Kidnapped for Christ (2014) User Reviews

Well Made Film

[IncaCaptive · 8/10 · 6 August 2014]

Enlightening film and very well made. It's most surprising to me how much the "school" let the cameras in. Clearly the folks running these types of facilities are not too aware of the effects of their actions, or worse, maybe they do. So sad this happens. I wish I could find out what happened to David and some of the other kinds in the program. I'm glad to see the former alumni are uniting to expose this type of cruelty.

Sorry to the one reviewer who was offended by the title of the film, but too bad. I know good Christians. But so much harm has come to humans in the name of "god," even from those who follow the King James bible. The film's title is absolutely fair.

Unanswered Prayers as usual: Careless Parents and their "troubled" Teenagers.

[SBlues · 7/10 · 29 July 2014]

I just watched this Documentary, Kidnapped For Christ. It's a simple but good and necessary film that glances at what it's like for teens raised in Religious families that are forcibly moved to a foreign Country (Dominican Republic) to live in a Christian Camp-like Rehabilitation center for "troubled" teens that get into lots of trouble and/or disobey parents that feel they can longer control or influence their child's thoughts, behavior & life choices.

Once there, the teens are force fed the usual judgmental/guilt-ridden melancholy BS found in all Bibles. They're forced to do various chores and a list of other strict things as well. They have to ask for permission to do everything and they have to be careful what they say and do; who they reveal anything to because they will be punished physically with a paddle, solitary confinement, verbal abuse and more.

The film states that this type of organization is a Billion dollar business no doubt because the parents have to pay regular fees over a period of many months; likely until the parents and the organization feels it's time to return home.

Many of the teens that are eventually released from these organizations are scarred for life because an imprint of all they endured is sealed in their minds forever, the few constructive methods as well as all the abusive methods. Anyone that has ever been abused (repeatedly) can tell you that those unpleasant/abusive moments experienced in life tend to stick with you and those memories can resurface when you least expect them to.

They also have to face their parents again, the people that paid lots of money to make all this happen in the first place. Very extreme and expensive measures were taken by the parents in having their child "kidnapped" and shipped off to a foreign country to be cared for by unpredictable strangers that often appear emotionless & cold.

I was definitely entertained and left with a lot of unanswered questions but I have a feeling much of the information left out was done so for legal reasons; yet the parents must have consented to allow their children to take part in this documentary because only a few random faces were blurred out.

Shook faith to the foundation

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 11 April 2015]

It is fortunate that producer Kate Logan found in Lance Bass a producer to tell this story and in him the celebrity to make sure the film got made and seen. It's a story that we should all see.

Meet Kate Logan Christian worker and missionary and documentary film maker who decided to tell the story in film of Escuela Caribe, a tough love program with Christian overtones for troubled youth. Ms. Logan thought she would be doing a puff piece that the school could use. What she saw down there shook her faith right to the foundation.

All kinds of kids with all kinds of Christian parents were sent there for a variety of issues. Those that could afford the big bucks to pay the school to abduct their own children had them whisked to the Dominican Republic where the rebelliousness was to be driven from them. Whatever formed that rebelliousness took be it simple disobedience, drugs, sex, general all around hell raising.

The main focus is on David a kid from Greeley, Colorado whose parents learned he was gay and did not want a gay child embarrassing them. So off he was whisked to Escuela Caribe where he was abused and degraded and wonder of wonders it did not take. The young man was in understandable despair, but as it turned out had more intestinal fortitude than he even thought he had and survived the ordeal.

This is a timely documentary where our various states are now dealing with banning conversion therapy for children. The secular world of mental health professionals agree that these conversion efforts at changing orientation was and are still bogus. Hopefully it will be banned across the nation.

It would have a limited effect on a school in a foreign country as this one was located in the Dominican Republic. But wonder of wonders this American funded 'school' is now shut down. Somebody's prayers may have gotten answered.

Kidnapped For Christ is a fine documentary and big thanks go to Lance Bass for using his celebrity status to promote and produce the film and the issue it deals with.

Production vs. message

[waywaytoofast · 30 October 2015]

Mr. "The Gryphon"

This was a scream for help by a student who found a way to get the matter heard, not a Ron Howard production. I was a student there before they moved into the new facility. Things were worse in the old place.

