Cory Lee | Through the Shattered Lens

If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching Lifetime films, it’s that anyone can afford a gigantic, three-story house with a basement, an attic, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and a guesthouse. Seriously, I don’t know why everyone always says it’s so difficult to get that first house because there are unemployed people in Lifetime films who live in mansions.

The other thing that I’ve learned from watching Lifetime films is that you’re screwed if you’ve got a twin. Seriously, your twin is always going to be evil. Your twin is always going to pretend to be you so that she can sleep with your boyfriend and murder your coworkers. Your twin is going to use her own DNA to frame you and then, once you’re imprisoned, she’s going to sell your identity to the Russian mob and then you’ll never get it back. Twins are bad news, or at least that’s the way it goes in the Lifetime Cinematic Universe. I’ve lost track of how many psycho twin films I’ve seen on Lifetime.

The most recent psycho twin film is named, appropriately enough, Evil Twin. Emily Piggford plays Emily, who flees from an abusive relationship and returns to her small hometown. She’s staying with her friend Lenah (Cory Lee, who also played Miss Oh on Degrassi) and she’s trying to get her life back together. Unfortunately, this prove difficult because random people keep walking up to Emily and yelling at her before telling her to stay out of their lives. Emily doesn’t know any of these people and is left to wonder why so many strangers suddenly hate her.

Emily also discovers that she has a twin sister named Charlotte! Charlotte, who lives in a beautiful house and who has longer hair than Emily, at first seems to be thrilled to have found her twin. She even asks Emily to turn her head so that Charlotte can see what the back of their earlobes look like. (That may sound like a strange request but I’d probably ask the same thing if I ever met my twin. Ears are fascinating things.) However, it soon turns out that …. well, you can probably guess. I mean, the movie is called Evil Twin, after all. Soon, Charlotte is pretending to be Emily and she’s attacking people left and right. You know how these things go.

Evil Twin is a bit more moody than the average Lifetime film. The fact that Emily is escaping from abuse and still dealing with the emotional trauma of her previous relationship gives the film a few more layers than the average Lifetime film and Emily Piggford does a good job playing both Emily and her twin sister. The film actually does manage to keep you guessing as to which twin is onscreen at any particular moment and, with Charlotte being considerably more clever and ruthless than the average Lifetime villain, the film manages to generate some suspense as Charlotte kills and maims her way through the people in Emily’s life. Evil Twin may not be the first Lifetime psycho twin movie and it definitely won’t be the last but it is one of the better ones.

His Fatal Fixation tells the story of Lilly Abrams, a woman who discovers that not even changing her name can ensure her safety.

Lilly (played by Sarah Fisher) is a physician’s assistant. When we first meet her, she’s getting ready for a date with the handsome and successful Jason. However, that date is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Spencer (Stephane Garneau-Monten), Lilly’s stalker. According to Lilly, she and Spencer went on one date and Spencer has been following her around ever since. He claims that he just wants to protect her but it’s obvious that the only person that Lilly needs to be protected from is him.

Since Spencer’s arrival ruins dinner, Lilly and Jason go back to her place and order a pizza. Unfortunately, when there’s a knock at the door, it’s not the deliveryman. Instead, it’s Spencer! Spencer promptly stabs Jason to death and, after slashing Lilly’s face, he ends up falling out of a window. It appears that Spencer’s dead but …. is he?

A few months later, Lilly is trying to rebuild her life. She’s moved to a new city. She’s changed her name to Stella Gordon. She takes medication to help deal with her PTSD. And, after visiting a plastic surgery clinic, she even manages to get rid of the nasty scar that Spencer previously left on her face. The folks at the clinic like her so much that they give her a job. Soon, Stella is even having an adulterous affair with her boss. You know that you’ve made it once you start cheating with a married man.

Still, Stella is haunted by her past. She has frequent nightmares and sometimes, she swears that she can feel Spencer watching her. But isn’t Spencer dead? Stella knows that he certainly looked like he was dead after he fell out of the window but how can she be sure?

Strange things start happening. Someone sends her a dozen lilies, just like Spencer used to do. People die mysteriously. Is Spencer back or is Stella losing her mind? While Stella wrestles with that question, she also grows close to a heavily bandaged patient named Joshua. Soon, Joshua will be removing the bandages and he’s specifically requested that Stella be there to see his repaired face….

His Fatal Fixation is an enjoyably over-the-top melodrama from Canada. It’s the type of film where it’s best not to worry too much about the plot. Sure, there’s all types of plot holes and the film’s characters don’t always act in the most logical or reasonable of ways. But if you treat the film as the cinematic equivalent of a trashy, sex-filled novel, it’s a lot of fun. The director even manages to craft some genuinely creepy dream sequences.

Sarah Fisher has appeared in a lot of these films and she does a pretty good job of capturing both Stella’s fear and her hope that she’s actually found a new life, away from her stalker. Before she became a Lifetime mainstay, Sarah Fisher played Becky Baker on Degrassi. One of the things that I love about Lifetime films is that they often provide a chance to check in on how my favorite Degrassi cast members are doing. (Since many Lifetime films are Canadian productions, it’s not surprising to that they tend to be full of Degrassi alumni.) Fisher is not the only former Degrassite to appear in His Fatal Fixation. Cory Lee, who played Ms. Oh on the series, also has a small but important role.

His Fatal Fixation is an enjoyable Canadian thriller. See it with someone who isn’t stalking you.