It's a drama about abusive family violence in a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Amish community. It follows the story of a young Amish mother trying to recover her son after her husband takes the son to Philadelphia to go "English."
Annie (Sara Canning) is married to Jacob (Steve Byers). They have one young son, Caleb (Liam Hughes); a later pregnancy ended with the death of the fetus. Annie's parents, John (Andrew McIlroy) and Betty (Gabrielle Rose), live next door; John appears to be the Amish community's leader. Jacob's brother, Thomas (Ryan Bruce), also figures in the story, as does a younger Amish boy named Samuel (Iain Belcher).
We learn early on that Jacob is dissatisfied with the restrictive Amish life and wants to explore the outside world. He wants Annie to join him, but she refuses. Meanwhile, we also learn that Jacob has issues both with alcohol and a quick temper. An encounter by Jacob and Samuel with an outsider ends badly. Nonetheless, John and Betty encourage Annie to be loyal to her husband. Then Jacob takes Caleb with him to Philadelphia and applies for legal custody of Caleb. Annie goes to Philadelphia, with Thomas as protection, and meets Jacob again in court. The judge's decision makes Jacob very angry, resulting in several acts of violence, including a climax in the family barn.
"Amish Abduction" is easily one of the worst "Amish" movies I've ever seen. The isolated Amish "village" is presumably in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but the Amish don't live in villages. The Amish characters look like a bad version of some branch of the Beachy Amish but still use horses and buggies. Their schoolhouse has a steeple, which no Amish building would do. The account does not follow basic child custody laws, and an early act of extreme violence simply disappears from the story. Finally, the ending implies a new relationship for Annie, which the Amish wouldn't allow as long as Jacob was alive, regardless of his evil nature.
Annie (Sara Canning) is married to Jacob (Steve Byers). They have one young son, Caleb (Liam Hughes); a later pregnancy ended with the death of the fetus. Annie's parents, John (Andrew McIlroy) and Betty (Gabrielle Rose), live next door; John appears to be the Amish community's leader. Jacob's brother, Thomas (Ryan Bruce), also figures in the story, as does a younger Amish boy named Samuel (Iain Belcher).
We learn early on that Jacob is dissatisfied with the restrictive Amish life and wants to explore the outside world. He wants Annie to join him, but she refuses. Meanwhile, we also learn that Jacob has issues both with alcohol and a quick temper. An encounter by Jacob and Samuel with an outsider ends badly. Nonetheless, John and Betty encourage Annie to be loyal to her husband. Then Jacob takes Caleb with him to Philadelphia and applies for legal custody of Caleb. Annie goes to Philadelphia, with Thomas as protection, and meets Jacob again in court. The judge's decision makes Jacob very angry, resulting in several acts of violence, including a climax in the family barn.
"Amish Abduction" is easily one of the worst "Amish" movies I've ever seen. The isolated Amish "village" is presumably in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but the Amish don't live in villages. The Amish characters look like a bad version of some branch of the Beachy Amish but still use horses and buggies. Their schoolhouse has a steeple, which no Amish building would do. The account does not follow basic child custody laws, and an early act of extreme violence simply disappears from the story. Finally, the ending implies a new relationship for Annie, which the Amish wouldn't allow as long as Jacob was alive, regardless of his evil nature.