The movie is based on real life events.
In the opening scene set in Cleveland, Ohio, we are shown a young mother named
Michelle Knight playing with her little son, Joey.
It’s evident that she loves him a lot.
However, Michelle has many challenges in her life; she is unemployed,
and barely has any money to make ends meet.
Today, she has been called up for a job interview, and she is optimistic about her chances.
Little Joey doesn’t want her to go, but she manages to convince him,
while Michelle’s seemingly irresponsible mother will take care of Joey in the meantime.
Later, she arrives at the said workplace, which turns out to be a Laundromat.
Unfortunately, when the owner learns that Michelle lacks the educational qualifications,
she rejects her.
The poor woman claims that she couldn’t finish high school because she had to look for her son,
but the owner has already made up her mind.
Devastated, Michelle returns home, only to find her son playing with a bottle of alcohol,
and she is shocked to see an intoxicated man lying on the couch.
The drunken man begins to harass her, and violently pushes the poor child aside,
resulting in his injury.
At the hospital, a doctor finds signs of abuse on Joey’s body, so Michelle is summoned
for an interrogation by social services.
She tries to lie that her son fell down the slide, and it led to his injuries.
However, the officer is having none of it, and her beloved son will be temporarily removed
from her custody, until she can improve her living conditions.
The scene then cuts to several days later, where Michelle meets with her school friend, Emily.
Michelle reveals that she has already left her mom’s dilapidated house,
and is currently living with her cousin.
Because of this, she is hopeful that she can take Joey soon.
Michelle also talks about her hearing date, and as the two friends converse,
Emily's father arrives to pick her up.
In the next scene, we see Michelle preparing herself for the court hearing,
right when she gets a call from her mother.
The irresponsible woman says that she won’t be able to drive her to court as she ‘lost track of time’.
Michelle doesn’t have the time to complain as the hearing is about to begin in 3 hours,
so she resorts to walking all the way to the court, without knowing the address.
After wandering around the streets for a few hours, Michelle is still unable to find the location,
so she heads inside a store to ask for directions.
She asks the cashier about the same, but he is unable to help her.
Just then, Michelle encounters Emily’s dad, Ariel, who claims that it will take around
45 minutes to reach the court by foot.
This makes Michelle panic as she only has 30 minutes left on the clock,
so Ariel offers to drive her there in his truck.
The woman is relieved to have finally found a ride, and Ariel leads her to his truck.
But before they can commence their journey, Ariel reveals that his dog recently gave birth to a litter,
so she can take one of the puppies and give it to her son.
Michelle is hesitant about the idea, as she’s getting really late, but Ariel keeps on insisting,
and so she agrees.
Upon their arrival, he shows her the mother dog, which has been chained in the backyard,
and he claims that the puppies have been kept upstairs.
Michelle is clearly uncomfortable to go inside, but she has no other choice.
She notices that his place is disorganized and dirty, so Ariel explains that he lives alone,
and he doesn’t get much time for decorations.
He then leads her to the second floor, assuring her that the puppies are kept there.
However, once inside a room…
Sensing the imminent danger, Michelle attempts to escape, but it’s too late.
Ariel gets hold of her and forcibly restrains her.
Michelle pleads with him to release her, saying she has to reach the court urgently.
Instead, the cold-hearted man slaps her across the face, and starts pleasuring himself.
He reveals that his wife left him years ago, and now he is looking for a companion.
Once he is done with his deed, he takes out her purse and gets to know that she is 21 years old.
He also finds her son’s picture, which he tears to pieces.
When Michelle begs to be released, Ariel places a sock in her mouth and secures it with tape.
At last, he suspends her from a wooden beam and departs, leaving her helpless and scared.
She tries to call for help from the neighbors, but no one hears.
Days pass in this harrowing state; Michelle is in that position without being able to eat or go to the bathroom.
She sometimes hears people through her window, but it's impossible to grab their attention.
Meanwhile, her mother and the cops assume that she has run away from the town,
overwhelmed by the situation.
Thus, they don’t put too much effort to look for her.
After 3 excruciating days of being suspended, Ariel finally comes to Michelle with some food.
He tries to feed her a burger, but she refuses.
This enrages the monster, so he drags her to the basement, and brutally forces himself onto her.
After satisfying his desire, he taunts her with a $10 bill, claiming that it's payment for her services.
He also ties her to a pole, and informs Michelle that no missing person report has been filed for her,
which is why he can keep her captive for as long as he wants.
Before departing, he forcefully gags her with some napkins and puts a helmet over her head.
Later that evening, Ariel's mother pays him a visit.
Upon hearing her voice, Michelle summons all her strength to scream for help,
but Ariel cunningly manages to send his mother away.
