Zoe Gone (2014) (aka: Abducting Zoe) Sammi Hanratty, Alexandra Holden, Andrea Bowen, Jean Louisa Kelly, Makayla Jade Bolkin, Samantha Boscarino Movie Review

Zoe Gone (2014)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Sammi Hanratty and Alexandra Holden in Zoe Gone (2014)(aka: Abducting Zoe)

Learning Lessons in Teen Parenting

Having been a teen mum herself Alicia Lynne (Alexandra Holden - Mind Games) always wanted more for her daughter, Jennifer (Sammi Hanratty - The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone). But history has a way of repeating itself when at 16 Jennifer also falls pregnant with the dad, Randy (Michael Grant - Reading, Writing & Romance), not wanting anything to do with them. It makes things difficult at the Lynne home as Jennifer and Alicia lock horns over the baby and the mistakes whilst Alicia's partner, Walter (Jeff Branson - Christmas in Homestead), keeps telling her that baby Zoe is not their problem. But when Zoe is abducted Jennifer's maternal instinct comes flooding out as she realises how much she loves Zoe whilst Alicia realises how much her daughter needs her.

About 30 minutes into "Zoe Gone", which is also known as "Abducting Zoe", we get the abduction of baby Zoe in the park, but before that we get plenty of build up to set the scene. One thing we learn is that Jennifer has made the same mistake as her mum Alicia and this is the perfect set up as we have a teen mum wishing she wasn't as the care free life she had is now gone. But at the same time we have the mother angry and disappointed because her daughter, who she wanted so much more for, has made the same mistake she did and she knows that in becoming a teen mum she has changed her life, yet she takes that anger out on her daughter.

Jean Louisa Kelly in Zoe Gone (2014)(aka: Abducting Zoe)

That is the first 30 minutes or "Zoe Gone" but after that build up, where we learn a few other things, we have the desperate search for the abducted Zoe and the mystery surrounding who abducted the child but we also get character growth. On one hand we get to see Jennifer realising how much she loves her baby and on the other we have Alicia realising how much she loves her daughter and no matter what mistakes she has made needs her support not her condemnation. I actually liked this side and was more entertaining than the whole abduction storyline which unsurprisingly ends up far fetched.

Now "Zoe Gone" features a few familiar names and faces especially if you are a fan of TV movies with Alexandra Holden grabbing your attention with some entertaining hysterics whilst Sammi Hanratty does a decent job of playing a teen struggling with the loss of her old life. Then there is Jean Louisa Kelly who gives us a detective with a kind, caring side which feels slightly unreal but allows quite a sweet, positive performance which is what "Zoe Gone" calls for. But this is one of those movies which when you have a familiar name in a prominent role but they don't appear for a while sort of suggests something.

What this all boils down to is that "Zoe Gone" is first and foremost typical of the made for TV genre and as such if you are not a fan of far fetched and over the top it may not be for you. But it is an interesting spin on a child abduction storyline which brings character growth to the mix.


LATEST REVIEWS