Girl Taken on Paramount+: Is shocking abduction thriller a true story?
It's a chilling tale brought to life in a six-part series
Paramount+ viewers are currently binge-watching the thriller Girl Taken, and many have been asking if it is a true story.
The six-parter landed on the streaming service this week, and sees Alfie Allen in arguably his stand-out role to date. He puts in a truly chilling performance as groomer, abductor, rapist, and murderer Rick Hansen.
The teacher abducts schoolgirl Lily Riser, and keeps her locked away as a prisoner for five years. Until she manages to escape and changes the ending he had planned for her…
So is psychological drama Girl Taken based on a true story? Here’s everything you need to know.
Is Girl Taken a true story?
Girl Taken is not a true story, it is based on the fictional book Baby Doll. However the author Hollie Overton (pictured in the feature image) did draw on some of her own childhood experiences for the novel. Baby Doll was her first novel, and it catapulted her onto the bestseller lists.
But her readers might not know that Hollie’s life is as fascinating and troubled as some of her characters.
Hollie’s father was a member of the Overton Gang in Austin, Texas, and spent several years in prison for manslaughter. Raised by her single mother, Hollie – an identical twin herself – drew on her unique childhood experiences to lend realism and compassion to her depictions of violence and complicated family dynamics.
She said: “Baby Doll is my first novel, and so much of it is formed by my own childhood experiences. An identical twin, I was born in Chicago, and adopted at six days old, along with my identical twin sister, Heather, and carried home in matching red Christmas stockings.
“My father was a member of the Overton Gang and spent several years in prison for manslaughter. Unfortunately, he found family life overwhelming. His addictions began to consume him, leading to my parent’s divorce. My mother relocated my sister and I to her hometown of Kingsville, Texas. A theatre nerd, I spent my childhood dreaming of bright lights and big cities.”
Was Rick Hansen based on a real person?
Although Rick Hansen isn’t strictly based on a true story, the author of the book it’s based on had intimate experience with criminality. Like Rick, Hollie Overton’s dad could be seen as charming and charismatic. But beneath, the surface, he was violent and addictive.
Talking about his dad, Hollie has said: “My father […] was deeply troubled. There were moments when he appeared perfectly normal, a handsome charming man with midnight black hair, smooth olive skin and a smile that you had to earn. Other times, darkness consumed him as he sought refuge in a bottle of Jack Daniels, often numbing his pain with whatever else he could get his hands on.
“Once he had his fix, he would turn his rage towards my mother and my stepmother, terrorising and battering them, while my twin sister and I pleaded for him to stop.”
Darrell Overton was a true Texas outlaw, a member of the Overton Gang, who dominated the crime scene in Austin, Texas, and surrounding areas in the 1960s. They ran “drugs, guns, and girls”, determined to establish their supremacy and fill their pockets.
When Darrell was just 21, he went to prison for manslaughter. He claimed it was an act of self-defence when a “wronged husband came knocking with a sawed-off shotgun”. He served seven years of a 10-year sentence.
Is Girl Taken based on the Natascha Kampusch true story?
Some critics have likened the tale to that of Natascha Kampusch. At the age of 10, Austrian Natascha was abducted and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper, Wolfgang Přiklopil. He kept her there for more than eight years, until she managed to escaped. Wolfgang Přiklopil killed himself the same day.
There are multiple documentaries out there about Natascha Kampusch’s ordeal. These include:
- Natascha: The Girl in the Cellar (2010).
- Natascha Kampusch: The Whole Story (2010).
- 3096 Days (2013).
- Natascha Kampusch: A Lifetime in Prison (2022).
- The Girl in the Cellar: 8 Years Underground (2023).
She also wrote a book about her experiences called 3,096 Days, referring to the amount of days she spent as Wolfgang’s prisoner. Reports said she had a baby after being raped by her captor, but she subsequently denied the reports.
