2020 In Review: The Best of Lifetime

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As chaotic as 2020 may have been, one thing remained unchanged! Lifetime provided me with a lot of entertainment! Below, you’ll find my picks for the best Lifetime films and performances of the past year!

(For my previous best of Lifetime picks, click on the links: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019!)

Best Picture:

Best Director:

Jeff Hare for Beware of Mom
Sam Irvin for Mile High Escorts
David Weaver for Sleeping With Danger
Linden Ashby for Escaping My Stalker
Colin Theys for A Predator’s Obsession: Stalker’s Prey 2
Doug Campbell for Deadly Mile High Club

Best Actress:

Wendie Malick in Deranged Granny
Elisabeth Rohm in Sleeping With Danger
Sydney Myer in Remember Me, Mommy?
Ezmie Garcia in Escaping My Stalker
Anita Brown in Cheer Squad Secrets
Crystal Allen in Beware of Mom

Best Actor:

Houston Stevenson in A Predator’s Obsession: Stalker’s Prey 2
Antonio Cupo in Sleeping With Danger
Panos Vlahos in Psycho Yoga Instructor
Nick Ballard in Psycho Escort
Andrew James Allen in Escaping My Stalker
T.C. Matherne in A Murder to Remember

Best Supporting Actor

Damon K. Sperber in Deadly Mile High Club
Jim Klock in Secrets in the Woods
Gord Rand in Abducted on Air
Brandon Howell in Beware of Mom
Mark Jude Sullivan in Sinfidelity
Jeff Schine in A Mother Knows Worst

Best Supporting Actress

Cristine Prosperi in Killer Competition
Perrey Reeves in Abducted on Air
Mariette Hartley in Escaping My Stalker
Christina Moore in Mile High Escorts
Christie Burson in Ruthless Realtor
Cristina Rosato in No Good Dead Goes Unpunished

Best Screenplay:

Stephen Romano for Escaping My Stalker
Richard Blaney and Gregory Small for Sleeping with Danger
S.L. Heath for Beware of Mom
Barbara Kymlicka for Abducted on Air
Daniel West for Killer Competition
Adam Rockoff and Zachary Valenti for Remember Me Mommy

Best Score:

Andrew Morgan Smith for Sinfidelity
David Findlay for Revenge For Daddy
Christopher Cano for The Pom Pom Murders
Fantom for Mile High Escorts

Best Editing:

Maxime Chalifoux for Abducted on Air
Seth Johnson for The Pom Pom Murders
Bryan Capri for A Predator’s Obsession: Stalker’s Prey 2
Kelly Herron for Sleeping With Danger

Best Cinematography:

Branden James Maxham for A Predator’s Obsession: Stalker’s Prey 2
Nate Spicer for Mile High Escorts
Thomas M. Harting for Sleeping With Danger
David Dolnik for Deadly Mile High Club

Coming up next (tomorrow at the latest — maybe sooner, depending on how much time I can devote to watching 6 movie today): My picks for the best films of 2020! Finally!

TSL Looks Back at 2020:

Lifetime Film Review: Psycho Escort (dir by Monika Lynn Wesley)

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Psycho Escort is a film that epitomizes the concept of “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Put yourself in the shoes of Diane (Victoria Barabas). She’s a widow and she’s still misses her husband so much that she can’t even bring herself to sleep in the master bedroom. Instead, she sleeps in the guest bedroom, an exile in her own house. She’s a single mother, trying to raise a young son who regularly comes home from school with a black eye. On top of all that, she’s got a job that demands a lot of her time and she works with a bunch of people who are just waiting to stab her in the back.

But, it’ll all be worth it if she gets the big promotion and becomes a partner in the firm. With a promotion, she’ll finally be making enough money to provide a little bit of security for her son. And if that means that she has to miss an occasional soccer game and that she doesn’t get a chance to date much, so be it.

The only problem is that, in order to get that promotion, she’s going to have to suck up to the boss and that means going to company parties. And showing up at those parties without a date would totally make her look like a boring loser. Her sister has a helpful suggestion, though. Why not hire an escort!?

