Movie Profile: BELIEVE ME: THE ABDUCTION OF LISA MCVEY
| Attribute | Details |
| Title | Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey |
| Country | Canada / United States |
| Release Date | September 30, 2018 (Lifetime / Showcase) |
| Director | Jim Donovan |
| Writer | Christina Welsh |
| Producers | Jeff Vanderwal, Charles Gray, Tom Berry |
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Thriller |
| Runtime | 87 minutes |
| Distributor / Network | Lifetime / Showcase / Cineflix Productions |
| Lead Cast |
• Katie Douglas (Lisa McVey) • Rossif Sutherland (Larry Pinkerton) • David James Elliott (Serial Killer Bobby Joe Long) • Amanda Arcuri (Lorraine) • Chris Owens (Michael McVey) • Megan Fahlenbock (Carol) |
| Accolades & Honors | • Canadian Screen Awards (2020): Won Best TV Movie & Best Writing in a Dramatic Program |
Plot Overview
In 1984 in Tampa, Florida, 17-year-old Lisa McVey (Katie Douglas) is abducted at gunpoint while riding her bicycle home from a late-night shift at a doughnut shop. She is brought to the apartment of Bobby Joe Long (David James Elliott), a prolific serial killer and rapist who has been terrorizing the Tampa Bay area.
Realizing her life is in imminent danger, Lisa uses clever psychological tactics to build rapport with her captor, humanizing herself to keep him from killing her. During her 26 hours in captivity, she also meticulously memorizes sensory details about her environment, including sights, sounds, textures, and vehicle features. Her strategy succeeds, and Long blindfolds her and releases her on a roadside.
However, upon returning home, Lisa faces skepticism and disbelief from her family and local authorities due to her troubled upbringing. Only one law enforcement officer, Detective Larry Pinkerton (Rossif Sutherland), takes her story seriously. Utilizing Lisa’s extraordinary recall of details, Pinkerton connects her ordeal to a string of unsolved murders, initiating a high-stakes manhunt to capture the serial killer before he strikes again.
