I thought this movie was quite entertaining. It kept me guessing and going back and forth trying to identify the perp. The acting was above average for a Lifetime/LMN movie. There were a few scenes that made no sense to me, like the attack at the storage unit, and the pushing into the water. They added nothing to the story, in my opinion. Then there's the ending. It left me with more questions than answers. Why didn't the parents tell Emily (Mena Suvari) that she had a brother and a sister? Why did the perpetrator attack Cassie (Enya Flack)? Why didn't Kyle (Mark Famiglietti) tell Emily that he had dated Lily (Joy Nash) when she first appeared? Why did he never confront Lily? Who was the other person in the black hoody? But, with all of this, I was still entertained.
7 Reviews
Match Game
nogodnomasters24 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Mena Suvari stuck in "B" movie mother roles plays Emily, a "B" movie mother undergoing marriage counseling with her husband Kyle (Mark Famiglietti) in their home because they have money. She runs a PR firm she inherited from her parents and he works for her. There are a number of things happening in their lives right now to cause confusion and the next thing you know a woman named Lily (Joy Nash) pops up at her place and claims to be her sister with a birth certificate and everything. Kyle has an initial unfounded distrust of Lily as he possibly sees her as a threat to his family, now trying to get back together. Things start to happen to Emily that appear someone wants her out of the way. We have two suspects.
SPOILER: If you every watch a Lifetime film, always go by the title and never the direction the film tries to take you. I am not sure why they do that. Not bad for Lifetime.
SPOILER: If you every watch a Lifetime film, always go by the title and never the direction the film tries to take you. I am not sure why they do that. Not bad for Lifetime.
Love is for Suckers
HorrorFilmHellion28 March 2023
This ranks right in with the average Lifetime production- not particularly cheap, not particularly exceptional in any way. The high-level plot here is we have a woman that has inherited money, a large business, and a CEO position from her deceased parents, however, she is generally unhappy or depressed working through an apparent damaged marriage and feeling Under the Blade. The husband seems picture perfect, minus some glossed over past transgression, but he's Still Hungry to make things work. Soon she discovers she has an older sister when a woman that looks absolutely nothing like her shows up out of the blue to meet her and gives her a daughter a chance to Come Out and Play. This is making her happy to have family, but of course we are waiting for the Big Hits and Nasty Cuts. The plot mystifies a bit from here and there are some twists and turns... however when we get to the climax, it's a convoluted 5-10 second clumsy explanation of a motivation reveal. Seriously, Lifetime: We're Not Gonna Take It. Pros: Mena Suvari- although, she plays a vapid character in this one. Cons: The sister is a kick-in-the-groin miscast. Also, the mystery-man griefer scenes were flat out corny and should have been cut from the film completely.
Not bad, especially the acting
Farfallina7828 March 2023
It's not a coincidence using a real accredited actor, like Mena Suvari, helped.
Emily (Suvari) is the CEO of a PR firm that she inherited from her deceased parents. She's married to Kyle, though their marriage is on the rocks.
Emily advertises for a babysitter for their daughter, and Lily shows up to interview. Only Lily admits early on that she is Emily's sister, and that her parents sent her away at a young age.
Basic Lifetime plot: strange and dangerous things start happening, Kyle seems suspicious, Emily doesn't know what to believe ... Is Lily really a twisted sister or is Kyle behind the trouble?
This movie entertained me and even the other actors aside from Mena Suvari held their own. To me, the difference is actually notable compared to LMN/Lifetime usual fare. Also notable is the casting of a larger sized woman to play the role of the sister and not the "funny fat friend", which is not something you see often. Overall not a bad way to pass an hour and a half.
Emily (Suvari) is the CEO of a PR firm that she inherited from her deceased parents. She's married to Kyle, though their marriage is on the rocks.
Emily advertises for a babysitter for their daughter, and Lily shows up to interview. Only Lily admits early on that she is Emily's sister, and that her parents sent her away at a young age.
Basic Lifetime plot: strange and dangerous things start happening, Kyle seems suspicious, Emily doesn't know what to believe ... Is Lily really a twisted sister or is Kyle behind the trouble?
This movie entertained me and even the other actors aside from Mena Suvari held their own. To me, the difference is actually notable compared to LMN/Lifetime usual fare. Also notable is the casting of a larger sized woman to play the role of the sister and not the "funny fat friend", which is not something you see often. Overall not a bad way to pass an hour and a half.
Twisted sister or twisted husband?
