Boy in the Attic (2016 TV Movie) User Reviews

The synopsis here is untrue

[hi_im_manic · 5/10 · 27 August 2016]

Reel One, the author of the synopsis here, is incorrect. I'm not sure whether this was a mistake or fabricated intentionally as a joke. There's no pregnant teen, love child or child support involved.

The glaringly absent age disparity between mother and daughter was distracting at times. The actresses are only 10 years apart in age, and it's evident on screen. If Lifetime could've garnered Jennie Garth for the mother role it would have been great since it would make the age disparity a bit more clear, plus Abbie Cobb is known to audiences as Garth's junior doppleganger.

The boy Micheal, played by the handsome newcomer Max Lloyd-Jones, delivers what is arguably the best performance of the piece and provides us with eyecandy.

Remember, it's a Lifetime TV movie, so no one's aiming for the SAG awards. It must be enjoyed for simply what it is - the viewing equivalent of a dime-store novella. There are some inconsistencies, such as an explanation for the boys preference to enter and exit the home through its main door when there's a door from the attic leading outside. The "boy in the attic" indicates (both in appearance and in script) that he's 18+, so he's really the "man in the attic". I guess having a man hiding in the attic didn't quite hold the same appeal.

Fairly decent entertainment for lazy viewers who aren't hungry to critique a film.

Good but....

[mrfingr · 5/10 · 9 June 2018]

Good movie with a predictable ending. Only problem I saw was that the mother and daughter look like sisters. In real life they're only 10 years difference in age. They could have made it look a little more believable. Still worth the watch.

scruffy guy mystery

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 11 February 2018]

Rachel Davis (Gina Holden) returns home to Chehalis, Washington for her mother's funeral with her daughter Callie (Abbie Cobb). Michael Collins is wanted for Ed Brinson's murder. As Callie helps her mother clean out the house, she suspects the home is haunted. It's actually a boy whom she likes living in the attic before her arrival.

This doesn't really work as a mystery. It's overload with extraneous backstory. It could have been simplified into a more compelling thriller. The basic idea has potential. There is some bad dialogue and general problematic story writing. I question many actions in the movie and it moves too slowly in the first half. Generally, there are too many things wrong for me to overlook.

Callie looks older than her mom

[clev-01072 · 3/10 · 20 August 2016]

The teenager, Callie (Addie Cobb) look older than her mother, Rachel (Gina Holden).Then I found out why...Addie is 31 and Rachel is 40.The Director must have had blinders on because Addie does not look like a teenager, as a matter of fact, she look older than Rachel. Addie is a pretty lady and I tried to enjoy the movie, but trying to overlook Callie (Addie) as a teenager was very distracting. I hope she accept more adult roles next time because she is a good actress. But I did eventually overlooked it and enjoyed the movie. I would have rated this movie higher if there was more twist and turns in the movie, but it was enjoyable. I did enjoyed the role of the mother, so that is a plus.

Over the Hill in the Attic

[wes-connors · 2/10 · 14 October 2016]

While the credits roll, police discover a dead man in an old mansion. Two months later, the setting switches to Chehalis, Washington, which we're told is 200 miles from Coburg. You needn't bother to jot down that particular fact. A pair of women drive into the small town. These two are mother Gina Holden (as Rachel Davis) and her mature-looking blonde daughter Abbie Cobb (as Callie). They've inherited an elegant-looking mansion. Even nicer, for daughter Cobb, there is a handsome young man living in the attic. As it turns out, blond "Boy in the Attic" Max Lloyd-Jones (as Michael Collins) knew Cobb's grandmother and decided to stick around after the old woman died. Even luckier for Cobb, another handsome young man, Iain Belcher (as Jordan), is her new neighbor. Her cup runneth over...

Cobb opts for the attic "boy" and gets into trouble as secrets unravel...

This story unraveled even earlier, during casting. Producers favor casting juvenile performers who are too old for their parts. In the theater, this didn't matter much because people sit apart from the actors and there are no close-ups. For film and TV, parts need to be cast closer to age. There are exceptions, of course, but "Boy in the Attic" isn't one of them. A short adult could play a young child for some time, especially while possessing a youthful look. You give a pass to Mr. Lloyd-Jones playing a "boy" herein because people are calling young men and women "boys" and "girls" more often and he isn't that far off. However, the age discrepancy between Cobb and Holden is simply too distracting. The younger woman is way too mature for her part and the older actress looks far too young for her role.

** Boy in the Attic (8/1/2016) Paul Shapiro ~ Abbie Cobb, Max Lloyd-Jones, Gina Holden, Iain Belcher

Did the person who wrote this actually watch the movie?

[dtasker72 · 28 August 2016]

You need too edit the movie review dude, no love child. Did you watch the movie or just make something up? I just watched the movie and the last part is untrue. I suggest you watch the movie before writing something on it. On another note it was boring, the girl who is 31 in real life didn't look like a teen and it was rather stupid to see her in the role, she might have tried to sound like a little girl but the lines around her mouth suggested she was much too old. I looked her up and she was badly cast as a teen. I wouldn't watch this again if you paid me. Nothing interesting. Don't waste your time. This is not a thriller, just a badly written love story. if you can call it love... I wouldn't.

