New Horror Film Based On Infamous Josef Fritzl Has Been Released

Girl in the Basement is all about the Josef Fritzl case which made headlines all around the world back in 2008 when it was revealed that the Austrian man has a makeshift dungeon which he used to keep his daughter captive.

The 2021 film, directed by Elisabeth Röhm, tells the story of Sara (played by Stefanie Scott) who is held captive by her father, Don (Judd Nelson) in the wake of her 18th birthday.

Although Girl in the Basement comes from the notorious case it's worth pointing out that the names and details have been changed to protect real life victims and people involved.

The film originally premiered on Lifetime on Saturday, 27 February 2021 and is now available to buy on Amazon Prime Video. It costs just $3.99 in standard definition and $4.99 in HD.

Going back to what we know about the actual case, Fritzl kept his daughter Elisabeth captive in a tiny, sound-proofed room for 24 years where he raped her thousands of times and fathered seven children with her, one of whom died.

This began shortly after Elisabeth's 18th birthday - just like in the film. Three of the children remained in the basement with Fritzl's daughter while the other three were brought up in the family house.

Fritzl was described as someone who 'blended in well' and 'kept to himself' which is why things only came to light when one of Elisabeth's children fell into a coma and was taken to hospital for treatment. When doctors struggled to work out what was wrong with the child, they put out a public appeal for Elisabeth to come forward.

Up until then, Fritzl's wife Rosemarie was told that Elisabeth had left home years before and had joined a cult, only to dump three of her kids of their doorstep. Little did she know that those three children were fathered by her husband and daughter.

Perry spoke to Fritzl's lawyer Walter Anzböck and Fritzl reportedly said: "It's normal to have a family in the cellar." No, no it isn't.

The journalist added: "He doesn't believe he's done anything wrong at all. He thinks it's a failure of justice and that he's been wrongly locked up."