Dark Desire (2012 TV Movie) User Reviews

Dark and Volatile

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 30 April 2013]

"Shane" (Nic Robuck) seems like a normal young man but under the surface he is a hot-tempered and mentally disturbed psychopath. As luck would have it, his new college roommate, "Brandon" (Brian Borello) makes the mistake of inviting him to his parent's house over a weekend. Once there, Shane takes the opportunity to embed himself deep into Brandon's family and like a malignant virus begins to spread destruction within it. Anyway, rather than spoil the film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that for a film produced for "Lifetime" this one tested the boundaries just a bit when it came to a couple of passionate scenes. In that regard, I thought Kelly Lynch was terrific as the lonely and sexually starved housewife named "Caren". I also thought Nic Robuck did a pretty good job in his dark and volatile role as well. Now, while I would have preferred a format that was less restrictive this still turned out to be a slightly better than average movie in spite of it all.

It's a mess.

[punishmentpark · 2/10 · 19 January 2015]

A movie in the vein of 'The hand that rocks the cradle', though with plenty of differences. What stands out the most is that a good guy who you'd expect to live through the whole film, gets killed within a good half hour, but we all remember such a twist from 'Psycho' (1960).

I can't say the movie is áll bad, but the story deserved a lot more attention than it got. It remains unclear how things really are with a couple of the main characters; is Brandon really the asshole his 'friend'(?) Howie makes him out to be? If so, you can't help but sympathize with Shane a little. Is Shane's father right about Shane having lied to get a scholarship? If so, how did Shane get the scholarship? All he has to be is a good wrestler, which he clearly is. Then there's the relationship between Caren and Phil, or whatever is left of it. The biggest questions surround the death of Brandon, though. Why don't his friends speak up about Shane's setting up a spy cam and such? It is all so unclear and unbelievable that anything else positive hardly changes anything.

Sure, Kelly Lynch is fine to look at, as I'm sure is Robuck for some, and the film is even atmospheric at times, but altogether this is just a doozie. Bad acting all around, except for some okay moments here and there. It's hard to believe 6 out of 7 reviews are so very positive up until now...

A very small 2 out of 10.

Drivel

[ricey58 · 3/10 · 3 July 2014]

Dreadful movie, rotten script, wooden acting. It looks cheap and was obviously made quickly. Even the make-up looks amateurish. The key scene involving an "accident" has an hilarious stunt dummy in it. That dummy puts in the single best performance. Even the props get in on the awfulness: there is a wonderfully bad moment when a very, very bad actor gets whacked on the head with a fake bottle of vodka by another bad actor.

If it is raining outside, your wifi is down, you have no books to read, no chores to do, nobody in the house to talk to, no dog to walk, no tax return to file and no car to wash then I guess it might be worth giving up a couple of hours of your life. Otherwise, don't bother.

Shallow plot

[satch58 · 2/10 · 24 January 2017]

I watched this movie because it was the only movie accessible where I was. The plot was very shallow, acting very wooden, and the script stilted. Predictable story. The characters were all as bad as each other, and the car chase scenes were rubbish. It seemed far too easy to take the patient home from the hospital---no papers signed, and a paid-off ambulance escort, I realize it's a "work" of fiction, but there was no believable basis, made worse by the poor acting and production. I do recommend that you waste your time, as I did.I don't know whether it had a release into a theatre, but it should have been a straight to TV movie.

No movie

[rahmanrimon-10400 · 1/10 · 1 January 2021]

Where is movie I can't anywherethere is no any clues

Interesting if illogical wacko

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 4 November 2019]

This thriller has an intriguing wacko who seems possessive over his rich college roommate. When he goes too far and falls out with him he lets him drop off a cliff. Later he ingratiates his way into the wealthy mother's heart. But as can be expected the wacko side gets the better of him. Implausible at times but fairly exciting you want to see what happens. There is a bit of an explanation for his craziness.

The cast is quite good including Kelly Lynch as the grieving mother who can't say no. The wacko is well played by Nic Robuck.

Worth a watch.

