Stefanie l
This movie was incredibly hard to watch. It is permanently burned into my brain so it's only fair to warn everyone that this movie was intense. The concept is great, bringing attention to things that unfortunately do happen but it's also a message about strength and determination. I'm not sure what else I can say other then it was hard to watch but I would recommend it to others just to bring awareness to the topic.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
07/05/24
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Carie B
This movie is absolutely disturbing as all hell. Without giving the whole thing away, it follows 10 yo Layla as she is kidnapped and forced into prostitution in a sex-trafficking ring. It's not graphic but you definitely understand what is going on. I have an 8yo myself and older girls and I just cannot even freaking IMAGINE. And to the men/people who are into children like this, it is NOT OKAY. Probably the most mind-fucked movie I've seen since KIDS but completely relevant in today's disgusting society, esp. with everything that has come into light about Hollywood itself. While it's hard to "recommend" this movie, it is 10/10 for what is is about.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
06/13/23
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Audience Member
I get that sex trafficking is a problem, but so was this movie. Too much time spent on the creepiness of the one guy and less on the impact this had on the families. Where were the mothers of these missing kids? Where was the effort to find them? Why did these creeps have these very young children in their "stable" and not replace them with young girls once they were older? It didn't make a lot of sense - too many holes left open in the story for me.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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Audience Member
It's such a heartbreaking movie. It tells you what really goes on in this world.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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Audience Member
As a survivor and researcher of sex trafficking, I deeply appreciate and respect this film and the clear efforts that have been made to bring more attention to the the largely ignored issue domestic minor sex trafficking. Several aspects of this film truly reflect the nature of this growing problem. Still, I especially appreciate that rape was in no small way sexualized throughout this movie, as sexual assault is often made sexy on the big screen and in turn, arouses viewers rather than calling attention to the true nature and impacts of sexual violence. If this were an issue that affected males at the same rate that it does women and girls, I suspect both this film and the issue of sex trafficking (along with sexual violence in general) would receive the recognition (and support) they deserve.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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Audience Member
This film is a very earnest, sincere and sober attempt to tackle one of the most sensitive issues in society today, child sex trafficking. There are many positive points about this film which, on balance, make it well worth watching. The story is told honestly enough that it gets across the ugliness and the brutal reality that sex-enslaved minors live through, yet tactfully enough that it is not distasteful or exploitative of the minors that are the subject of the film. However, in the hands of a first time director/writer, working with a cast of mostly young, inexperienced actors, some scenes fall short of the impact the script clearly intended.
The story centers around a young prostitute, Layla (Ciara Jiana) who wakes up in a hospital after being beaten and left for dead by her pimp. In flashbacks, she recounts her history to a detective, (Erika Ringor) where as a 10 year old girl, she (played by Aliyah Conley) is abducted from her suburban neighborhood in Anytown, USA. She spends the next seven years of her life being moved around the country, along with a handful of other young victims who are introduced to her as her new "sisters". They are systematically drugged, psychologically manipulated, tortured, exploited and sold by a brutal and cunning, yet charismatic pimp. (Johnny Rey Diaz)
The story is a distillation of true events taken from interviews of sex trafficking survivors conducted by the films writer/director, Mischa Marcus. It is a raw subject that will likely not appeal to a wide audience, but being the important issue that it is, this is a movie that needed to be made.
The standout performance in this film is given by Johnny Rey Diaz as the sociopathic, manipulative pimp who, through a combination of drugging, coercion, physical violence, intimidation and psychological manipulation, keeps his brothel of young slaves imprisoned and even cooperative, seeing him as a father figure and protector. Diaz's convincingly chilling performance makes it easy to imagine how such monsters can exist and his visceral portrayal is the glue that holds the whole film together. Also very impressive as the young Layla, is Aliyah Conley in an extraordinarily challenging role for such a young actress. There are some other fine performances in supporting roles by Erika Ringor as a compassionate detective investigating Layla's case and an unsettlingly sympathetic john played by Jeff Hatch that reminds the audience that the sickness of pedophilia is often easily disguised behind a likable, even seemingly noble exterior.
At times, however, some performances, dialogue and directing choices veer into melodramatic embellishment which gives this film a made-for-tv movie-of-the-week cheesiness in certain places that just doesn't work with the delicate subject matter. These schmaltzy moments are sometimes the unavoidable byproduct of an eager and sincere rookie director making a low budget passion project where there isn't the experience, time or money to correct the bits that get a little over cooked. Being familiar with the world of micro-budget filmmaking, I am very forgiving of such flaws in an otherwise good movie, but more demanding audience members might feel a bit let down when such a serious story falls short of a Hollywood caliber delivery.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
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