I was abused in ways that would shock you. Criticizing the production while leaving the abuse to continue is disgusting. How classically "preppy" can you be? Kids are suffering and you want to sit in your comfortable world and pretend to be a film critic?

The things that happened to me there are never far from my mind though that was almost 35 years ago now. Your concentration on the production over the message offends me. Why do you think the school is in the DR and not somewhere in the US? It is ONLY because they can escape US laws in how they treat folks. I slipped an unread and un-filtered letter to my parents during the hurricane David situation and they got me out of there - narrowly avoiding a serious confrontation with a young "officer" bent on being a Richard.

Solitary confinement, physical abuse, perpetual mental abuse - it all happened and is surely still occurring. Those that lived through this could tell you stories that would make you weep.

deeply troubling. upsetting.

[dansandini · 7/10 · 5 August 2015]

For a little independent free on Prime film, this one really packs a wallop. Don't think reeducation camps exist in modern America: think again. Kids taken against their will and shuttled off to foreign nations where they have no rights: outside the help of US Authotities. Think these are troubled kids who deserve what they are getting? Think again. We're introduced to David who is being hidden from his parents rich friends because he embarrasses them because he is gay. He left the U.S. involuntarily with a 4.0 GPA. What is Tue world.coming to you.

Teach your kids that if they are ever taken outside the country against their will they still have their unalienable rights as free men! Get to a U.S. Embassy!

God help these kids and their friends as they begin their healing process.

OMG! What a disturbing documentary! Christian therapy institutions like this, should be shut down! It's hell-like!

[ironhorse_iv · 7/10 · 31 March 2018]

Thank God! That somebody finally shine some light into how dark & disturbing, some of these faith-based reform centers can be. It's extreme evangelicalism at its very worst. Directed by a then- young evangelical filmmaker, Kate Logan; the 2014's documentary film set in 2006, takes an inside look at one of these institution; where kids are removed from their homes & forced to live in isolation in a foreign country, with little to no connect with concerned friends & relatives, doing hard labor, while also being subjected to a range of abuses, both physical and emotional. It's a very insightful enlightening documentary. However, there were somethings that could had made the film, a little better to watch. One of them, is having equal amount of experiences storytelling. I felt that, one of the subjects, David Wernsman's story, really did overshadow, the other two, Tai Mathieu, and Angie Blattner. Don't get me wrong, Wernsman's struggles in the rehab center was indeed, one of the most captivating parts of the documentary; but, if you're going to focus on the message about all the different types of negative experiences, an controversial Christian behavior modification program like 'Escuela Caribe' in the Dominican Republic has on people. Maybe, you shouldn't be, focusing most of your time on one person. That was one of the flaws of the documentary. Because of that, the film's core arguments & message does sound a little too repetitive & vague at times. This sucks, because the film could had gone into the really harsh nitty gritty allegations, made by other people against the center; such as death threats, sexually assault, & most of all, the unsafe working conditions that led to one death. It really could had gone deep, but instead, the film only cover the surface level of abuse. Sadly, this is not enough, to gain attention in the public & politic circles. A film like this, needs more victims like Julia Scheeres & Deirdre Sugiuchi to speak out about centers like this, to truly, make a different. Not only that, but more valid talking heads to endorse these claims. Because of the lack of that, these allegations will remain merely assertion, until they can finally be proved true. Sadly, it might takes another 'Jonestown' for any big reform to happen to these institutions. Another thing that could had, made this movie, even better, was giving more time on explaining how facilities like 'Escuela Caribe', were able to get, rich Evangelists parents to fly their children to outside countries like Dominican Republic, in hope that faith and discipline would cure & purge their sons and daughters of "ungodly" influences. After all, it was pretty jarring to hear stories of complete strangers being able to take children, oversea, by themselves, with only the parent's blessing. It really seen, like there was more to that story that the film wasn't telling us. It would had been nice to see, one of the parents being interview for this documentary to tell, their side of the story to see if they were aware of the center's questionable practices and motives. Sadly, we didn't get that. Instead, 2014's 'Kidnapped for Christ' made the parents of the subjects seem like unseen villains. Despite that, I did like how director, Kate Logan injected herself into her own film, as she played a vital part in helping one student try to escape. Seeing her, challenge her own faith, and developed a character arch from naïve religionist filmmaker into an activist for human rights was one of the highlight of the film. The film is so much more powerful with her, being there. However, it came with a cost, as the movie came across as somewhat biased; which happens to be, somewhat true. While, the documentary tries to be fair to a certain extent; allowing the faculty staff ample amount of time to tell their side of the story, through interviews. It's clear by the end, that the sheer weights of inhumane allegations against them, was too much, for Logan is play nice. After all, none of the living subjects, feature in the film, really deserve this type of punishment. Many of them, have never been in a juvenile delinquency center or commit a major crime. In the case of the three main subjects; their cases ranges from panic attacks, homosexual and physical childhood trauma. It's a clear conclusion that the folks in 'Escuela Caribe' had no clue, how to handle them. Even if, Logan was still trying to make a heartwarming film, it was nearly impossible for the faculty to be shown in a good light. The way, they ran that place was far worse than any modern day military boot camp. No wonder, why people found this documentary, upsetting. The things, they do in god's name is truly disgusting. The sheer fact that they drive most people away from religion is telling you, that they didn't do a good job. In the end, they close down and reopen under a different name 'Crosswinds'. Hopefully, they will shut down for good, one day. Overall: I have to say, educated yourself by watching this documentary! Learn how to be a good parent by trying to understand, what they're going through. Be aware, of their feelings. That's my advice. Don't ever sent your children, away to therapy institutions like this! Places like 'Escuela Caribe' can go to hell!

