Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (2019)

Hey hey hey, welcome to 2023, everyone!

Well, I've been exploring, lightly, horror films for the last several months because I mostly got stuck in comedy and true crime. As you do.

But tonight, as I was experimenting making a fancy pasta dish, I turned on the TV and the nice streaming service recommended this film. I have an excellent view of the TV from my open kitchen, and I know the true history of this story so I was all: Hell Yeah - let's do this (as I was accidently burning things in the kitchen).

Let's check out the Lifetime Movie version of the very real story of: 

Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story

I'm not a good cook, I try, but I'm not good. I am pretty good at history though. So I was oddly excited to see what part and how this story was going to be told. *also note the very nice The Yellow Wallpaper background in this poster. Noted. Noted, whoever made this.

The film kicks off immediately how I didn't want it to - which caused me sad alarm but I stuck with it. By the end I realized this made-for-TV show was playing the narrative backwards from Nellie's original story. And to be fair, I actually respected what was being done (after I wrapped my head around it). It's trying to grab your heart strings first, not your Pinkerton-level knowledge of the background behind the story, as Nellie told it.

I'm not going to give secrets away but you must read this after watching the film. Please, please, please read Nellie's original words after watching. 

The story follows a young woman trapped in a horrible insane asylum in late 1800s New York. Things are not good, not good at all. Worse yet, most women trapped there are just there because they don't speak English, are old, or had a nervous breakdown because being a woman at that time was HORRIBLE and their husbands wanted them out of the way.

There were some ground-breaking changes in mental healthcare that resulted from Nellie's experience, however. And as someone who works in healthcare with a behavioral science degree, to this day, I notice something new is learned everyday. 

Some people are monsters because they want to be and take pleasure in it because that's all they know as a human connection. Some are circumstantial(?) monsters because of ignorance and societal norms. Some are monsters because they are horrified by what we are capable of and do terrible things anyway, out of fear. This movie is about the monsters we have to constantly fight that make a society and haunt our heads. 

In all, this was a truly captivating story when I first read it some 17 years ago. Obviously I haven't forgotten about it. Nellie is an icon in my eyes.

I can't say this is a great film, but it's a neat one. I also really appreciate stumbling upon the controversial historical characters Christina Ricci has been portraying for the last several years. Mad respect. These ladies are complicated. 

Overall, I found this to be quirky (liberties were made of course) but a perfect pick for making a messy kitchen evening - the evening called for a made-for-TV Lifetime movie. Particularly about a bad b*tch in the late 1890s.

Pairs with rotted meat and potatoes and a sack for clothing. 

I watched this film on Hulu, or use the Find It! Watch It! links on Horror Habit's side bar to see where else you can find this fun (? no that's not right) feature.