Actress Megan Good Stars in Chilling Lifetime Movie 'Buying Back My Daughter'

Megan Good and Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix take on the topic of child sex trafficking in a new, chilling Lifetime movie, “Buying Back My Daughter,” now playing on Hulu. This is one of many recent projects produced by and starring Megan Good. In this film, we follow a concerned mother Dana, played by Megan Good, and father Curtis, played by Roger Cross. A well-to-do family set out to find their missing daughter after she is kidnapped by sex traffickers. At first glance, they appear to be a more affluent Black family struggling to understand how this could have happened in their affluent community, but we later learn these types of crimes have no neighborhood restrictions. 

After their daughter Alicia sneaks out to a party she is drugged and captured, and she wakes up in a strange house to find that she is being held captive. Alicia quickly finds herself cornered and afraid, as her mother and father rush to find her in the first 48 hours of her being missing. Considering the lack of attention and care the local police are giving the situation, (both due to the frequency of child runaways and Alicia being a Black girl), the family must take matters into their own hands and find Alicia on their own, if they want to save her. 

There are some really compelling storylines in this movie that were very interesting to me on first watch and it seems a bit edgier for a Lifetime-produced film. Another storyline that is shown, is the pictures of Alicia on adult sites that confirm to her parents that she is captured and being held against her will, by trafficker Roland. The police stress that if the parents try to find their daughter using the photo evidence it could put Alicia in more danger. They risk tipping off her captors, letting them know someone is looking for her and thus putting Alice in further danger of being killed or moved away from the town.

There is some very interesting social commentary happening within this film that is noteworthy after Alicia is found. While the movie isn’t explicitly talking about race in the film, there is a very interesting dynamic between Curtis and Dana. Curtis starts to feel guilty for moving his family out to the suburbs in the first place, hoping to be in a safer and “better” neighborhood. He originally believed that the police were going to do their job and help the family find Alicia, considering their more affluent community. However, Dana was not so confident from the beginning knowing the history between Black girls and police investigations. 

A few times in the film, the police mention that she might “want” to be in that kind of exploitative predicament and that Alicia might just be rebelling against her parents. These claims are unfounded and presumptuous as Alicia is still a child, but being treated like a wayward adult. It also highlights how easy it is for white police officers to view Black children with an adult lens of  “suspicion” and choose to victim blame over actually doing their jobs to find missing children. The condescending tones and victim blaming drive Curtis to also lose faith in the police and later back his wife in finding Alicia.

Alicia meets another girl Destiney, played by Jennifer Enes, who is also being held captive at Ronald's house. She ultimately serves as a guiding light for Alicia as they plan to make an escape. Enes offers a compelling performance to the otherwise cut-and-dry plot. She also plays a wonderful character who foreshadows the challenges of freedom after violent captivity. In the movie, she successfully escapes the sex trafficker's house but is unfortunately sucked back into street life due to the new addictions that she adopted, while dealing with the trauma of her captivity. With Destiny’s character, we also see how drugs and manipulation are used to further isolate these girls from their former selves and continue to suck them back into the lifestyle that traumatized them in the first place. 

Overall, I would say that the television movie is certainly a nicely packaged story for an almost hour-and-a-half runtime. In typical Lifetime movie fashion, the cast is small, locations limited, and the overall plot is pretty one note throughout the film. With these kinds of films, there is not much to be expected except the traditional feelings of a lifetime drama. In the end, a more realistic resolution is offered to the audience that diverts from the rosier endings frequent in lifetime movies. 

The film was based on true stories of sex trafficking victims and their families, so this more authentic ending serves the story justice.

The movie is a good watch and it stands to be a testament to both the physical and emotional effects of trafficking victims. Along with the rippling effect the industry has on families of all colors, and income levels, the film is well produced and shot making this a true crime must-watch!