Deeply unsettling, and makes Jesus Camp look positively cheery

[Lowbacca1977 · 10/10 · 23 April 2014]

Several years ago, Jesus Camp circulated around as that film that horrified people, especially the nonreligious, when it came to how religion was pushing views on children. With Kidnapped for Christ, Jesus Camp seems like a welcome change.

It's first noteworthy to mention the filmmaker. Kate Logan, a conservative Christian college student in the Dominican Republic for mission work, decided to do a documentary about a school there where American teenagers in crisis were sent. What she found there was teenagers that were woken up in the middle of the night by strangers and removed from the US, sometimes with no one outside their family knowing what happened to them, to be sent off to the Caribbean to have their behaviors corrected. Far from the extremes that one would expect to lead to this, some of them were fairly normal teenagers, all in all, before this happened.

The film goes through the processes of the school by following a few of the 'students' there over the course of the several weeks that Logan was at the school. The reason her background is relevant is because as she continues, she starts to find her own faith challenged, as well as her approach to the film challenged, as she is repelled more and more by what's going on in the name of Christianity. And that's what gives this film so much power.... it tries to take a relatively fair stance, but the sheer weight of evidence is heavy enough that it has a clear conclusion, and it even runs counter and challenges her preconceived notions when she was coming into this situation in the first place. (Indeed, this might have never come to light if not for her background.

So much of the power comes through what the three students she follows through go through, the way they talk about being treated, the fact that they've been sent to a foreign country without a say, and this is a film that I think very few people could watch and not find this upsetting, frustrating, angering, and disgusting.

Logan shines a light on something that I would think most people in America don't even realize goes on, and something that even some of these parents don't realize, to the full extent, what these children are being subjected to.

Jesus Camp documentary

[Seth_Rogue_One · 7/10 · 6 July 2016]

A documentary about one out of many so called Teenage Behaviour Modification Programs which set out to change so called troubled teens with the help of good ol' Jesus Christ, strict rules and tough counsellors.

Which might not sound bad to some, but when you look at the people who's there for instance a guy called David who's sent there by his parents solely for being homosexual you have to raise an eyebrow.

And how it can even be possible legally to literally kidnap these kids and taking them there is beyond bizarre.

And the whole establishment just screams religious fanatics cult.

It's a small-scale documentary made by a very small crew and there will probably be made a bigger scale documentary at some point but perhaps it was the size of the crew that made it possible for them to actually come behind closed doors of the camp, although there were most likely many on-goings that the constitution withheld from the crew.

So yeah worth seeing.

GITMO for Kids - Monster's using God & Abusing the Bible for Economic Gain!

