A Sister's Nightmare (TV Movie 2013) Poster

(2013 TV Movie)

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5/10
Unexpected Made-For-TV Gem....
vnssyndrome8921 June 2023
A SISTER'S NIGHTMARE

BASIC PLOT: Jane (nm000539) is a police officer, who is trying to raise teenage Emily (Peyton List) with her fiance, Phil (Matthew Settle).

Emily (Peyton List) is having nightmares and panic attacks about drowning. They are debilitating, requiring medication.

Cassidy, Jane's sister, (Natasha Henstridge) is finally being released from the mental hospital, after 15 years. She's been drugged and given shock treatments while inside. She's had no contact with her sister, and is very much alone in this world.

Meanwhile, Jane continues to have bloody flashbacks, about an incident in a bathroom. In the flashback, there's a dead man next to a bathtub full of water, and an injured woman.

Jane continues to imply Cassidy is a danger, but it is Jane's behavior that is becoming increasingly bizarre. Jane sits up all night on guard, she puts deadbolts on on the bedroom doors, and she puts bars on all the windows. Is Cassidy as unstable as Jane continues to espouse, or is something else amiss here? Why does Cassidy say she's going to take Emily away with her, and why is Emily so afraid of water?

WHAT WORKS: *The sisters are afraid of each other, but because we are only given bits and pieces, we don't know who's side to be on.

*The pace of the unveiling of the plot is right on the money. It doesn't reveal too much to soon, but it's not so slow, boredom sets in either.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *I hate movies that use the word sis. No one who has a sister calls them sis, myself included.

*The doctors at the mental hospital say Cassidy's last name is Rydert, the same as Jane's, but Cassidy was married to a man named Brian. Shouldn't she have his last name?

*There's a continuity error at about the 1hr mark. Emily and Phil have just had a conversation about the bars on the windows, but in the very next scene, Jane drives up, and there are no bars to be seen.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: I would recommend this movie, it is a higher quality made-for-tv movie, probably because of the two leads Natasha Henstridge & Kelly Rutherford, whom are both experienced actresses. The plot is also more taught than most of these, it unveiles itself in an enjoyable way, without a lot of clunky or unbelievable nonsense. It manages to avoid the pitfalls so many of these made-for-tv movies can't escape.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.
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6/10
Pretty Predictable
mandelabliss15 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Shelley Gillen, the writer of A Sister's Nightmare, also wrote A Mother's Nightmare and A Daughter's Nightmare. A Sister's Nightmare is probably the worst of these three. It is about a pair of sisters, one is insane and just came out of a mental hospital, and the relatively sane for a Lifetime movie. The "twist" ending was not much of a surprise for me being that I guessed it half way through the movie. The acting in the movie was decent. The editing was as good as any other Lifetime movie. Overall, if you like Lifetime movies this is an average one. I recommend A Daughter's Nightmare or A Mother's Nightmare instead of this.
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5/10
could be horror
SnoopyStyle9 September 2018
Cassidy (Natasha Henstridge) is released from a mental institution. She goes to stay with her younger patrol policewoman sister Jane (Kelly Rutherford) who has a family of her own. Jane's daughter Emily (Peyton List) is struggling with nightmares of drowning and has a water phobia.