Chartreuse131 March 2023
Emily owns and runs Caldwell PR and they have a 30th anniversary party coming up so she is extra busy at the company and she needs a nanny to look after Nina, her and Kyle's daughter who are separated. Enter Lily who shows up for the position but it is really a cover because she claims to be Emily's long lost older half- sister. She says she was shipped off by their deceased parents when they were young which is why Emily doesn't remember her. Kyle thinks Lily is a fake and goes out of his way to make her look like a fraud. But why and is he the one behind everything when thing starts to go wrong for Emily both at work and at home OR are his instincts about Lily right and he's just trying to protect Emily from an impostor who's after the family fortune? You will have to tune in. The 3 lead actors were strong in this but the script they were given was disappointingly weak. Still, it is entertaining and worth a watch if you're bored.
All in the Family
lavatch6 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
One of our favorite actresses, Mena Suvari, stars in the role of Emily, who inherited a public relations business from her parents and now serves as CEO. Emily's husband Kyle also works for the firm, but the couple have had a major falling out and are in marital counseling. Then, a woman claiming to be Emily's sister shows up, and everything begins to fall apart in Emily's life.
In their counseling, Kyle and Emily attempt to renew their vows and promise honesty in their lives moving forward. But Kyle subsequently forges the DNA certificate to make it appear that the newly arrived Lily is not Emily's sister. What is Kyle trying to hide? When he is caught red-handed with the forged document, the marriage is effectively over.
The most interesting character was the sister Lily, who seemed absolutely devoted to her young niece Nina. Lily was also extremely persuasive and even possessed some skills in sales when she took charge of a meeting a saved a client for Emily's firm. All of the characters were struggling to find an idealized experience of "family."
In the end, however, there were many secrets hidden in this family. The biggest bombshell was that Kyle at some point was "dating" Lily! Lily desperately wanted to fit in and appeared to have a master plan in her hare-brained scheme. Kyle desperately wanted to return to Emily's life. But there was too much baggage that eventually came bubbling to the surface. It was finally made clear to Emily that the life-damaging incidents in the past were "all in the family."
In their counseling, Kyle and Emily attempt to renew their vows and promise honesty in their lives moving forward. But Kyle subsequently forges the DNA certificate to make it appear that the newly arrived Lily is not Emily's sister. What is Kyle trying to hide? When he is caught red-handed with the forged document, the marriage is effectively over.
The most interesting character was the sister Lily, who seemed absolutely devoted to her young niece Nina. Lily was also extremely persuasive and even possessed some skills in sales when she took charge of a meeting a saved a client for Emily's firm. All of the characters were struggling to find an idealized experience of "family."
In the end, however, there were many secrets hidden in this family. The biggest bombshell was that Kyle at some point was "dating" Lily! Lily desperately wanted to fit in and appeared to have a master plan in her hare-brained scheme. Kyle desperately wanted to return to Emily's life. But there was too much baggage that eventually came bubbling to the surface. It was finally made clear to Emily that the life-damaging incidents in the past were "all in the family."
Close but no cigar
CranberriAppl29 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The movie made it seem as if it couldn't be the sister at all in spite of the title. Why? It should have been like Killer Twin where the only one being fooled was the good sister and her husband. Same for My Father's Other Family. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER and with this movie being more about Lily being sent away bc she killed the little brother deserved a lot more development than the last couple of scenes of the movie. Right up to the end, Mena's character just believed her parents sent away a sibling. I would have also liked to see her be a bit more shocked/taken aback by the news. Sure the DNA test was accurate, but unless I missed it, she didn't really spend much time coming to terms with new family and the potential flaws of her parents' (whom she idolized) characters.
This movie should have leaned into the sister wanting revenge. It was so obviously her that the writers should have played it up and had more fun with it. It made no sense for it to be Kyle since he clearly loved his wife and daughter. Why would he destroy their lives and wreck his daughter's inheritance? His mistake was not mentioning his affair. That was stupid if he wanted to fix his marriage. Why would he try to electrocute his wife? Why would he try to drown her at the party? When would he have had the time to change into the classic black hood and jeans? It made no sense.
It was a basic thriller; it was just missing something. I did like the filming style, although the placement of some of the commercial breaks was questionable. It didn't look nor feel like a typical LMN movie but I wish they'd just spent the whole time establishing the sis as the villain.
As another contributor said...not the worst, not the best. Very mid. 5/10.
This movie should have leaned into the sister wanting revenge. It was so obviously her that the writers should have played it up and had more fun with it. It made no sense for it to be Kyle since he clearly loved his wife and daughter. Why would he destroy their lives and wreck his daughter's inheritance? His mistake was not mentioning his affair. That was stupid if he wanted to fix his marriage. Why would he try to electrocute his wife? Why would he try to drown her at the party? When would he have had the time to change into the classic black hood and jeans? It made no sense.
It was a basic thriller; it was just missing something. I did like the filming style, although the placement of some of the commercial breaks was questionable. It didn't look nor feel like a typical LMN movie but I wish they'd just spent the whole time establishing the sis as the villain.
As another contributor said...not the worst, not the best. Very mid. 5/10.
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