[pluslife · 10/10 · 11 March 2015]

GITMO for Kids - Monster's using God & Abusing the Bible for Economic Gain!

Excellent Documentary! Way more than fair with this Monstrous Cult that are using God and Abusing the Bible for Economic Gain and to allow Megalomaniac Power Freaks to meet their selfish need to Exert Control and Abuse Other's which their target is teens and kids. Typical for such bullies and cults, they always target people they have physical and psychological power over.

The techniques are 101 mind control and brainwashing, used by regimes of past and cults of past. The ends do not justify the means, there are legitimate techniques available. These places leave the USA for good reasons, they know they are abusing children and holding adults hostage. These so called employees and the director(s) and all who are invested in these places need to be put in prison and sued for every dime they have and will ever make. They are criminals who are abusing US kids and holding US adults hostage, with no judicial process by the US Legal System. Glorified GITMO for kids who may have behavior problems or just wrong sexual orientation for backward parents. These kids, teens and adults being held and abused are not criminals or domestic terrorist, they have Human Rights! Here is a legitimate use of Military power to rescue our citizens and to take the criminal operators in custody for judicial action or they can be treated as combatants as far as I am concerned.

Please go to the site (http://www.kidnappedforchrist.com/#!action/c18rg) and TAKE ACTION NOW! My god, if you are a Christian or not this is all wrong and not anything but abuse for profit. How can a place in a 3rd world nation cost 72K which is 10K more than Harvard and there is no amenities's and the kids just do all the labor plus make work to further exert power by sociopaths running a cult. The staff has no training and are not qualified to babysit much less discipline, educate, raise, doctor or meet the mental health issues some kids come with and certainly all kids leave with.

Every Church needs to show this documentary to all parents and kids, so they know what not to ever do and to make sure kids know that such places or people who use such techniques are not okay. This is all wrong. Those who went through the program and support it are those who have been brainwashed and the mind control succeeded on. It is the fault of the people who are adults that run these places and those who promote them, with parents who are accountable as well for failure to attend to your child's needs and ship them off to a 3rd world country and put in the hands of monsters running a cult.

The capacity of such places to operate outside the US, taking US Kids and messing their minds, emotions and very innocence up need to be stopped and shut down and the people held accountable by US Laws and standards. We owe the kids of the US protection from abuse and misguided parents who are being hoodwinked or who are not competent to parent and so the kids need a proper option over such draconian places where it is nothing but a place where bullies can act out their fantasies and promoters have ridiculous profit margins and the US will eventually end up with the long-term care for many of these kids who come back mentally scarred and will eventually show the signs of such abuse in differing ways. The old saying the abused often becomes the abuser is very true and noted for good reason.

This is a Jim Jones for kids and young adults. Just look at how they acted when they were confronted with people wanting the release of just one adult. They have even changed their name which that right there shows they are running a seedy operation knowingly since that is a common technique used by criminal enterprises in the US. What will they do when or if they are confronted with government intervention? I say watch out for the bitter KoolAid Kids. Not trying to be funny or cute, this is a real threat with people like this and their control is threatened. They can not handle anyone questioning them and those who do are seen as the devil and there is a real threat they may take the kids out and then themselves. They promote and even demand B/W thinking by students and the staff see's life in such terms which is very dangerous mindsets for anyone to have, much less those who hold control over kids and are forming youths minds. These people who run these places are not mentally healthy and are a real threat to those under their control and those who try and remove their ability to control will be seen as threats.

These places need to be shut down, we must stop allowing people to take kids by force out of the US, we need to hold these place and the people fully responsible and parents need to be warned and even hold them accountable the same as if they left a child un-cared for properly in the US. This must stop and we owe kids protection from such places!

Poorly executed "documentary"

[bt698nhj · 2/10 · 1 May 2021]

This looks like a half-a##ed documentary done by teenagers. The primary character (David) has people trying to help him but NO MENTION of where his parents are in all this. Also lots of gaps in the storyline. The film could've been cut in half with no loss of meaning.

The film seems to have a viewpoint but has scant support for that viewpoint, which comes across as weak and half-hearted. I wasted 85 minutes on this. Well, 75, because given the boredom and lack of tension, I skipped the last 10 minutes.

