The feature documentary Kidnapped for Christ has screened at film festivals I’ve attended but not at times I could catch it, so I’m glad to have the opportunity to see it now on-demand on Showtime.

The filmmaking is uneven, but the topic is important.

The film follows several teenagers who are enrolled by their parents (often without their knowledge) in a behavior modification school in the Dominican Republic where the tactics and conditions are brutal. The goal for one of the main characters is to make him “ex-gay” and for others to break them of willfulness or engaging in other behaviors their parents have deemed inappropriate or sinful. Students are typically labeled “troubled” teens. And, perhaps some of them are, but there is no credible treatment offered at the outrageously priced facility in the documentary.

It is clear from watching the film that such “schools,” many of which are located in the United States, should fall under government regulation and/or official accreditation bodies. Of course, schools like this would most definitely fail under even the most limited scrutiny.

Kidnapped for Christ fills an important role in shining a light on a despicable practice; it is these schools that are “troubled.”