Last night, Drink Slay Love was not the only Lifetime premiere that I watched. I also watched Ten Murder Island!
Why Was I Watching It?
The obvious answer, of course, is that it was on Lifetime and, whenever I review a Lifetime film, this site gets an upsurge in clicks.
But, beyond that, I liked the commercials for Ten: Murder Island. They looked moody and atmospheric. When I read that the movie was about ten people being stalked and murdered on an island, I immediately was reminded of Harper Island, a.k.a. the scariest TV show ever. How could I not watch, right?
What Was It About?
Ten teenagers have gathered at a house that’s located on an isolated island. They’re throwing a weekend party but a storm not only knocks out all the power but also everyone’s phone signal. Add to that, someone on the island is killing everyone, one by one. Uh-oh!
Why are they being targeted? Does it have anything to do with Claire Hicks, an unpopular student who committed suicide shortly after homecoming? Considering that pages ripped from her journal keep appearing at every murder scene, that would seem to be a safe bet. Will the smart and studious (and kinda boring) Meg (China Anne McClain) be able to figure out what’s happening before everyone’s dead? And will her pseudo-boyfriend TJ (Rome Flynn) ever come clean about what happened at homecoming?
What Worked?
Both the house and the island were well-chosen locations and, visually, the film had a memorably spooky atmosphere. If nothing else, while you were watching Ten, you were convinced that anyone could die at any moment. No one seemed to be safe. The deaths themselves were, for a Lifetime film, surprisingly graphic and rather mean-spirited. This killer wasn’t missing around.
I especially liked the flashback scenes that accompanied the reading of Claire’s journals. They were well-handled, with everyone’s face literally scratched out and obscured, keeping you guessing as to who Claire was writing about.
What Did Not Work?
As I watched Ten: Murder Island, I couldn’t help but be bothered by the fact that no one on the island really seemed to be that upset by the fact that all of their friends were being brutally and gruesomely murderer. Meg and TJ would get upset whenever they stumbled across a body but, in the very next scene, they would be laughing and flirting and teasing each other about homecoming.
This movie also featured a truly cringeworthy line that was uttered right after Meg learned the terrible truth about what happened at homecoming. After learning about a truly terrible thing that happened, Meg turns to TJ and exclaims, in all sincerity, “I didn’t realize I meant that much to you!” Now, I can’t say too much without spoiling the movie but, just to indicate how inappropriate this response felt, this is what I tweeted as soon as I heard the line:
I mean, it’s generally accepted that the majority of characters in a movie like this are going to be douchebags but Ten: Murder Island really abused the privilege.
“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments
I totally related to Kumiko (Annie Q), who was the sarcastic girl who had no hesitation about accusing Meg of being a murderer and who seemed to be more annoyed than terrified by the all the lethal drama going on around her.
Lessons Learned
There’s only one Harper’s Island.
Jerry Bolanti (Joe Cortese) is a cocky loud-mouth who has just returned to New Jersey after serving a prison sentence. Jerry needs a work so a mid-level gangster named Tony (Lou Criscuolo) hires Jerry as a debt collector. The problem is that Jerry is just not very good at his job. His attempt to collect money from Bernie Feldshuh (Frank Vincent) leads to Bernie hiring a legendary hitman (Keith Davis) to kill Jerry. Despite working with two experienced enforcers, Joe (Joe Pesci) and Serge (Bobby Alto), Jerry’s next job is just as unsuccessful and leads to even more unnecessary deaths. Tony starts to wonder if maybe he made a mistake giving a job to Jerry and, unfortunately, no one simply gets fired from the Mafia.
Yesterday, the great character actor Harry Dean Stanton passed away at the age of 91. Cisco Pike is not one of Stanton’s best films but it is a film that highlight why Stanton was such a compelling actor and why his unique presence will be missed.
Jimmy Dworski (Jim Belushi) is a convicted car thief who only has a few days left in his criminal sentence but still decides to break out of prison so he can go see the Cubs play in the World Series. Spencer Barnes (Charles Grodin) is an uptight ad executive who needs to learn how to relax and have a good time. When Spencer loses his organizer, Jimmy finds it. Before you can say “The prince and the pauper,” Jimmy has access to all of Spencer’s money and the mansion that Spencer is supposed to be staying at over the weekend. While Spencer tries to survive on the streets and track down his organizer, Jimmy is living it up, spending money, impressing a Japanese businessman (Mako), romancing the boss’s daughter, and taking care of business.
In this filmed version of a hit Broadway musical, four musicians who look like the Beatles from a distance play 3o Lennon/McCartney songs while newspapers headlines scroll over their heads and famous events and figures from the 60s appear on the screen behind them. The camera sometimes follows the musicians backstage as they switch from dark suits to white Magical Mystery Tour tuxedos and later into the uniforms of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. They also try on a variety of wigs and fake facial hair.
Harry (Judd Nelson) is a law student who has failed the bar exam three times. Daphne (Gina Gershon) is an aspiring actress who has an unfaithful boyfriend. With neither of them making much headway in their chosen careers, they end up working as living mannequins in a department store display window. If they flinch even the least little bit, they will lose their jobs. At first, it does not seem that there is much of a romantic future for Harry and Daphne. But when Daphne breaks up with her boyfriend, Harry invites her to join him in breaking into the store after hours and partying. But while Harry and Daphne are celebrating, they witness a crazed artist (Nick Mancuso) strangling one of his models.
Through the Shattered Lens