Beautiful director that did a beautiful job capturing such a horrible scene.

[blaicefreeze · 10/10 · 22 September 2015]

My dad essentially tried (and still is trying) to force Catholicism on me since birth, but I couldn't imagine what these kids had to go through and how terrible their parents are. Forsaking your own child and not talking to them for possibly YEARS!?!? This is an infuriating film for the truth it exposes. David was punished by his parents because of a way he feels inside. I hope they enjoy hell, if it is real.

Push someone towards religion and they will turn and run as fast as possible, because all I can see now is brainwashed individuals clamoring for something that they cannot properly articulate or even possibly hope to prove. Throw your false condemnations and religious voodoo and I'll walk away shaking my head.

Biased and Unfair Documentary

[The Gryphon · 5/10 · 15 February 2015]

I guess I'm a purist. Being 56 years old and a lifelong cinephile, with a penchant for documentaries, I bemoan the fact that many documentarians of late have lost their ability to be unbiased observers. Nothing was more disturbing in this movie than the scene in which David hands director Kate Logan a note to be passed to his friends outside the Dominican Republic. Once a documentary becomes biased it loses all moral ground.

In 1992, in the comedy/drama movie called "Man Bites Dog" about a film crew following a "heartless killer" as he commits his crimes, the film crew eventually begins to knowingly aid and abet the killer. This was a parody of a documentary and laughable. "Kidnapped for Christ" is not a parody and scares the hell out of me.

Despite the subject matter of the film, the documentarian should strive to be "documenting" the matter, not participating in it in any way, shape or form. She should try to be as unbiased as possible instead of trying to shape public opinion. Kate Logan insults the viewer by telling us we're stupid by editing the film in a way that we don't have to think for ourselves. She is showing us her point of view and calling it a documentary. There is, of course, a bit at the end where two of the principals in the film come down for and against the Christian school. More of this would have made the movie better. But in other scenes, you can tell how one-sided the production is, such as the scene in which the youths are taken on an outing to Pico and play in the muddy grass there. Logan focuses on Tai, a young lady who doesn't like the mud and doesn't want to play in it. It is a scene where the central focus is Tai complaining about the outing and how much she hates it there. Strangely enough, Tai seems to be the only one complaining and sometimes she can't be heard due to the laughter and squeals of delight coming from the 99% of the kids who are enjoying the day. Why not interview someone who is part of that merriment for balance?

Some of the "evidence" against the school is merely anecdotal at best, such as when director Logan overhears loud yelling outside her room on the campus and states that it came from one of the people in control who was yelling at his charge. We have to take her word for it as nothing is shown as evidence. When she points the camera out the window all seems calm with the two people involved. A wiser documentarian would have left this part out of the movie as it's clearly hearsay and can't be proved.

I'm not saying that abuses did not happen at the school, even the people in charge agree that some have occurred. What I am saying is that the director of this film slanted it in such a way that it's impossible to determine what really happened at the school. It seems that Kate Logan was graciously granted permission to film on-site, which usually indicates that the people in charge had little to hide. She may have realized, once there, that a film without conflict won't sell in the United States. She seems to have tried to manufacture discontent with the available footage she possessed. For despite the ominous overtones of the film, we see no abuse happening, only hearsay. Kids have to make their beds and fold their clothes properly. Kids have to exercise when told to. Kids are told to obey authority. There is talk of "swats." This is somehow considered child abuse. We don't see any such "beatings" so we have to take the word of Logan, who has already showed us that this is a film she has slanted to force her views on the viewer. Did we think she would honestly show us more cinematic fairness after she tips her hand that she's one sided in the note exchanging scene with David?

This is an evil movie. It does not appear to be about evil, but it is evil in the way it is edited and slanted, apparently for the sake of being a daring filmmaker exposing the truth...as she sees it. It is a vanity project that insults the viewer.

The real title should be "Kate Bites Dog."

Raising the bar for future documentaries.

[davecorkeyz · 10/10 · 17 July 2015]

This entire movie could be watched while muted, and is clear that this documentary is not biased, it is true. The level of abuse these kids endure on top of struggles already bearing down on them to begin with. Having a stranger hold absolute authority over you in unfamiliar territory.

