Taken in Plain Sight (2024 Lifetime)
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Cast: Tennille Read, Sameer Jafar
Director: Cat Hostick
Writer(s): Ken Miyamoto
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Lifetime)
After months of tireless investigation, Abby becomes convinced that she’s found her daughter’s abductor. With authorities dismissing her as a grief-stricken mother consumed by obsession, she takes matters into her own hands, setting in motion a chain of events that will reveal the shocking truth about her daughter’s fate. Stars Tennille Read, and Sameer Jafar (2024).
Recap/Wine Thoughts
Abby and her daughter Zooey embark on a seemingly ordinary road trip. They pause at picturesque spots for photos and an eerie abandoned rest stop. After a momentary lapse, Abby leaves her purse in the bathroom and allows Zooey to choose a snack from the vending machine. A decision that would change everything. Was Zooey taken in plain sight or did she vanish?
The Michigan police arrive on the scene, and the press quickly jumps on the story. Abby and her husband, Mitch, plea for their daughter’s safe return on the evening news. The outlook is grim as seasons pass and missing person fliers fade. (Nice direction here, showing the passing of time. Don’t worry; we still get the “three months later, Kyron.’ a common narrative device to indicate a significant time jump.
Since the police have yet to make any strides in the case, Abby goes to stops and writes down the license plates of creepy-looking dudes. (She has nice handwriting!) She takes pictures of other men who she sees talking to unsupervised children. (Yikes!) When another young girl goes missing, Mitch and Abby decide to go to a support group to help them through their trauma.
Following an emotionally charged group session for families with missing children, a compassionate woman named Dolores offers her support. She hands the couple her card, urging them to reach out if they need help navigating their grief. This small act of kindness brings a glimmer of hope in their dark journey.
Despite the challenges, Abby’s determination remains unshaken. Even when a road rage incident nearly causes a collision, she continues her quest to find Zooey. Her resilience in adversity is truly inspiring, even if she blatantly lies to her husband.
Since numerous suspicious men are at rest stops, AKA truckers, Abby takes photos of many men. Then she remembers the pictures she took of Zooey, searches the background for a car, and identifies one she recognizes. It is a tan four-door sedan.
Abby creates a serial killer wall in her motel and pastes the pictures on a map. Deciding she needs help gathering evidence, Abby reaches out to Dolores. Dolores cautions Abby that it could be dangerous since the person who took Zooey knows what Abby looks like. The advice causes Abby to wear a baseball cap and use a rented car while on her rest stop stakeouts. (Which she should have been doing from the start!)
The man with the tan car returns to the rest stop, and Abby follows him this time. She goes on back roads to a remote home in the woods. Abby takes pictures with her telephoto lens and sees the creepy dude looking at her. When the man goes out, Abby sneaks into the home, unsure of what she will find.
Abby locates a room inside the home with a padlock on the door. She frantically searches for a key. Once inside, Abby sees a room full of dolls. (Probably not what she was expecting. The creepy man comes home and notices someone has been in his house. He looks around as Abby hides under the kitchen table.
Mitch is still in this movie; he sees one of Abby’s clients and asks how the wedding went. The woman is confused and laughs off Mitch’s inquiry. He realizes his wife is lying about what she does on the weekends. He confronts Abby, and she tries to lie. That is until Mitch accuses her of having an affair, and Abby realizes she has to come clean.
The creepy man talks with Abby at a gas station and explains that he is the maintenance man for the stops and visits so often to gather data. Abby doesn’t believe him, but he coolly tells Abby to leave him alone and stay off his property.
Mitch decides Abby can’t continue her search alone and takes all her evidence to the police. They get a warrant on the creepy guy and learn his name is Douglas. He was recently let go from the parks department. Douglas has no reason to visit the rest stops so often!
Abby feels like progress is finally being made in the case and is surprised to find Douglas in her house with a knife! He promises to tell Abby where Zooey is, but he asks her to follow his rules.
1) Abby has to follow a map he drew.
2) She must go alone.
3) She must leave her phone behind and go immediately.
WOAH! There is a really hot deputy that shows up out of nowhere. Hello, sir! The police search Douglas’ home and find the creepy doll room. They also notice two small graves on the premises. Douglas pops up and tells the detectives that it is just a pet cemetery. They arrest him anyway for being creepy AF.
Abby searches alone, but only after sending Mitch a photo of the map by holding it close to her doorbell camera. Abby holds the map while driving, and I’m having flashbacks to MapQuest road trips. Abby finds a house, and a little girl named Emma stands outside with an ankle monitor on. Zooey is there, too! They are being held captive by someone they call Auntie.
Auntie is, of course, Dolores. She chases after them with her shotgun and shoots out the tires of Abby’s car. The girls end up in a barn and hide while Abby confronts Dolores. Dolores explains she kidnapped the girls to replace the loss of her missing daughter. Dolores also kidnapped Douglas because he was neglected by his family, and she wants to give him a better life. The dolls were gifts from Dolores for each child Douglas kidnapped.
Abby wrestles the shotgun from Dolores and butts her in the face with the gun. The girls are saved! Mitch and the police rush to the scene, and everyone is saved.
Side Note/Stray Thoughts
I would hate to be cast as the creepy guy in movies. Props for Steven Yaffee, who I’m sure is a nice man.
Overall rating
Number of Kills: None (0 knives)
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 Glasses of Wine)
Should you watch it?
Pour it Up (Give it a shot!)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media @LifetimeUncorked & @patrickmiguel.
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*Photo Credit: © 2024 A&E Television Networks, LLC
Just another missing daughter movie. Nothing to set it above the rest. No twists or turns to make it stand out. Ending was exactly how I predicted it. I’d put a cork in it.
Super predictable
Brought to you by Ring doorbell system!
Brought to you by Ring doorbell system!
So many plot holes. The suspected man’s car has damage on the left side. The car that tried to run her off the road hit her car from the left, which would mean the suspect’s car would have damage on the RIGHT.
About the other woman from the support group: Presumably she lives in the same area. Why would she agree to meet in the area near the rest stop which wasn’t near the mother’s home. She offered to meet to give support but is very uncomfortable when they meet & says she can’t help & leaves the diner abruptly.
I could go on but I’ll stop here!
My apologies. I stupidly wrote this before seeing the end. Everything makes sense now!