Last night, I watched the latest Canadian-made Lifetime original film, Text to Kill!

Why Was I Watching It?

I was watching both because it was on Lifetime and it was a Canadian production.  I love Lifetime and I love Canada.

What Was It About?

High school senior Taylor (Emily Tennant) has a lot to deal with.  It’s been two years since her father was killed in a tragic car accident.  Her overprotective mother (Dina Meyer) is a cop.  Her former best friend, Hannah (Stephanie Bennett), is now her enemy.  Her current best friend, Barbara (Sarah Desjardins), is dealing with a secret of her own.  And now, out of nowhere, she has started to get threatening texts from someone calling himself “Truth & Lies.”

Who could be behind the evil texts?  At first, Taylor suspects that it’s Hannah.  But could it be Brandon (Kurt Ostland), the school weirdo?  Or maybe it’s Cody (Keenan Tracy), Taylor’s enigmatic new boyfriend who somehow had her number before she ever gave it to him.  Or could it be someone else entirely?

What Worked?

Text to Kill was actually a pretty fun little thriller.  It kept me guessing, all of the actors gave good performances, and — perhaps most importantly — there was not a single character who didn’t live in a big and tastefully decorated house.  (One of the pleasures of watching movies on Lifetime is that you get to see how everyone decorates their home.)  Sarah Desjardins especially did a good job in the role of Barbara, bringing a bit of social relevance to what otherwise could have just been a standard Lifetime thriller.

What Did Not Work?

From the minute Text to Kill started, I knew that it was going to be one of those thriller that ended with a totally implausible twist, the type of twist that it’s best not to think too much about.  And that’s exactly what happened!  Unfortunately, the twist was revealed when there was still 15 minutes of film left to go.  That left the audience with 15 minutes to think about how little sense it all made.  If the film had waited until the final 7 minutes to reveal that twist, it wouldn’t have been an issue.  But 15 minutes is too long an amount of time to know about the twist without thinking about all the unanswered questions and issues raised by it.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

I related to the character of Hannah and I especially admired the fact that she was less scared by the stalker and more just annoyed by all the inconvenience.

Lessons Learned

When your mom’s a cop, there’s nothing you can’t get away with.