Death She Wrote (2021 TV Movie) User Reviews

VIEWS ON FILM review of Death She Wrote

[burlesonjesse5 · 6/10 · 14 August 2021]

"I'm just a huge fan". Uh-oh, creep-o alert. The huge fan is Mary Malone and she is played pretty effectively by Paula Brancati. Paula's Malone is a real spazz. I mean you dislike her just by eye alone.

Brancati and Samora Smallwood (as Lila DeMarco) star in 2021's Death She Wrote. Death She Wrote is I suppose a nod to the TV show Murder, She Wrote. Be that as it may, the flick is more like 1990's Misery than anything else.

Death She Wrote is a Lifetime movie that at first, gets a few things wrong. It's about a famous author who hires a kooky fangirl to be her personal assistant. Here's the wrong part: Mary Malone is cray cray right off the bat and should have never been booked the job in the first place. It's way too obvious putting Death She Wrote on complete autopilot for the first hour. The other wrong part is the Lila DeMarco character who is completely oblivious to Malone's kookiness. And do writers and/or novelists really need personal assistants? I'm a writer (last time I checked) and I don't need anyone holding my darn hand. Again autopilot.

Death She Wrote despite its annoying audience self-evidence, does sneak up on you in the second and third act. The Malone persona is proof of that as she becomes the millennial version of Annie Wilkes. Mary Malone wants to be Lila DeMarco, wants to keep Lila sedated in her house, and ultimately wants to off Lila. Malone is a social media hacker and a guileful smother-er. In other words she's a real piece of work.

Bottom line: Death She Wrote has some tense moments and for the most part, builds quite nicely. But the crazy Malone shows her true colors so early you want to throw popcorn at everyone who is unaware of her "look at me" chemical imbalance. Heck, I almost "wrote" this film off. Natch.

Entertaining but lacking

[tomfsloan · 5/10 · 4 September 2021]

Death She Wrote. Another obsession movie. Not too many slow parts, although not necessarily many exciting either. Paula Brancati as Mary did a good job of being the crazed assistant. You can't watch this with out thinking of the movie Misery. The "gaslighting" segments were a little stupid and exaggerated. The dinner with Kabongo's parents was rather bizarre yet entertaining. It reminded me of Coming to America.

I can't figure why the large mansion is set in the woods, but every other scene is in the city.

It seemed to take a little too long for Lila to see Mary's kookiness. There were a number of odd and tense situations that kept me intrigued. But there were also plenty of dumb situations that kept me annoyed. That boyfriend guy in the first half and Andrew Jones, what was their purpose?

Dumb climax. Her hands were tied and her feet were tied to the chair legs. But when the chair fell down the stairs, her legs weren't tied.

Good concept, but the execution....

[CranberriAppl · 12 August 2021]

The jazzy big band music out of nowhere in an early scene made me laugh. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish, but it was completely out of sync with the movie. I don't know if it was supposed to throw us off, but Mary had already spazzed out with Isabelle (the former assistant) so for the audience, she was hiding in plain sight.

In 2021, after decades of Lifetime, the gullibility of characters that aren't teens or wet behind the ears 20-somethings is just not believable. This poor man's Annie Wilkes was so sketch from day 1 that there's just no way anyone with sense would have kept her as an employee. Imagine your new employee being followed to your residence and you don't ask questions. They gave the bare minimum lip service to that guy. At least give Mary a chance to lie about him to keep her cover. Lila's home seemed pretty private and maybe secluded, so she should have been freaked out. Imagine being an author with intellectual property and being so fast and loose with who you let read it.

I'm over Lifetime "protagonists" getting other people killed. Had Lila listened to her nephew for a half second, she would have learned something important about Mary (ugh I realize that was so close to an unintended pun lol). You would think a writer would be more inquisitive and more attentive to details. I understand wanting an assistant to handle the mundane, but come on.

The concept itself is fine. An obsessed fan is totally in Lifetime's wheelhouse. But the details are where this movie falters. The part of about the professor made no sense because there was no connection with her Lila obsession. This movie would have made way more sense had it been a direct rip off of Misery. Mary could have been the loyal, overly helpful, somewhat odd assistant. When Lila reveals to her that she's moved on from her favorite character, Mary could have snapped at that point. It didn't make sense that she was trying to ruin Lila's relationship for example. But at the same time, Mary wasn't making attempts to destroy Lila's career like one may expect from an obsessed fan that feels betrayed.