Another: Killers are just misunderstood good people movie

[mitchellfinesod · 1/10 · 26 September 2016]

Boy in the attic, boy did I want this movie to be good, boy did this movie suck. The first half of the movie was just a rip-off of "Bad Ronald"(If you haven't seen "Bad Ronald", you must). Unfortunately, this was a chopped-up movie that was poorly directed and pieced together with flash backs that make no sense. Apparently, this "boy", that is over 20, was "forced" to assault his big bad step father and was on the run from the police. Later, he was again "forced" to assault and kill a stranger that he did some work for. The stranger found out the "boy" was a wanted felon and offered to let him go, but, the "boy" demanded his money and was "forced" to kill the stranger. The "boy" apparently felt he was entitled to live in someones house uninvited(reminds me of illegal immigrants). The "boy" than falls in love with a 30 year old "girl" that has a 40 year old mother. In the end, the blood-thirsty white cop is the "real" bad guy and the killer "boy" is the good guy that is saved by the good black cop. The "moral" of this story is that Killers are just misunderstood good people and we should help them evade the law as police are the bad guys. Apparently the writers/director of this crap have been buying the nonsense we've been seeing in the news lately were cops are really the bad guys.

30 going on 18

[DavidSKS · 8/10 · 19 September 2018]

Abbie Cobb was 30 when the movie was filmed. Reminds me of Luke Perry, Gabrielle Carteris and Ian Zering playing teens on Beverly Hills, 90210 when they were already past 30.

Peyton List (the Disney Channel starlet) would have been perfect, considering she WAS 17 when the movie was filmed. A 20-something actress, and there are many of them starring in Lifetime movies, would have been more plausible.

The movie is pretty good, by the way.

A Beautiful Love Story

[lavatch · 8/10 · 20 October 2020]

Someday. Somewhere. When the time is right.

"Secrets in the Attic" tells a Romeo and Juliet-like story about a couple of youngsters who meet like two little ships passing in the night. Both young Luke and Callie had sordid upbringings. Luke was physically abused by his step-father, left home, and was subsequently taken advantage of by an unscrupulous man named Ed Brinson. Luke killed Ed in self-defense after Ed refused to pay Luke for manual labor.

Callie never met her father, who died in prison after being convicted of larceny. Rachel finally opens up to her daughter, who was led to believe that her father's name was Roger. Instead, she learns that he was Gordon Wright. But, in truth, he was Mr. Wrong.

Luke is a gifted artist and sketches a lovely profile of Callie. In turn, Callie assists Luke in sleeping in her grandmother's attic. Callie's mom, Rachel, has arrived with Callie to settle the estate of grandma Evelyn in lovely Chehalis, Washington.

Much of the film is devoted to revealing the secrets of the past, as well as the unsavory small town atmosphere in which a bloodthirsty cop, Sheriff Urban Blackwell, is pursuing young Luke much like Javert's quest to apprehend Jean Valjean.

Grandma Evelyn has left bequests for her relatives, and she has earmarked one small item for Michael Collins. It turns out that Luke is Michael Collins, and he was kind to Evelyn, assisting her with groceries. As handyman working at her Michael discovers the greenhouse where he sleeps and later camps out in Evelyn's attic, occasionally munching her plentiful supply of ravioli in the pantry. Perhaps her also occasionally chauffeured her in her 1973 Lincoln Continental à la "Driving Miss Daisy." It was Michael who phoned the paramedics when he heard a crash from his attic lair and discovered Evelyn unconscious.

One interesting character who drops out of the film early was young Jordan Benson, who clearly had a crush on Callie. But she prefers her young outlaw and artist, Luke. They form a kind of pact to one day go to Tuscany. When they do, perhaps they can make a detour to fair Verona, where they can relive the sad tale of woe of Juliet and her Romeo.

****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 3 September 2016]

The plot and sub-plots are absolutely terrific here. A girl and her mother return to the latter's hometown for the funeral of the grandmother and mother. The girl never knew her grandmother since the latter was angry that her daughter had given birth to a child out of wedlock. The father later died in prison while serving for corruption charges.

Unknown to both, a young man has been living in the deceased lady's house. He had been charged previously with hitting his step-father and killing another man, the sheriff's nephew, when the latter refused to pay him for work done. In reality, the killing was one of self-defense.

The movie is about how the young girl and the accused hook up as she believes his stories of woe.

Well done. Very much exciting and great watching.

Best movie in a long time

[avalanche-86270 · 10/10 · 28 September 2016]

The first time I seen the movie, I Missed the first half leaving me wanting to see the rest. Luckily I found it on YouTube. After watching it all the way through I'm really wanting this movie on DVD. Its different from the other movies I've been seeing. Great mix of Drama,action, thriller etc. It had a great choice of characters. I could watch this movie over and over. I noticed in other comments people said that the daughter looked older than the mother, I really didn't see it. However, I bowl with this Mother and daughter that both look like teenagers so it really didn't bother me much. It could be a rare thing where the mother just isn't showing her actual age in the movie.