'Wolfpack' film tells story of a hidden family in New York

NEW YORK (WABC) -- "Wolfpack," a documentary opening on Friday, tells the story of a family that almost no one knew existed.

The family is the Angulos, made up of Oscar, Suzanne and their seven children.

Though they lived in a housing project on the Lower East Side of New York City, their neighbors never saw them.

The children were raised in four small rooms, home schooled their whole lives by their mother, and locked in by their father.

For 14 years, they lived by his rules.

"If he put us in a room, we have to stay there until he says you can go," son Mukunda said.

Oscar told the children that there was danger outside and that he wanted to protect them.

Another son tells ABC's Elizabeth Vargas, "He would say to us, 'So outside there's good people and there's bad people. This is a big city. There's a lot of crime going on.'"

Their father gave them free rein to just one thing - movies, which served as the boys' only window to the outside world.

They traveled the world with their imagination. They'd visit the wilderness watching "Last of The Mohicans" and saw Sicily watching "The Godfather."

The films were more than entertainment for them. They were their salvation.

"The movies taught us, like, sort of how to speak to one another," Mukunda said. "How to interact with one another."

He goes on to tell Vargas that they watched movies all day, every day, seeing well over 10,000 films.

At some point, simply watching wasn't enough, and the brothers decided to become a part of the movies they loved.

In the confines of their tiny apartment, their imaginations ran wild. They'd imitate every line and gesture from films like "Reservoir Dogs."

They'd recreate props from the movies from trash in the house. And they'd choreograph every punch from "Batman" and other films.

As for the neighbors they never saw, Mukunda says, "We'd make up characters out of them. If we hear, like yelling or like loud music we'd be like, uh, that sounds a little bit like 'Goodfellas.'"

"Sort of what you miss out on, you make up in fantasy," his brother, Govinda, said.

When life inside became too much to bear, one son found the courage to break free. And after a chance encounter with the woman who made the documentary, "Wolfpack" would change their lives.

To see the full story of the movie and the Angulo family, watch Elizabeth Vargas' story on 20/20 Friday at 10 p.m. on Channel 7.

"Wolfpack" is in theaters now.