Villainess Review: Sophie Simon (Abduction Runs in the Family)

The plot for Abduction Runs in the Family (originally titled, A Mother's Terror) was quite an interesting one. The film centered on Alyssa Manning, a successful author who was once abducted as a child by Miles Simon, who had committed the abduction to fill the void left by his daughter, Sophie--in fact, Miles called Alyssa "Sophie." We see Alyssa being interviewed about the abduction, which was the subject of Alyssa's latest book, and it would include the revelation that after 25 years, Miles was getting out of prison.

We see Alyssa receive praise from her editor, Sarah, who came at the right time for Alyssa, as her last editor, Caroline, died suddenly in an accident. Though Alyssa has successfully moved on from the abduction, the ordeal caused her to be immensely overprotective of her own daughter, Emma, and we would see Alyssa react out of fear that she had been taken while they were dining, only for Emma to emerge and receive scolding from her mother. While all was fine in that regard, Alyssa's fears would come true, as while she and Emma were at a park, Emma was taken.

Alyssa's quest to find her daughter saw her on the receiving end of verbal lashing from her ex-husband, Tony, and even lay suspicion on her best friend, Grace. She even sought out Miles for insight on the abductor's motive, and while Miles is shown to be completely admissive over his past, as well as trying to better himself, Sarah suggests that Miles is the culprit due to his past. A video of Emma being held captive was sent to Alyssa, and the similarities to her own obduction led Alyssa to believe that Miles had Emma all this time.

However, Miles not only denied having Emma, he mentioned that the one person who would abduct Emma, was his daughter Sophie. Alyssa reminded Miles that Sophie was deceased, but she was actually alive; he had attempted to raise Sophie on his own since his wife's passing, but he would lose Sophie to the system. Miles took Alyssa to fill that void, and regarding Sophie, she didn't answer Miles' past letters to her, but she sent one where she mentioned her hatred of Miles and Alyssa. After Sarah arrived at Alyssa's house, Alyssa noticed a monogrammed pendant similar to the one Sophie had on, leading Alyssa to realize that "Sarah" was Sophie Simon, and she was Emma's kidnapper.

Sarah denied the accusations and lashed out at Alyssa, but when Miles was shown Sarah's photo, he recognized her as Sophie. The pair, along with Grant Bradshaw (Alyssa's boyfriend), rushed to rescue Emma after learning that Sophie held her at her old home, only for Grant to be shot (non-fatally) by the villainess. Alyssa's appearance led to a brawl between her and Sophie/Sarah, and after Miles appeared, Sophie revealed her hatred of her father and her bitterness over being replaced by Alyssa as her motive, while adding that she took Emma to make Alyssa pay and to make her hate Miles and blame him for everything.

As to how she even got close to Alyssa, Sophie revealed that she killed Caroline to replace her as Alyssa's editor, and as Miles pleaded with his daughter to hurt him instead of Alyssa and Emma, Sophie saw Miles' act as another example (in her mind) of Miles showing more love to Alyssa than to his own daughter, who decided to take Emma for herself and become her new mother. Alyssa had something to say about that, as she bashed Sophie's head on a wall and sent her out of the window, where Sophie fell to her demise.

Abduction Runs in the Family aired on Lifetime Movie Network on November 20, 2021, and featured Sarah Navratil as the film's hidden main villainess, Sophie Simon (aka Sarah). The film, overall, was amazing, and part of that was due to Sophie/Sarah, as she was quite a maniacal and unhinged villainess. It was a classic case of a tragic backstory leading to an immense amount of misplaced blame and madness, with Sophie pulling out all stops to destroy those who were responsible (in her mind) for her mental unraveling. Prior to her unveiling, "Sarah" was shown to be a supportive friend to Alyssa, and we see Navratil play that part of her character fabulously. However, the climax shows Navratil at her best, as we see her portray Sophie as the psychotic madwoman that she truly was, and that performance is absolutely spectacular.

According to her IMDB, Sarah Navratil has appeared mostly in short films, and her villainous appearance in this film is her first time in a Lifetime movie. I hope to see more of Navratil in Lifetime films; her performance in this film truly showcased her immense talents.

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