No, not that type of escort! Apparently, there’s a rent-a-date firm. You send them some money and they send you a handsome man who will pretend to be your date or your boyfriend and who will basically charm everyone in your social circle and totally make all of your friends jealous. Even though Diane is skeptical, she finally agrees to give them a call. I mean, it seems like a good idea at the time. They send over Miles (Nick Ballard).

At first, Miles seems perfect. He’s charming. He’s handsome. Diane’s boss likes him and even invites him to play a round of golf. In fact, Miles is such a hit that, when Diane has to go to another party, she calls the firm and requests Miles a second time. Diane starts to open to Miles about her husband’s death. Miles starts to open up about his wife’s death. Soon, Miles is becoming more than just an escort. Soon, he’s becoming a real boyfriend….

The only problem of course is that …. well, it’s right there in the title. Miles is a psycho escort! And soon, Miles is becoming just a bit obsessed with Diane, to the point that he’s willing to commit murder to prove his love….

Well, you know how it goes. This is a Lifetime movie and, as I’ve said countless times, the fact that these films all follow a certain formula is one of the most likable things about them. There’s something comforting about watching these films and knowing that someone is making a huge mistake that you would never make (except, of course, you totally would if you were in Diane’s situation). Psycho Escort is elevated by the performance of Nick Ballard, who is dangerously likable in the role of Miles. It’s easy to see how someone could fall for Miles and, as a result, Diane doesn’t come across as being as naive or willfully blind as one might expect. Victoria Barabas also gives a very good performance as Diane and is especially effective when she’s talking about the death of her husband. The trauma is obviously still with her and has left her vulnerable to someone like Miles. As a result, you don’t quite roll your eyes as much at Diane as you might at some people who let a total stranger into their life. There’s a reality to her situation that elevates the story.

Psycho Escort. Watch it the next time you’re tempted to rent a date.

What Lisa Watched Last Night #177: Twin Betrayal (dir by Nadeem Soumah)

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On Sunday night, I watched the latest Lifetime premiere, Twin Betrayal!

Why Was I Watching It?

The obvious answer is that it was on Lifetime. However, I also have a weakness for films about evil twins. Don’t ask me why, I just do.

What Was It About?

Poor Jessica Klint (Jen Lilley)! Not only is she struggling financially but her estranged husband (Peter Douglas) wants custody of their daughter. We know her husband is a bad guy because he wears a suit even when he’s at home and his name is Lars. Never in a Lifetime film has anyone good been named Lars. (Before anyone mentions Lars and the Real Girl, allow me to point out that 1) that’s not a Lifetime film and 2) even if it was, it would be the exception to the rule.)

However, following a business trip to Dallas, Jessica’s problems get even worse! After having a one-night stand with a cowboy named Henry (Nick Ballard), Jessica finds herself being blackmailed! Where can she get the money? Her wealthy father isn’t going to be much help. How about from her twin sister, Alessandra (Jen Lilley)? Sure, Jessica and Alessandra have a strained relationship and haven’t spoken in years but surely one twin will help the other, right?

And surely, no matter what personal issues there may be, one twin would definitely never try to frame the other for murder, right?

Right?

Watch the film to find out!

What Worked?

I enjoyed this one because, as any film about a twin betrayal should be, it was totally melodramatic, over-the-top, and very self-aware. Whenever I give a film like this a good review, I always seem to get at least one comment from someone complaining that the film was too silly or implausible but I think those people are missing the point. You don’t watch a film like Twin Betrayal because you want to see a serious exploration of what it’s like to be a twin. You watch a movie like this because you want to have fun! Twin Betrayal promised twisty entertainment and it delivered and, in the end, that’s all that really matters.

Jen Lilley obviously had a blast playing the twins, especially the wonderfully decadent Alessandra. Alessandra had obviously been waiting for years for the chance to make her sister uncomfortable and she did not let the opportunity pass her by.

