How to watch The Girl in the Basement in the UK, the disturbing film based on Josef Fritzl's crimes

The Girl in the Basement is a Lifetime movie that was released in 2021, but has recently gained attention from fans who have been shocked by the film's disturbing themes.

The Girl in the Basement revolves around a teenager named Sara (Stefanie Scott) who is looking forward to her 18th birthday so she can finally move away from her controlling father Don (Judd Nelson). However, her father imprisons her in the basement of their family home and keeps her captive there for years. During this time he tortures and rapes his daughter, which leads her to giving birth to several children.

This shocking story is part of Lifetime's 'Ripped from the Headlines' collection of feature films which includes other movies such as Dirty Little Secret, Suitcase Killer, and He's Not Worth Dying For. While this film isn't a direct retelling of real events, the story was based on a prolific criminal case that came to light in April 2008. But how can you watch this film in the UK?

How to watch The Girl in the Basement in the UK for free

For UK viewers The Girl in the Basement is available to stream on Amazon Prime with a Paramount Plus subscription. There is a 7-day free trial with this subscription and prices start at £6.99 per month. 

Alternatively, viewers can purchase a Paramount Plus subscription which also has a seven-day free trial and subscription options starting at £6.99.

YouTube also offers a Paramout Plus free trial for seven days with subscriptions starting at £6.99.

The true story that inspired The Girl in the Basement

In this real-life story, a man named Josef Fritzl locked his daughter, Elisabeth, in a basement with no light for 24 years. This story came to light in April 2008, when Elisabeth's eldest daughter, Kerstin, needed to go to the hospital as she was suffering from kidney failure. Josef allowed Kerstin to go to the hospital and police were soon alerted after noticing Josef's bizarre behaviour at the hospital and the obvious holes in the story he gave to the hospital staff about Kerstin's relation to him and how she became so unwell. 

During the years that she was imprisoned between August 1984 and April 2008, Elisabeth was repeatedly raped by her father and gave birth to seven children. Of the children, three stayed in the basement with their mother, another died soon after birth, and Josef and his wife Rosemarie adopted two of them saying they were 'foundlings'. Rosemarie was unaware of what was going on in the basement for the entire 24 years.

Elisabeth told the police that while she was held captive in the cellar of their home in Amstetten, Lower Austria, her father forced her to watch pornographic videos and made her reenact the scenes while her children watched - as a way to humiliate her. He also told Elisabeth and her children that he would gas or electrocute them if they misbehaved.