Sartaj Singh
Directed by Wendy Ord, ‘Don’t Scream, It’s Me’ revolves around a married woman whose ex-boyfriend escapes from prison after 15 years, and she hides him in her home. Liz’s world is thrown into turmoil when her past suddenly collides with her present. Fifteen years after her ex-boyfriend Drew was arrested for bank robbery, she’s shocked to find him in her backyard, desperate and on the run after a recent prison escape. Despite knowing better, she agrees to help Drew but only allows him in when her husband is not at home. The Lifetime thriller film explores old love and manipulation between the two as mounting tension and risks threaten to unravel Liz’s entire life.
Don’t Scream, It’s Me is a Fictional Movie of Misplaced Loyalty And Unresolved Emotions
Written by Taylor Warren Goff, ‘Don’t Scream, It’s Me’ is a movie with a fictional plot that borders on unnerving plausibility. The storyline of Liz’s ex-boyfriend returning to her life after escaping prison isn’t typical, but it roots itself in reality by exploring themes of loyalty, unresolved feelings, and the difficult choices that arise when the past refuses to stay buried. The case of a convict escaping prison and finding refuge with his ex-girlfriend does not seem to have actually taken place. However, there have been cases of prisoners escaping correctional facilities and trying to hide with their girlfriends or wives.
Don’t Scream, It’s Me: Real Cases with Some Similarities
Antwone Wilson, serving a life sentence for a number of robberies in Jefferson County, Alabama, escaped from William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in August 2024. According to reports, his escape was aided by a girlfriend, who picked him up outside the facility in her vehicle. Pell City Police acted on the information and located her car parked outside the Walmart on Vaughn Lane. The officers found Wilson lying down in the backseat of the car, and he surrendered peacefully. Interestingly enough, this was the 34-year-old’s third escape from a correctional facility, and he had previously broken out of Jefferson County Jail and from the St. Clair Correctional Facility.
While it is unclear whether Wilson’s girlfriend faced prosecution for her alleged aid in his escape, in the case of Erich P. Mueller, his partner faced arrest for harboring him. Mueller, a convicted felon, was serving a five-year sentence for grand theft of a motor vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, carrying a concealed firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Winter Haven, Florida, since 2020. On September 14, 2024, the 35-year-old escaped from the Transition House in Kissimmee and headed to his girlfriend’s home in Winter Haven. Alexandria J. Orrick reportedly knew that her boyfriend had broken out of prison and continued to let him stay with her.
Their reunion lasted for about a month until October 17, when Winter Haven police were tipped off about him potentially hiding at Orrick’s house. Police detectives monitored the home and spotted Mueller walking outside. They moved in to arrest him without delay. Upon being interrogated, Orrick reportedly confessed to having known that Mueller had broken out of prison and willingly gave him shelter without informing law enforcement. She was arrested for harboring an escaped prisoner, and the couple awaits sentencing. The real-life case shares some parallels with ‘Don’t Scream, It’s Me,’ with the girlfriend or an ex-girlfriend of the escaped prisoner feeling an emotional need to help him out while putting her own life on the line. Thus, while the film is a work of fiction, its dramatic plot isn’t too far removed from reality.
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