage by the couple. The film follows Stan’s bizarre life for her seven years of captivity, as well as the creepy machinations of the Hooker’s highly dysfunctional relationship and marriage.
With Patty Hearst as perhaps the most famous example – in which victims bond with their captors – clearly Stockholm syndrome is at work in “Girl in the Box.” As such, despite many opportunities to escape, Stan opts not to do so.
Part of the conditioning that Stan received was Cameron Hooker’s warning about his membership in a presumably-fictitious entity called “The Company” that was allegedly watching her at all times. “The Company,” Stan was told, was prepared to harm or kill both her and her family if she tried to escape. As a result, and rather bizarrely, Stan is allowed to visit her family at their home while she is still a hostage. During that visit, despite vague suspicions, her father, mother and older sister were afraid to pry because they feared Colleen had joined a cult and might leave them forever if pressured to answer too many questions.
As with many mental deviants such as the Hookers, perversion of religious beliefs is wrapped up part and parcel with their heinous deeds. Perhaps even more ironically, in the end, it is Janice Hooker’s jealousy of Stan that brings the issue to a conclusion at least as much as any sense of right and wrong.
“Girl in the Box” is not for everyone. Torture, confinement and psychological aberration are all prominently featured in this both realistic and well-acted Lifetime movie.
Available on DVD Tuesday, September 26th
