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Review by Steve Barton II  If you scroll for 2 or 3 minutes on the Netflix homepage, you’re guaranteed to see at least a few true crime documentaries. What makes Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart stand out among the rest of the library? This documentary starts in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 5th of 2002. Elizabeth Smart was taken from her bed in the middle of the night. In less than 24 hours after the incident, the Smart family is known nationwide and one of the largest and widely reported missing person searches in American history. The presentation of Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart has a balance of interviews from police, reporters, and a few of the family members with direct involvement. They also utilized archival footage from police station interviews, personal family photos and videos of Elizabeth, archived newspaper articles and news clips and a few dramatizations for b-roll. With the variety of material being presented, it keeps the attention solely on Elizabeth and has viewers guessing on what really happened. The biggest problem with this documentary is the editing. There are scenes that have some very intense information being relayed, but the music choice and use of actor dramatization seriously undercuts the moment. A moment where a person could be brought to tears is ruined when the auditory system is stunned by joyous tunes.  While Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart does have its flaws, its biggest strength are the several interviews throughout the documentary, but especially Elizabeth’s herself. Hearing her tell the horrific details of everything she went through as a 14 year old girl is enough to make the toughest person break into tears. While those details may be difficult to hear, the strength it must take for Elizabeth to share her story is truly remarkable.
The interviews from both Ed Smart (Elizabeth’s father) and Mary Katherine (Elizabeth’s sister) were also immensely impactful in the film. Every father watching will relate to Ed in his unwavering commitment to finding his daughter and never even considering giving up. Mary Katherine and Ed expose the biases of law enforcement during their interviews as well. Due to Mary Katherine only being 10 years old at the time of the incident, they didn’t really see her as a reliable source, even though she was the only witness to the abduction. It was refreshing to hear one of the cops say that cops aren’t perfect and that more of them should be open to listening more to victims and their families, rather than relying on their preconceived notions and biases. Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is every parent’s worst nightmare, but it is an incredibly impactful documentary. It’s a terrifying story that is hard to take in, but it’s an incredible example of a woman taking back control of her trauma and using it to help other victims of assault and kidnappings. It also shows the power and strength of family with how they never gave up on finding Elizabeth and helped her find her way back into the world! If anyone would like to get involved or in need of resources, visit elizabethsmartfoundation.org. Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart will be available on Netflix starting January 21, 2026! Rating: 4/5
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