Tracking a Killer (TV Movie 2021) Poster

(2021 TV Movie)

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6/10
VIEWS ON FILM review of Tracking a Killer
burlesonjesse526 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"I didn't kill her, she was my best friend". Dang, I hate when that happens in a Lifetime flick. Actually I like when that happens. Now I can "kill" an hour and a half of my afternoon as opposed to taking a nap.

Anyway in 2021's Tracking a Killer, the "tracking" is a reference to women high school track stars who run the 100-yard dash. They are competitive, they can be catty, they don't dart realistically, and they love to violently hit people with their track sneaks. I mean at least one of them does.

So OK, Tracking a Killer is a Lifetime-r that's uneven, averagely acted, pie in the skied, and lopsidedly scripted. Just imagine enough planted whodunits to equal Clue and Knives Out and that's what you get with "Killer".

Shot in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, directed by an unseasoned Richard Switzer, and revealing a twist that sort of knocked me for a loop, Tracking a Killer is about a runner named Haley (an impressive debut from first-timer Jane Dillon). Haley is accused of murdering her track-and-field teammate and it's up to her mom and a friendly attorney who wants to get with said mom, to prove her innocence.

Look for a couple of head trauma murders (Lifetime wouldn't have it any other way), some wooden performances by the detective characters, and the accused wearing a faulty ankle bracelet that allows her to take it off and do whatever she pleases (talk about a desperate and hopeless plot ploy).

Bottom line: "Killer" is no masterpiece but it keeps the viewer guessing and throbbing at least until the 75-minute mark. Minus some overacting, some propped track shoes that don't look like real track shoes, and editing that reeks of emplacement, Tracking a Killer gets an okay "track record" from me.
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6/10
I have a major problem with the ending...
mr_wright_056 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This review has a few major SPOILERS, you've been warned. So this movie is standard lifetime, mystery and suspense. The same middle class families and turmoil that goes with someone being some type of underhanded killer. It revolves around three teenaged girlfriends who are on the track team. My issue is that the crazy boyfriend, who is definitely a decoy character, was dating one of the friends, who was killed early on in the movie. When all the dusts settles and the happy ending begins, this boyfriend character suddenly turns into a nice guy, then he asks the other friend out on a date! Why the F would they do this and think it's okay? If my friend was killed, I wouldn't date her boyfriend after her murder/manslaughter was solved.
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5/10
Very nice mystery
kyleallencole928 May 2021
This new lifetime flick was really good.

Nice twist towards the end as well that was unexpected.

Shown under the title Tracking a Killer, shows how deadly high school sports rivalries can be.
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2/10
New movies =Terrible Actors!!!
everinethogans16 June 2021
This movie is supposed to be a true story but I can't tell because the actors are such a joke that I can't take this seriously!! The old actors in the 90s were so much better!!!! I'm ready to cancel lifetime completely because this is so CRINGY I can't even watch!!!! It's a hard no for me!
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7/10
Bizarre LMN movie entry...Watch it!!
mja589 June 2021
To me this was one of the most bizarre LMN movie entries I have seen yet. You won't guess the guilty party until the last 15 minutes or so.

When watching, keep in mind:

1. High-end athletic shoes can cause a LOT of trouble.

2. Beware of your best friend (Elaina).

3. Beware of your best friend's mother!

The fight at the end is over the top! Laurie Fortier must be one of the toughest chicks out there because she can take it, and dish it out as well.

7/10 Give it a look.
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6/10
Fatal Frenemies
coltras354 May 2023
Ever since her father's death, Haley has struggled with anger management but finds solace in running with her friends Elaina and Abby on their high school track team. But when Abby is found dead in the locker room after a particularly heated argument with Haley, the cops pin the murder on Haley and place her under house arrest. Haley is adamant she's innocent. As her mom Michelle tries to figure out who could have framed her daughter, the assistant track coach also turns up dead, and Haley's DNA is all over the crime scene. After Haley goes missing, Michelle must work quickly to find her daughter and discover the truth behind the mysterious deaths before Haley or anyone else gets hurt.

Above average Lifetime thriller centred around track and field competition - most of it is standard stuff, and the way the accused girl with anger issues is always seen as the only possible person who could have murdered her friend. It's well-made and has some fine twists.
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8/10
Run For Your Life!!!
lavatch9 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A new pair of track shoes figures prominently in resolving the deep, dark mysteries of "Tracking a Killer" (a.k.a., "Fatal Frenemies").

The film opens with a spat on the race track about a new pair of shoes recently purchased for Hailey Longford by her mother Michelle. The other runners appear peculiarly envious. One thing leads to another, and Hailey's team member on the track team, Abby Harris, is discovered murdered in the locker room. Because Hailey has recently been in anger management due to her temper tantrums, she is blamed for the murder.

One of our favorite actresses, Laurie "Lifetime" Fortier, anchors the film in the role of Hailey's caring mother. Michelle Longford is a widow and a survivor who is a successful planner of events. After she is hired to plan a big shindig at a law office, the attorney Luke represents Hailey after her arrest.

The plot thickens when Coach Gina Jones is murdered, and it appears that DNA evidence links Hailey to this crime as well. It is the quick-thinking Michelle who begins to probe into the case that uncovers a bizarre sequence events that led to the deaths of Abby Harris and Gina Jones.

The filmmakers were successful in keeping the audience guessing with a good supply of prime suspects. Abby's boyfriend Dylan and Mrs. Brooke Cooper, the mother Elaina, another member of the track team, both display behavioral traits that point to their complicity in the murders. The film was also enlivened by some snappy lines, such as: "You're just as stupid as your father!!!"

The dialogue was crisp and the characters were well-rounded in this above average track thriller. Every time that young Hailey Longford escaped from her ankle monitor and went out for a jog, she seemed to incriminate herself further. She was also clearly in a state of desperation in which she was literally running for her life!
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