Virginia Madsen as Brenda Kniffen in Just Ask My Children (2001)

Just Ask My Children is 2001 Made for TV Biopic movie from Lifetime. It tells the story of a couple caught up in the now infamous Kern Contry child abuse trails.

And, as much as I do enjoy biopics, even made for TV Movie ones (especially made for TV Ones?), this film sickens my soul.

Not because it’s a bad film, but the fact that it exists. It shouldn’t exist. The events portrayed in the film shouldn’t have happened. It makes me mad that, despite this happening before, it’s happened since. No lessons learned, nothing taken away from it.

Through the trials over 30 people where convicted on some level of child abuse, Just Ask My Children focuses it’s story on two of those people, but never forget while you’re watching this isn’t just happening to the people you’re seeing on screen, it was a wide spread event.

It’s the 8th of April 1982, in Bakersfield, California the Kniffen family, Scott (Jeffrey Nording) and Brenda (Virginia Madsen) are enjoying some quality time in their home with their sons Brian (6) and Brendan (8).

Brenda is an 80’s American Homemaking American Wife- who also taught at a Bible School. Scott is an Inventory Manager for a Diesel Shop. They are living the 80’s American Dream, an almost idyllic existence.

There’s a knock on the door. Their lives are changed forever. It’s the Police, they storm in and arrest the two parents, accusing them of Satanic Ritual abuse against their sons.
Among the accusations that would come to be thrown at them were claims that they’d molested their sons, hung them from ceilings by hooks and forced to engage in various depraved acts for the camera.

It was from the mouths of Brian and Brendan that these accusations were being made.

But not their minds. They were being coached into making the accusations by the police investigating the claims against their parents. The children were told that if they cooperated and told them “the truth” then they would soon be back with their parents.

When questioned on their own, they were both told that the other sibling had already told them what had happened and that they just needed to confirm the heinous accusations were true.

The children would both deny the accusations and repeatedly tell the Officers that nothing like what they saying had ever happened.
No evidence was ever found to back up the claims of abuse.

Despite all of this the details of the arrests where made public via the media, pretty much condemning all the parents and heavily praising the work of the Police in bringing these criminals to justice.

During the trials of the Kniffens the “evidence” against them was another barrage of half truths and outright lies brought to the court by the prosecution and the Kniffens would be convicted for a total of 240 years in Prison.
Just As My Children details all of this, and the Kniffens fight for justice to clear their names.

I won’t go into more detail here, not because I don’t want to *spoil* anything, it’s a historical case which makes it kind of hard for me to do – But I believe that people should watch this film and do their own research into the events surrounding it so they are aware of just what can happen when madness takes over.

Virginia Madsen plays Brenda Kniffen brilliantly, it’s probably some of her finest work committed to film. It’s not just her, the whole film is excellently made and everyone involved puts in some serious effort to bring this story to the screen. Everyone involved with the film should be commended for their efforts on this one.

It’s genuinely a shame this film wasn’t more recognised at the time of it’s release, but, it’s first showing coincided with the 9/11 attacks in America in 2001 and therefore, obviously, there were more important and relevant things for the Country to be concentrating on right then.
And, it was a shame because the Kniffens deserved to have their story told. But, alas, a small voice in a very large, and understandable crowd. Life isn’t fair and can be hideously cruel, sometimes more than once.