Nicer that LMN deserves...

[bravocampbell · 9/10 · 29 November 2012]

Okay, I'm not a Lifetime fan... in fact, I'm one who typically makes fun of the kind of drivel Lifetime plays. But I stumbled on this one early on while flipping around and got a little hooked. The tension is well-played, and even small roles (the wife's best friend, the detective) are interestingly portrayed and realistic. Not your typical LMN fare, but deep and dark enough to draw you in. The interplay between the roommates is key to that tension, and I found myself genuinely torn between my alliances to the two. Kelly Lynch, who hasn't changed an ounce since her turn in Road House, stole the movie in a lot of ways, and her performance clearly guided those around her. In short, I really enjoyed it, and I'm not embarrassed to say so...

Very Nice

[doulosmedia · 10/10 · 23 November 2012]

I came across this movie today and didn't know what to expect other than I thought it would be predictable...it was not! The depth of the Shane character was great as was the confused mourning mother, Karen. I honestly thought she had gone off the deep end at the end by plotting with Shane. It was nice to see Kelly Lynch do such an interesting role. I mean how to you prep for something like that? I haven't ever seen Nic Robuck before, but he played the kid longing for acceptance so well. I look forward to seeing him again. Just maybe a nicer role next time. The role of the jerk, Howie, was spot on. Great acting. I think if I met him in real life I would want to hit him. Finally, the pace was great. The director kept things moving along quite well. He obviously knew how to get the reactions he wanted from the cast and the great (creepy) story by Julie Lynch. Great cast. Great story. Great directing. Keep it up!

TV movies like THIS are the reason people tune into Lifetime.

[pfergs1991 · 10/10 · 28 November 2012]

Kelly Lynch, who looks as good as she did in her "Drugstore Cowboy" days, plays a grieving mother who develops an unhealthy relationship with the best friend of her deceased son. But this being Lifetime, the twists keep coming. A palpable sense of dread and eroticism, strong performances by Lynch and the always solid Michael Nouri, and an expertly paced narrative, raise "Dark Desire" far above similar TV thrillers. This is hardly surprising, as the movie is directed by Armand Mastroianni. A much sought after TV director in recent years, Mastroianni directed some of the most stylish and intense independent horror movies of the early 80's.

Fantastic 'Fatal Attraction'-esque Thriller!

[bastianb7097 · 10/10 · 11 December 2012]

This aired on the Lifetime Movie Network in late November, and wow! If I blinked, I might have missed it. So glad I recorded it to my DVR, as this was a FANTASTIC thriller! I'm rating it a 10 based on Television/Cable movie standards, but now that I think about it, this is a great movie even by theatrical standards! The acting was solid, the plot was fast paced and engrossing, while the tension was realistic. And there was also quite a bit of man candy, enough to satisfy those on BOTH sides of the fence. I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers (the 3 dated before mine) and highly recommend this as a great romantic suspense thriller. Look for it in your local TV listings as I believe it will rerun soon (as of December 2012). Lifetime has been cranking out some excellent movies over the past several years, and while some are turkeys, there are more than a few that are above average. This one is at the top of my list for 2012!

Excellent film

[sideshowsuzy-866-82424 · 9/10 · 1 September 2015]

I am not happy with the review that slags off Lifetime movies. I love Canadian film, it has a fresh perspective the actors are accomplished and you can always tell that it's Canadian opposed to American. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that they only produce a film of this caliber every 3 to 4 years. Have you any idea how hard it is to compete in the World market I love Canadian film and I'm from the UK. I love all film that has tried and overcome. I mean if you want to talk boring films how about Chocolat snooze AI that's right up there in my top ten of awful films. Look at the budget in AI it wasn't Speilbergs nor was it Kubricks. It was so bloody boring, when David waits under the sea for 300 years or whatever it felt that long. So when you're badmouthing a limited budget Canadian film have a think about how hard they work and how much entertainment they bring for a fraction of the cost. I just think it's wrong to slag off a whole company who can't be that bad or they wouldn't still be producing films. Everyone is entitled to their opinion that's yours this is mine. Back to the film Dark Desire. It's entertaining and a lot sinister and very strange too. Great work guys keep it up.It is stylish lovely looking bad guy, always a plus and I won't spoil it watch it and see. It was on Channel 5 this afternoon 1st September 2015.

