I am surprised that in viewing the other reviews made by viewers of this movie none of them seemed to put together that this is based, albeit loosely, on a REAL event. The story has been altered a good deal but it is still recognizably based on an event that occurred in 2001. They have based the movie on the story of Derek and Alex King who came under the spell of a neighboring pedophile who recognized their thirst for attention and desire for a male role model's attention. The boys were only 12 and 13 years old at the time and they had been bounced around foster homes and family members for a good while and had not lived together during those times. When a neighbor, who was a friend of their fathers, began watching over them while their father was away and began showering them with attention and gifts and treats they never got in any other case, the boys quickly fell under his spell. It all ended with the boys being molested and under the neighbors spell and with his direction one of the boys killed his father with a baseball bat while he sat in a chair. For the details and more complete actual story you can simply do a search of their names, Alex and Derek King.
The movie loosely follows what happened while changing numerous details such as using only 1 boy and having the neighbor pedophile shot dead in an exchange with law enforcement. In reality he received a 30 year prison sentence and the boys received 7 and 8 year sentences, incarcerating them until they became adults.
I have seen that some watchers thought the movie went to slow but I fail to see that. I was also some what surprised to not see any indication about it being based on a real incident. Perhaps because the boys were young minors at the time. I myself was fascinated by the movie and I recognized the the association with actual events after only a few minutes. I would suggest that perhaps viewers might want to read about the actual event after watching the movie. The movie depicts the terrible cost that pedophiles inflict upon their victims, both immediate and through out their lives. I see the movie as a cautionary tale of what can happen when we fail to treat our kids as human beings and as the most important things we have. The abuse of children, physical or psychological, is a terrible thing.
Review of The Strange Ones
