What is the Lifetime movie House of Chains about?

A new movie based on a disturbing true story is coming to Lifetime this fall. House of Chains stars Mena Suvari and Greyston Holt as a troubled married couple who imprisoned their six children within their home.

Actors Natalie Jane, Carina London Battrick, Callum McAllister, Aias Dalman, Madeleine Kane, Isla Grimes, Owen Irvin McCullough, Hudson Wurster, Joey Carson, and Grayson Taylor-Day also round out the cast as the children at various ages.

The movie is written and directed by Stephen Tolkin. Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer, Fernando Szew, Arnie Zipursky, and Bonnie Zipursky all serve as executive producers.

Here’s more on the film!

House of Chains Lifetime release date

The movie premieres Saturday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. Encores will air Sunday, Sept. 11 at 12:01 a.m. and 10:03 p.m. If you miss House of Chains on TV, you can stream the film on mylifetime.com on Sunday as well.

What is the Lifetime movie House of Chains about?

House of Chains tells the story of a seemingly normal, suburban family whose dark secrets remained hidden for years. Parents Laura and Tye keep their children separated from the outside world due to their strict religious beliefs.

As the children grow older and ask questions, the parents’ authoritarian ways grow stronger. This leads to child abuse, neglect, and imprisonment. To keep their younger siblings safe and in an effort to free themselves, the older kids band together to risk an escape and alert police on what’s happening in the house.

What is the true story the film is based on?

Unfortunately, this story is based on the real-life events of the Turpin family. David and Louise Turpin have 13 children. They were not fed or cleaned, and were abused by their parents. At times, the kids would be shackled.

The parents have been sentenced to life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. But, even after they were taken from that horrible house, the abuse of some of those poor kids wasn’t over.

In July 2022, six of the Turpin siblings filed two separate lawsuits against Riverside County in California and foster care agency, ChildNet. After their rescue from their biological parent’s home, six of the children were put with a foster family. ChildNet was aware the family had prior history of physically and emotionally abusing children, yet still placed the Turpin kids there, according to People.

The Turpin siblings also have thousands of dollars that were donated to them, but are unable to access the money because it was placed in a trust controlled by a court-appointed public guardian. For a full story, you can check out ABC’s 20/20 episode.