big surprise for a Lifetime movie

[alannasser · 8/10 · 11 December 2012]

We all know about Lifetime movies -or should I say Lifetime movie? These are variations on the same movie, which can admittedly take a (small) number of forms. Perhaps the most typical of these is the apparently ordinary but actually deranged individual who insinuates him- or herself into a family of innocents. Frequently the sicko will exploit an existing tension within the family for his/her own dastardly ends. Well, this is indeed what happens in this movie. But the similarity to a typical Lifetime movie pretty much ends there. This is no Anne Carlucci or Pierre David production. Nor is it directed by the ubiquitous, unimaginative, lifeless Douglas Jackson. Nor is the narrative punctuated with the characters' wholesome, sentimental, heartwarming chuckles. The film is directed with a sense of style, the actors are far above the level of mediocrity afflicting virtually all Lifetime actors, the camera work is relatively polished, the pacing and tempo never drag and the film is cut professionally. Armand Mastroianni is no star director, but he's way better than any of Lifetime's stable of inert "talents".

What prevents Lifetime from turning out something like this more than every 3 or 4 years? A restricted budget? An obsession with low-budget Canadian dreck? Probably something along those lines. Lifetime would surely broaden its audience were it to look to put together more movies of this calibre. Make no mistake, Dark Desire is not a first-rate film. But it's got a polish and professionalism entirely lacking in just about every other of the network's products. It starkly underscores the low-rent, shallow and amateurish quality of most everything else Lifetime has tossed our way. It's time to put Carlucci and David out to pasture.

Better late than never!

[IslandGal0956 · 10/10 · 25 October 2015]

Although this movie is from 2012, I didn't discover it until Lifetime re-aired it this year, which is 2015! (I presume it has been shown in previous years as well).

What a great film! I agree with everything mentioned in the positive reviews prior to mine.

This movie has a riveting storyline and superb acting.

However, one thing that confused me was that in a conversation with Shane, Brandon referred to Howie (that actor stole his scenes!) as an "ass", but Brandon turned to Howie for help when he realized that Shane had found out intimate details about his sex life with Erin (sorry, but IMHO, she is the one weak link in this movie; the actress was awful).

Also, later in the movie, Brandon's mother, Caren, tells whoever it is that's investigating Howie having drowned in the bathtub that Howie was one of Brandon's best friends or maybe his best friend (she says something to the effect of *my son and one of his best friends both killed within a short time of each other* or *my son and his best friend ...*).

I guess that Brandon and Howie bonded through being on the wrestling team, so they were close buddies, but overall, Howie's lifestyle was too wild for Brandon's taste.

I'm glad I DVR'd this movie; I've watched it again and again ...! Somehow, it never gets old!

WOW! Unexpected!

[minunimion · 9/10 · 25 January 2023]

Great movie! Well acting, directing and story. Congratulations to all cast. I really enjoyed it. In the beginning I didn't expect anything good, but I noticed a couple of definitely good actors, (Kelly Lynch and Michael Nouri), so I thought that maybe... and it was! WOW! Very good pace, interesting plot, full of suspense and I didn't miss anything, just stuck to the screen until the ending. That was really well written and satisfying.

I'm not saying anything about the story as I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I highly recommend to give a look to this movie, if you like thrillers, of course.

Maybe it doesn't deserve 9 stars, but not even it deserves few stars, so I'm trying to give it a chance.

A scary psycho movie

[NuttyBaby · 8/10 · 21 July 2022]

Although set in paradise, this film is dark. Really beautiful looking people and a wonderful sunshine throughout but the main character has inner demons. Shane loves a woman but there is a lot that she doesn't know about him. We get to know that Shane is a constant liar, who spies on people, steals clothes and is a murderer. Good film and more films should be like this.