He then returns to the basement, and forcefully feeds her with a spoon of noodles.
We then see Ariel spending some time with his friends; he is actually in a rock band,
where he plays the bass guitar.
The next day, we see the woman already left bruised and battered.
Ariel suddenly breaks down in tears, and recollects his own experiences of being mishandled by his father.
Recognizing a potential vulnerability in him, Michelle tries to persuade him to release her,
and says that just because he was hurt by his father, doesn’t mean he should hurt others.
Ariel is affected by her words and it seems that he is convinced, so he brings her out of the basement.
Unfortunately, he once again shows his monstrous nature when he carries her upstairs instead,
and locks her in the bedroom.
He goes one step further by boarding all the windows, so that she can no longer see the outside world.
Days continue to pass and Michelle remains trapped in captivity,
while Ariel enters her room with a television set.
He says that she can now watch shows as long as they don’t belong to the black community.
Some more days later, Ariel overhears her singing, prompting him to approach her with his guitar.
They jam for a while, and he is impressed by the lyrics she has written.
He then asks her to compose a song specifically for him, but Michelle claims that she already has.
When Ariel reads it, he finds the lyrics depicting her miserable state.
Enraged, he shouts at her and gags her before storming out of the room.
At the same time, his daughter, Emily, arrives at the house with her friends.
Ariel doesn’t let her go upstairs, claiming he has already moved her belongings.
Meanwhile, Michelle senses the presence of people, and bangs the bed’s frame against the wall,
which makes a lot of noise.
The teenager downstairs notices it, but Ariel claims that it's just their dog,
and he turns on some loud music.
As the days pass, her health continues to worsen; the only thing keeping her hopeful
is the memories of her son.
She imagines him and talks to him alone.
On the following day, Ariel’s mood seems to be completely changed and he presents Michelle with a puppy.
This makes her very happy as she finally has someone to play with.
From that point onward, Michelle spends most of her time with the adorable companion.
One day, Ariel forgets to lock her up in chains after he says he has to go to work,
and Michelle sees this as the perfect opportunity to escape.
She grabs the puppy, and slowly descends the stairs.
Unfortunately, the situation turns out to be a test of loyalty, which she fails.
As a consequence, Ariel tragically kills the innocent puppy.
The sight devastates Michelle, and she breaks down in tears, holding the lifeless animal.
Several months later, Ariel brings another girl as his second victim.
We learn that her name is Amanda Berry.
Michelle then watches local news on the television, which is talking about Amanda’s disappearance,
and the police have already launched an investigation.
Later, Ariel brings Amanda to the adjacent room, and forces himself onto her.
Once he departs, Michelle attempts to initiate a conversation with the new girl,
but she is too scared to utter a single word.
Some more months pass by, and Michelle discovers that she is pregnant with Ariel's child.
Unfortunately, as Ariel enters the room to assault her, he notices her growing belly,
and realizes that she is pregnant.
Unwilling to have any offspring from Michelle, he grabs a dumbbell.
The poor woman tries to defend herself, but the monster lands a powerful blow to her stomach,
resulting in the loss of her unborn baby.
Cut to a few weeks later, he unexpectedly unlocks her chains, saying he needs her help in the backyard.
He instructs her to put on a wig and sunglasses before leading her there.
While they work, Michelle spots an elderly neighbor, and attempts to signal him for help.
Later in the evening, Michelle is relieved to hear a police siren approaching,
but it turns out that the cops are only there to stop the neighbors' fight, implying that the
previous elderly man failed to understand her signal.
Overwhelmed by despair, Michelle reaches a breaking point that night, and decides to end it all.
But just when she is about to do it, she remembers her son.
Several months later, Michelle pastes a cut out of the number ‘5’ on her wall,
as it is her son’s 5th birthday today.
It has been almost 2 years since her captivity, but she still misses Joey.
In the next scene, we learn that Ariel has abducted another girl,
bringing the total number of captive victims to three.
A neighbor hears her screams and informs the authorities, but the cop only asks her to
give him a call if she hears something again.
Inside the house, Ariel brings Michelle to a bruised Gina, announcing that they will
stay together from now on.
After he departs, Michelle asserts that since they are 3 now, they can outsmart Ariel and escape.
She later encourages Gina to be strong, and is certain that their time will come.
Meanwhile, within the town, the community has organized a gathering to mourn the absence
of the missing girls.
The victims' families and hundreds of people are devastated, including Ariel himself.
He even embraces Gina’s family members to comfort them, while they are completely unaware
that he is the monster behind all of this.
At home, he taunts the girls, while showing the news about how nobody around him knows
the girls are just nearby.
