PopHorror Let's Get Scared
There are a lot of movies out there about abductions. Most of them focus on the person almost completely while they are kidnapped and their eventual escape/rescue. Fathers sets itself apart by spending a good deal of it’s runtime on after they’ve been found.
Read on to find out how this film sets itself apart.
Synopsis
Abducted as a child, Natalie spent years in isolation with the man she believed was her father. When she finally escapes, she must confront the truth about her past and decide who she can truly trust, including the father she never knew.
Fathers was written and directed by Harley Wallen. The film stars Kaiti Wallen, Harley Wallen, Jerry Hayes, Emilia Wallen, Leslie Mechigian, Deon Hunt, Yancey Fuqua, Grover McCants, Kayden Bryce, and Giovanni Arion Brown.
Fathers is centered on Natalie, a young woman who has escaped from her abductor after 15 years. She spent 15 years only interacting with one man, who claimed to be her real father. Now she is struggling to adjust to normal life, connect with the father she has no memory of, and trying to piece back together her memories of the last 15 years.
Natalie is played as an adult by Kaiti Wallen. She does a great job of making you really feel the pain and frustration that Natalie is going through and the PTSD she deals with on a daily basis. She’s been through a lot and so much has changed since she disappeared, not the least of which is her mother’s death. Harley Wallen plays Bobby, Natalie’s abductor and the man who claims to be her real father.
Bobby, despite being an abductor, seems like a normal well adjusted guy (at least at first) who just wants to connect and protect the daughter that was taken from him, but there is so much more beneath the surface. Harley Wallen does well at playing both sides of the characters, the loving father and the paranoid psychopath.
Jerry Hayes plays Calvin, Natalie’s “real” father. She has no memories of him and he seems like he’s hiding something and he keeps his guard up. Jerry Hayes does a good job of making you question everything Calvin says and whether Natalie should trust him or not.
Deon Hunt and Yancey Fuqua play Detective Parker and Detective Booker, the detectives investigating the case. They really seem like good cops who really just want to find answers and help Natalie discover what happened to her. The film does a great job of balancing Natalie’s childhood, the time leading up to her escape, and her life after. The ending shows that just because you find the answers you seek, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to fix everything.
Final Thoughts
Fathers is a mystery thriller that is anchored by a wonderful performance by Kaiti Wallen. The film does a good job of making you really feel what she’s going through and keeps you guessing to the very end. Recommended.
