Last night, I watched Sunday’s Lifetime premiere film, Her Worst Nightmare!
Why Was I Watching It?
I recorded Her Worst Nightmare off of Lifetime on Sunday night. I watched it on Monday because I desperately needed to make some space on my DVR! (Seriously, I’ve got like 5 hours of recording space left…)
Plus, I have to admit that I really liked the title. Judging from the poster above, the film was originally called Degrees of Fear but I actually preferred Her Worst Nightmare. Honestly, if the word nightmare appears in the title, there’s no way that I’m not going to watch.
What Was It About?
A year ago, Dakota (Claire Blackwelder) was kidnapped and held prisoner by a brutal sociopath. Though she was eventually rescued and her kidnapper was sent to prison, Dakota is still struggling to deal with the trauma of what she’s been through. Now a college student, Dakota is still paranoid and withdrawn. With a student reporter trying to get her to talk about her experiences and a possibly lecherous professor (Trevor St. John) constantly trying to get her to come out and have a drink with him, Dakota doesn’t know who to trust.
It especially doesn’t help that it appears that, once again, someone is stalking Dakota. Has her kidnapper escaped or is something else happening? Dakota is determined to find out!
What Worked?
In the lead role, Claire Blackwelder gave a sympathetic performance and she did a good job of portraying Dakota’s paranoia. It was impossible not to empathize with Dakota and Blackwelder’s performance really held the film together.
Meanwhile, Trevor St. John was hilariously self-satisfied in the role of Prof. Campbell. We’ve all had a teacher like him, the handsome professor who goes out of his way to let you know that 1) he’s only a few years older than you and 2) he likes to hang out at the same places that you do and 3) he’d love to have office hours with you at any time during the semester.
Her Worst Nightmare was a relatively restrained film. Usually, I complain whenever a Lifetime film is too low key. I usually like my Lifetime melodramas to be totally and completely over-the-top. But, in the case of Her Worst Nightmare, the restrained approach actually worked. It generated suspense and, like Dakota, I found myself looking at every corner of the screen, keeping an eye out for any possible threats.
What Didn’t Work?
I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly shocked when the identity of Dakota’s stalker was revealed. That’s one of the drawbacks of having a small cast. There’s only so many possible suspects and, once you discount all of the obvious ones, it’s pretty easy to guess who it’s going to be.
“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments
Whenever Dakota was feeling paranoid, I was like, “Been there.” Unlike Dakota, I’ve never been kidnapped and held prisoner but I very well could have been if luck had not been on my side. Anyone who has ever been stalked or who has ever escaped from an abusive relationship will be able to relate to Dakota.
Lessons Learned
Just because you’re paranoid, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t out to get you. Actually, to be honest, I already knew that before I watched the film but sometimes, the best thing that a film can do is remind you of something that you already know to be true!