The psycho suddenly forces himself onto Gina while Michelle tries to stop him,
but he just laughs and does it anyway.
The movie then cuts to a few more years later, and we see that it’s Joey’s 7th birthday today.
Ariel has continued his relentless assault on the girls, but they have somehow managed to hang on.
Days pass, and they see the news of Amanda’s mother’s passing due to a heart attack.
This breaks her mentally, and she loses all hope of escape.
Many more months pass by, and Ariel finally decides to release the girls from their chains,
envisioning a twisted notion of living as a family.
During a meal together, he shocks everyone by revealing that Amanda is pregnant with his child,
and that he has chosen to keep it.
In the next scene, Amanda goes into sudden labor, catching everyone off guard.
Ariel instructs Michelle to carry out the delivery process, threatening to shoot her if anything goes wrong.
Amanda screams at the top of her lungs, and to mask it, Ariel blasts loud music on the radio.
After a lot of struggling, Michelle eventually delivers the baby, and this delights the monster Ariel.
Others may be happy, but it is unfortunate that the baby is being born in such a location and condition.
The movie fast forwards by several years, and we see a montage of the little girl growing up.
Everyone loves her a lot, and she is named Jocelyn.
She regards Michelle and Gina as her aunts, oblivious to her father's dark side.
All the girls are around to roam inside the house freely, but they are strictly prohibited
from venturing outside.
Meanwhile, Michelle still misses her son Joey, and she is still celebrating his birthdays.
She has put up the number 14 on the wall, indicating that her little son is already 14 years old.
As time passes, we learn that the psycho is having trouble getting a job,
which could lead to the loss of his home.
Here the little girl complains why her aunts can’t go outside to walk in the park with her;
she starts screaming and annoys the father.
He gets angry, puts his hand over her mouth, and orders the mother to shut the girl up.
One morning, Ariel tells his daughter that he is going to his mom's house as usual and
will bring them food.
But as he drives away, Jocelyn notices that he forgets to lock the main gate,
so she informs her mother about it.
Amanda then approaches the gate, and finally realizes the gravity of the situation.
She immediately screams for help.
Before long, neighbors rush to their aid; they forcefully break the premises,
rescuing the mother and child, while Michelle and Gina remain unknown of what’s happening outside.
Fortunately, the police soon arrive at the scene, break into the house, and enter their room.
Michelle is filled with fear, believing it to be yet another trap orchestrated by Ariel,
but the police assure her that they are in safe hands now.
Also, the police are shocked to see Gina there, because they have been looking for her for nine years.
Outside, Michelle's eyes are blinded by the bright light; she hasn't felt this way in
over a decade, and she is overjoyed to be returning to her beloved son soon.
Following their rescue, they are taken to the hospital to address the profound trauma they have endured.
They have become the talk of the nation at this point.
The next morning, as Michelle wakes up, she asks to be reunited with her son,
and the doctor assures her that they’ll look for him.
The news coverage mentions that the other two girls have already reunited with their
families, while nobody is looking for our heroine.
Soon after, an FBI officer named Jake Solano pays her a visit to conduct an investigation into the case.
He brings her favorite food; cheeseburger and ice cream, and Michelle is delighted to
finally be able to taste proper food again.
But when he offers her a napkin, it only triggers her painful recollections of how Ariel would
stuff such napkins into her mouth.
Later on, Michelle's mother pays a visit to her, but she declines to meet her,
feeling betrayed as she never tried to find her during those ten years.
After a few days, Michelle is discharged from the hospital, and Jake arranges a nice hotel
room for her stay.
He promises her that he will find her son.
The following day, Michelle meets with Gina, who now wants to put the past behind her and
live a normal life.
Although they are very close, Gina decides to keep some distance from Michelle for the time being.
Later that day, Jake visits Michelle's hotel room, and reveals that Joey’s foster parents
aren’t willing to allow him to meet his biological mother.
They also refuse to share a photograph of Joey, to avoid Michelle having contact with them all together.
Although Michelle has the opportunity to challenge the adoption in court, she makes the difficult decision not to.
She doesn't want to trouble her son, who is living a happy life.
In the next scene, Michelle prepares herself to go to court in order to testify against the perpetrator.
On her way, she reflects on the years of suffering and assault she endured.
When she reaches the court, she explains everything in detail, and she wants her 11 years back
and Ariel to be put behind bars for a lifetime.
In the post-credit scene, it is revealed that Ariel received a sentence of life imprisonment
plus 1000 years, but he took his own life just one month into his sentence.
Michelle has since gotten married, and is now pursuing a culinary career in Cleveland.
She also published a book about her time in captivity, which has become an international bestseller.