Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing
Netflix viewers have been left feeling sick and heartbroken after watching a drama film based on a horrifying true story.
The film is based on the case of Austrian girl Natascha Kampusch, who was kidnapped when she was just 10-years-old.
Natascha was kept in a dungeon for eight years, where she was abused by kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil.
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The film on Netflix, named 3096 Days, is named after the 3,096 days she spent in Přiklopil's captivity.
Natascha was walking to school on 2 March, 1998, when she was snatched off the street and thrown into a white van, before being taken away to a dungeon.
It wasn't until eight years later - or 3,096 days, to be precise, when Natascha was able to escape as an 18-year-old.
Her 44-year-old captor took his own life on the day she escaped by throwing himself in front of a train - ultimately evading justice.
3096 Days, which was released in 2013, is a shockingly realistic look at the abuse Natascha suffered, in which she was starved and physically abused in her time in captivity.
In preparation for her role and to get into the mindset of the poor young girl, actor Antonia Campbell-Hughes starved herself for the role, losing 29 kg.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, she said she did this by following the same diet Natascha would have been subjected to.
"It happened very easily," she said. "I am working 24/7, and I sort of replicated the way [Natascha] ate — not very much, not very often."
The realism of the film went to the extent of the filmmakers recreating the exact dimensions of the dungeon where she was kept, a five-metre square.
Campbell-Hughes said that as a result of these working conditions, she suffered cuts, bruises, a torn Achilles tendon, a broken toe, a fractured rib.
In LADbible's Facebook group Netflix Bangers, one viewer posted about the film saying: “Just finished this. True story and heart-breaking to watch. But I couldn't stop watching till the end”.
The film is a shocking watch, detailing not just the abuse of the Austrian victim – but the Stockholm Syndrome which led to a twisted relationship with her kidnapper.
The film also includes a horrifying scene where the two have sex, a true element of the story rarely spoken about by the kidnapping victim.
Over the years, Přiklopil would force Kampusch to clean the house and beat her when she did something that upset him - something that is portrayed in the film.
One commenter on Netflix Bangers added: “I felt sick watching it but was hooked."
Years on, Natascha - who is an author - now owns the house in which she was held captive, which she bought herself years later.
She said in an interview at the site of the house where she was kept that she bought it to ‘avoid it being turned into a theme park’.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Topics: Netflix, Film, Crime, True Crime, World News
Michael Slavin