Karen Cliche | Through the Shattered Lens

Last night, I turned over to Lifetime and I watched the latest “premiere,” The Black Widow Killer!

Why Was I Watching It?

I was hoping it would be about Natasha Romanoff and her life before she joined the Avengers. It turned out I was wrong though I’m sure that the possibility of confusion was one reason why Lifetime scheduled this film for last night. You may have noticed that I earlier said that this movie was a “premiere” as opposed to just a premiere. That’s because The Black Widow Killer originally aired in Canada in 2018. It subsequently played on both French and Spanish TV before Lifetime decided to air it here in the States. I’m sure that Lifetime’s decision was influenced by the title and the possibility that people would tune in to see Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh battling the latest addition to the MCU’s gallery of rogues.

That said, the main reason that I watched it was because it was on Lifetime! Seriously, I love that network. Have you noticed?

What’s It About?

Secrets, lies, death, and murder. There’s a killer in town and all of the victims knew each other in high school and were involved in a gruesome car accident back in the day. Is the killer seeking revenge or is there another motive? By the end of the movie, who will still be alive and what will be left of them?

What Worked?

I liked the cinematography. The film took place in one of those small towns where it’s constantly snowing and the film manages to make white ground and frozen breath look really ominous. I was not surprised to discover that the director is also a very experienced cinematographer because the film looked great.

I liked some of the performances. (Some is the word to remember.) Morgan Kohan and Bradley Hamilton did good work as the children of two potential victims. Luigi Saracino was also well-cast as the most obvious suspect. (Of course, you know what they say about obvious suspects….)

What Did Not Work?

So, if you’re going to make a movie about a bunch of people being targeted by a serial killer, it might help if at least some of the potential victims were likable. In this case, though, absolutely none of them were. Even the film’s main character, Judy Dwyer (played by Erin Karpluk), refused to really take any responsibility for her part in covering up the auto accident. When we first meet Judy, she’s whining about her husband not serving her divorce papers in person. Then, about halfway through the film, she starts whining about being targeted by someone whose life she helped ruin. You start to wonder if the other victims are really being murdered or if Judy’s just talking them to death.

This isn’t really the filmmaker’s fault but the description for the film in the guide basically gave away the identity of the murderer. As a result, it’s hard for me to say how suspenseful the film is because I already knew who the murderer was going to be.

“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments

I have red hair and so did Judy’s daughter! Sorry, that’s about all I can come up with as far as this movie’s concerned.

Lessons Learned

Take responsibility for your mistakes or you might get in trouble 25 years later.

(Lisa is currently in the process of cleaning out her DVR! It’s going to take a while because Lisa has over 200 things recorded. However, one thing is for sure: it’s all getting erased on January 15th. Will Lisa be able to watch everything before doomsday? Keep checking here to find out! She recorded Killer Mom off of Lifetime on April 15th!)

Poor Jessica (played by Karen Cliche)!

Nothing’s going right for her. First off, her husband has been arrested and charged with one of those financial crimes that rich men always seem to be committing in Lifetime movies. She’s had to move in with her best friend, which is good because her friend keeps her supplied with wine and sympathy but bad because her friend’s house is not quite as nice as the house that she used to live in. When she does go out of town, she’s so broke that she can’t even afford to stay in a nice hotel. She has to rip open her blouse and threaten to accuse the manager of raping her just to get a good room!

However, there is a light on the horizon. 14 years earlier, as the result of an affair with a married man, Jessica had a daughter named Allison. Jessica gave Allison up and Allison was raised by her father and his wife. The wife died a few years previously and, just a few days ago, the father was killed in a plane crash! That means that the now 14 year-old Allison (Maddy Martin) stands to inherit millions!

After showing up at the funeral and introducing herself, Jessica starts to work her way into Allison’s life. Allison’s half-sister, Sydni (Kirby Bliss Blanton) automatically suspects that Jessica is only interested in the money. For that matter, so does just about everyone else in the world. No one trusts Jessica but Allison. And Allison is so happy to finally be reunited with her biological mother that no one has the courage to tell her about their suspicions.

That doesn’t stop people from trying to investigate Jessica’s past, however. Of course, that’s always a mistake in a Lifetime movie. Trying to investigate anything is usually a good way to end up either getting framed or murdered. For instance, Aaron Martin (Brad Long) makes it clear that he doesn’t trust Jessica and suddenly, his computer is full of child porn! Is Aaron a perv or did Jessica use her magic internet powers to hack his computer? (Take a guess.) The housekeeper doesn’t trust Jessica and suddenly, her mother is attacked by an intruder. Sydni thinks that Jessica is plotting something and … oh my God! Suddenly, there are drugs in her car!

As I’ve said before, the more batshit crazy a Lifetime film is, the more likely it’s going to be a success. Killer Mom is totally and completely over the top, full of nonstop plotting, snarky commentary, and — most importantly — really beautiful houses. Nobody lives in a messy house in a Lifetime film! Karen Cliche totally embraces the role of femme fatale, giving a performance that suggests that Jessica is almost as amused by her schemes as we are. All in all, Killer Mom is good melodramatic fun.