I don't know if she was hamming it up for the part, but Mary was so clearly off. Her villainous breakdown was horribly acted. She also reminded me of the daughter from People Under the Stairs and I couldn't unsee that resemblance.

This movie wasn't the worst of Lifetime so I'd say watch it at least once. However, two movies I'd recommend for a better execution of many of the elements attempted here are Misery, obviously, and Mad Mom.

Beyond Horrible

[bluejra · 1/10 · 28 October 2022]

This movie is beyond horrible. The acting, or lack thereof, is atrocious. The lead actress is just too ugly and unbearable to watch for an hour and a half. The plot is ridiculous and all over the place. There is no backstory-just an ugly duckling that no one notices is sabotaging everything??

1. Who doesn't actually call or FaceTime people about big decisions/choices? You just randomly text, email and chat all these decisions like that's normal? Oh ok.

2. No one does reference checks anymore? Let me just hire a random stranger/stalker that showed up at my book signing. Yup. Totally believable. Not!

Finally, she overacts almost immediately and you laugh it off like it's nothing?? Beyond ignorant.

The movie is definitely a snooze fest. And most characters are beyond too ugly to not at least get an enjoyable storyline.

Be careful who you hire!

[Chartreuse1 · 7/10 · 11 August 2021]

Good movie. Mary Malone is a deranged fan of Lila DeMarco, a writer, who is in need of an assistant and Mary gets the job. Mary has an agenda however and ends up ruining Lila's life and relationships. But why you might ask? You'll have to tune in to find out. This movie reminds you a little bit of Misery with Kathy Bates and Paula Brancati gives a strong performance. Definitely recommended!

Terrible

[nuchiblvkkmillion · 1/10 · 23 January 2023]

The plot already being one that we've seen at least a thousand times before, none of the situational leads were realistically practical at all. There were so many redflags that would have gotten the intern fired from the start. She was obviously, disturbed from the first moment they met but, was given a pass because it was chalked up to her being excited and nervous to have the opportunity to work for a famous author. Other than that, the movie sucked because the villain was so obvious from the beginning of their interactions. I want my 2 hours back! I wasted real time trying my best to enjoy 😑

Hard to watch

[AnnPanders · 1/10 · 10 April 2023]

This is Misery and an awful movie that starred Kristin Davis wrapped up in one. Except this cray chick was cray from the get go. But still gets this job, acts nuts, gets caught in all kinds of lies, and is thoroughly unpleasant to watch or be around.

Please skip this. Too many stupid characters.

This is Misery and an awful movie that starred Kristin Davis wrapped up in one. Except this cray chick was cray from the get go. But still gets this job, acts nuts, gets caught in all kinds of lies, and is thoroughly unpleasant to watch or be around.

Please skip this. Too many stupid characters. Why must there be a minimum character limit??

NOT BAD FOR A STEVEN KING RIP OFF.

[mtsmithsts · 8/10 · 22 December 2021]

It wasnt bad, especially for the Villian. She grated on my nerves the minute she opened her mouth. However, it was spoiled for me each time it creaped into my head that this is just a copy of Kings Misery.....👎👎

WTF?!

[haroot_azarian · 18 August 2021]

Seriously it's the most pathetic LMN movie to date! Let's make this brief! One seriously fugly psychopath with about half a dozen clueless dumb@sses headed by Lila! Nauseating is to say the least! Don't bother with this garbage!

Enjoyed every minute! No spoilers here!

[shcnewerk · 10/10 · 1 September 2021]

Solid story and acting here... even when you see it coming, the fresh acting keeps you hooked. I wanted to give the writer either a shake or a hug. Most tv movies don't get a tear out of me but this one pulled at my heart strings hard.

Disturbing she wrote...

[ginasharp · 10/10 · 26 August 2022]

This is a great movie! It starts off right away. It has a lot of uncomfortable to watch scenes, just kinda awkward but in a fun way! Seemed like a classic Lifetime movie but with an updated twist. A must see if ur a Lifetime fan! The acting was amazing! The main crazy girl is awesome at taking on crazy! She was frightening yikes!