This documentary is one of the few that holds precedence over fair representation, because physical and mental abuse toward innocent children or "person" in the name of any god is not arguable or debatable. Amazing how close they got to the students and counselors. Thanks to their ignorance, this great documentary came to fruition.

Sloppy and too one-sided

[jmcfrancis · 2/10 · 5 June 2015]

Deeply flawed doccie. It failed to convince me of its claims about the school. Though certainly there are questions about the school's conduct, Kidnapped for Christ doesn't offer any substance to back those. What it offers is anecdotal and even the interviews appear to be handpicked for some hope of controversy. At no point does it do what a proper documentary does: build a broad scope of all sides then narrow in on the flaws of what people said. Instead this was highly subjective and built its case not around the school or its inductees, but the gripes of a small group of pupils.

I'm not defending the school or saying that there wasn't something wrong. But this film is more interested in picking a certain bone than building a thorough piece of investigative journalism. In fact, this is hack journalism - seemingly making something out of nothing. Perhaps there was something, but the filmmakers failed to put any substance to it.

Jesus Camp and Fatherland are far better examples of the dangers of indoctrination camps, as well as how to tackle those subjects. Kidnapped for Christ is just lazy subjective bashing.

Lazy journalism lacks any credibility whatsoever

[M0E-M0E · 2/10 · 14 September 2021]

It's easy to see what likely happened: a well-meaning college student (Kate Logan) wanted to make a documentary. So she focused on a Christian school that interested her and began filming. During her filming, she became emotionally attached to many of the students who were not all that much younger or all that much different than she was. While becoming friends with a handful of these students, she listened to their stories and felt sorry for them. She went so far as helping to liberate one student by being a courier. That's all fine and perfectly understandable, maybe even admirable to some degree. But it's not an honest documentary told from an impartial perspective. Instead, this is a blatantly biased film that makes huge assumptions to come to conclusions sans any actual actual evidence to support those conclusions. In short, this film is a *not* a documentary but a one-sided op-ed from an emotionally-involved college student who completely lacks credibility.

Presenting this as a documentary is intellectually dishonest and will only appeal to viewers who are as gullible as director Kate Logan herself was. That might sound harsh but look at the facts (which is what documentaries are supposed to do). Numerous school officials admitted - on camera! - that previous abuses had taken place. Nobody tried to hide that. But what current abuse, exactly, was still taking place? As someone who has worked in childcare (including working at boarding schools) for going on 2 decades now, I saw absolutely ZERO evidence of child abuse at Escuela Caribe based on Logan's filming. Hearsay regarding the "QR" is not actual evidence of abuse. Heavily monitoring and even editing letters being sent by the students is not evidence of abuse. In fact, that's pretty standard procedure in childcare. Furthermore, nearly every form of punishment that was filmed is pretty common and most of it actually seemed quite mild compared to many children's homes in the US. Staring at walls isn't abuse. Having to refold clothes that don't pass inspection isn't abuse. Requiring permission to do every last little thing isn't abuse. Going on long hikes isn't abuse so long as adequate water, food, and rest are available. Even the "swats" aren't considered abuse if done properly. As recently as the year 2000, many Texas public middle schools allowed administrators to swat misbehaving children so long as parents signed a waiver. If public schools are allowed to do this in the 21st Century, is it really abusive?

But that's just it: director Kate Logan doesn't know what she doesn't know. She doesn't know what is standard protocol or what is commonplace in children's homes and boarding schools. She doesn't know that "behavior modification" is a term that is widely used and WIDELY ACCEPTED in childcare not just in the United State but worldwide. Why didn't she reach out to other children's homes to see how they operate? Why didn't she speak to public school officials to see what is accepted punishment there? She also doesn't know if what David and Tai and other students were saying was actually true! And she doesn't know ANY of these things because she refuses to investigate or research anything that isn't right in front of her. She just blindly took the claims of students without interviewing David's parents or Tai's parents. Presenting only one view makes for absolutely atrocious journalism and destroys any credibility her documentary might have had.

In the end, I don't think Kate Logan is a bad person at all. I get where she's coming from. I just think she was in way over her head and ended up making a documentary that should've earned her maybe a "C" in a college film class but should've never gone any further than that.