The reveal holds no surprises. In fact, the pieces fall into the exact places that one expects. For anybody with elemental math skills, one should be able to figure out Emily's origins. Quite frankly, this story is made to be a psychological horror from Emily's point of view. Instead, it's a Lifetime movie and it is all Lifetime. As such, there isn't much tension and has no momentum. Even the final twist is fully expected. I would have been disappointed if the script doesn't take it to its logical ending. At least, it arrives at its end point without big screw ups.
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7/10
Henstridge's Acting Ability
kupcr12 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I certainly was a little weary when I started watching this movie because I really dislike Natasha Henstridge as an actress, but lo and behold I was so surprised when I was suddenly swept up into her Cassie character, I enjoyed every bit of her screen time. I think she really shines in this movie and believable, as she immersed herself in the part. Also, the likes of 'Gossip Girl' actress Kelly Rutherford is really good as a supporting actress and I really liked her character as a focussed police officer. The interaction between the two, Henstridge and Rutherford, is turned on its head and you really don't know who's the psychotic and who isn't until the end. A great thriller! I won't give any spoilers away because there's a perfect twist you never saw coming and a big surprise that makes you go 'WTF!", so this really isn't a run of the mill "I knew it!" More like "OMG!" and it really shows you how versatile Henstridge acting can be that she can catch you at the moments notice, you literally want more! You will find one car chase and few flashbacks, but if you wait it out, it gets entertaining enough and not as obvious as you would think and remains plausible. Picturesque coastal town for a filming location. Things don't get too outrageous or unbelievable. Worth a watch.
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4/10
Disappointed
gginniver14 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
++ POSSIBLE SPOILER ++ I am only giving this a 4 because they have got the mental illnesses wrong, first it is not called ' a borderline personality' because it is an illness in itself, we are not nearly Ill, the mental health professionals prefer to call it Emotional Intensity Disorder. The other point I want to make is that the vast majority of us are not murderers, we are far more a danger to ourselves. How are we all supposed to fight the stigma of all mental illness if the movie makers, the press etc keep giving out the wrong information, like branding all of us as killers. I find this all very sad as I struggle everyday with borderline personality disorder.
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4/10
Sibling Rivalry Runs Amok
wes-connors8 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
During 15 years in the Oregon State Psychiatric Hospital, we see committed Natasha Henstridge (as Cassidy "Cass" Rydert) receiving shock treatment, drawing on her arms and acting giddy. Finally considered well enough to be released, Ms. Henstridge shows up unexpectedly at the home of younger sister Kelly Rutherford (as Jane Rydert). A visibly more stable police officer, Ms. Rutherford is raising "aqua phobic" 15-year-old daughter Peyton List (as Emily) and planning to marry handsome live-in fiancé Matthew Settle (as Phil Martin). The living arrangement gets tense, interesting, silly and predictable.

**** A Sister's Nightmare (9/7/13) Vic Sarin ~ Kelly Rutherford, Natasha Henstridge, Peyton List, Matthew Settle
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8/10
Good acting especially from Kelly Rutherford
phd_travel24 January 2015
It's so great to see the lovely Kelly Rutherford of Gossip Girl stretch her dramatic acting abilities as a police officer. You might not think it but she can play both the high society matron and a cop just as well. Her fiancé is played by her Gossip Girl co star Matthew Settle. They always work well together. Her sister who is released from a mental institution after a long confinement and comes to stay with her. She is played by a regular of lifetime movies the versatile Natasha Henstridge of Species fame. With 3 A list for TV actors it's got to be better than the run of the mill lifetime thriller. It's entertaining enough and not as obvious as you would think and remains plausible. Picturesque coastal town for a filming location. Things don't get too outrageous or unbelievable. Worth a watch.
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8/10
A Tale of Two Sisters
lavatch17 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
In this gripping melodrama, there is a fascinating dichotomy explored in the lives of sisters. Jane Rydert has become Sergeant Rydert of the Ridgewood police force. Her sister, Cassidy Laurel Rydert, has just been released from the Salem, Oregon Psychiatric Hospital after years of treatment, including shock therapy, after she apparently murdered her husband in cold blood.

Now, Cassidy comes to live with her Jane and her fiancé, Phil Martin, and Jane's daughter, Emily. There is palpable tension in every exchange between the sisters. The drama unfolds the backstory of their childhood and the tragic circumstances of the murder of Cassidy's husband. The strength of the film is a character-driven drama.

The filmmakers were successful in keeping the flashback scenes to an absolute minimum and focusing on the conflict between Jane and Cassidy. There were also well-developed secondary characters in Jane's devoted live-in lover Phil, her partner on the police force, Vic, and young Emily, who has nightmares about drowning and who has never learned how to swim.

The screenplay effectively developed greater sympathy for Cassidy and less for Jane as the drama proceeded. The director was skillful in the use of close-ups complemented by beautiful footage of the Pacific Northwest. The performances were first-rate, especially by the actresses playing the sisters.

The tension that became nearly unbearable in the home opens up in the climactic scene at Storm Lake, where Cassidy has taken young Emily with the apparent goal of ridding her of her phobia of water. But is that the true motivation of Cassidy as Jane is racing to the scene in a stolen squad car? The scene at the lake was a great unraveling of the secrets at the heart of the tale of two sisters.
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8/10
Twisted Nightmare
jimreilly431 May 2021
Good twist that slowly turns with good performances by the two leading blondes Much better than the typical Lifetime movie of this genre Natasha gives a particularly good portrayal of the disturbed sister Unhinged comes to mind. Stay tuned because it changes.
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