What Did Not Work?

On the one hand, I was really happy that part of the film took place in Dallas. I don’t know if they actually filmed in Dallas but, at the very least, they at least included a shot of the Dallas skyline. (Whenever a movie spends any time in Dallas, you always know that you’re going to get at least one shot of Reunion Tower and one shot of Bank of America Plaza.) However, in reality, it’s doubtful that Jessica would have met any cowboys in Dallas. Football aside, cowboys are really more of a Fort Worth thing.

“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments

Much like Jessica Klint, I have a weakness for cowboys. Seriously, who doesn’t? I’m also close to my sisters but, fortunately, none of us are twins. If there’s anything that I’ve learned from watching Lifetime films, it’s that you can always depend on your sister unless she’s your twin sister. Sadly, there’s always one evil twin and it seems like the good twin always ends up getting framed. Hopefully, Lifetime will continue to explore this theme whenever they get around to making the inevitable Mary-Kate and Ashley biopic.

Actually, I guess if I was a twin, I probably would end up being the evil one. Seriously, it just seems like it would be too much of a temptation to resist…

Lessons Learned

As I stated above, one twin will always be evil. The trick is figuring out which one.

The Daily Grindhouse: The Last Resort (dir by Brandon Nutt)

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Last Resort is a low-budget horror film from 2009 that tends to show up on Chiller a lot. It’s a low-budget film about annoying people who, largely as the result of their own stupidity, get trapped in a really bad situation. It’s a movie that many people dismiss but I’ve always found it to be a pretty effective little horror film.

In The Last Resort, Kathleen (played by Marissa Tait) is a bride-to-be who decides to go down to Mexico with her bridesmaids and have one last wild weekend for getting married. They spend their first night in Mexico getting drunk and one of the bridesmaids, Sophia (America Olivio), leaves the group to spend the night with an American tourist named Rob (Nick Ballard). The next morning, Kathleen and the three bridesmaids decide to take a tour of the countryside with two rather sleazy locals. Sophia is left behind.

Not surprisingly, the two locals drive the group out to the middle of nowhere and then rob them, seriously wounding one of the girls in the process. Kathleen and her bridesmaids are abandoned to die in the desert but they manage to find a deserted resort where they take shelter for the night. Unfortunately, it appears that the resort is also home to a murderous demon which proceeds to possess each of the girls, one after another.

The Last Resort has a really terrible reputation and if you happen to look it up on the imdb, you’ll come across a lot of negative comments about the film. But you know what? For what it is, The Last Resort is not that bad of a film. The deserted resort is a genuinely menacing location and the director Brandon Nutt does a good job of maintaining an ominous atmosphere once the girls reach the location. (Though it should also be admitted that it seems to take the film forever to reach that point.)

While the girls might not be memorable as individual characters, they are believable as a group. You sincerely believe that they would not only all be friends but that they would also be the type of friends who, once they all get together, would end up spending a drunken weekend in Mexico and get stranded at a haunted resort. In all honesty, one reason why this film resonated with me is because I’ve been on a few similar wild weekends myself. Fortunately, neither me nor any of my friends were ever kidnapped at gunpoint but I do think that there were a few cases of demonic possession on some of those weekends.

Hey, it happens.

The Last Resort is one of those films that we tend to watch and go, “God, these people are so stupid,” but, to be honest, the stupider the characters act, the more strangely plausible a film like this feels. The fact of the matter is that, at any given moment, 85% of the world is engaged in doing something stupid. Smart people find themselves in stupid situations because, seriously, you don’t ever expect to find yourself being kidnapped or possessed until you already are.

That’s one reason why horror will always be a popular genre. It’s one of the few genres that forces us to admit that, for the most part, we have no idea how vulnerable we are until it’s too late. It’s easy to dismiss The Last Resort as being a film about stupid people making stupid decisions but, for me, it works precisely because it reminds us that we are capable of being just as stupid as the unfortunate bridesmaids in this film.