Killer Twin (2018 TV Movie) User Reviews

"Where's Your Birthmark?"

[lavatch · 6/10 · 11 November 2020]

"Killer Twin" (a.k.a., "A Sister's Obsession") had the potential to be a tour de force for one of our favorite actresses. Lindsay "Lifetime" Hartley plays the two twins, Kendra and Amber Sheridan, who were separated at age three. Kendra was adopted by a loving couple, abut Amber remained in a Dickensian orphanage until she came of legal age.

Unfortunately, the action was all too predictable with Amber determined to take her "vengeance" on the sister whom she believed got all of the breaks in life. While Amber's planning is methodical, it was never made clear what is her greater purpose. Does she want to murder her twin and take her place in bed alongside her husband Dane? Or, is her goal merely to wreak havoc on Kendra's life?

There were too many depressing moments in the film, such as the elimination of Kendra's bestie, Monica Lawrence, who was stabbed to death by Amber. In a nearly farcical sequence, Kendra's husband Dane has his phone on silent during the crisis that he knows is occurring with Kendra. Dane's top priority is to get drunk with business associates at Moretti's Bar at a time when his pregnant wife has been hospitalized after her allergic reaction to Amber's fruit basket laced with nuts. Finally, he comes to his senses in the bedroom, asking the disrobed Amber the appropriate question, "Where's your birthmark?"

The filmmakers' struggled to underscore a theme of nature vs. nurture with Amber suffering under the sadistic Eunice at the Bridges orphanage. It is sad that she was mistreated. But she could have pulled herself up by her bootstraps to become a force of nature instead of an instrument of hate.

Well shot, but laugh-out loud awful.

[Davalon-Davalon · 4/10 · 6 January 2021]

This movie is listed as both "KILLER TWIN" and "A SISTER'S OBSESSION" -- let's face it; "KILLER TWIN" is a more entertaining title.

Regardless: this story doesn't make any sense. Like, at all.

Twins, living in an orphanage, are separated when they're children. One girl, Kendra ends up lucky, the other, Amber, does not. Now they are adults. The truth is, twins, especially, would have made extraordinary efforts to reconnect, but "Kendra" who ends up with the good life, doesn't seem to express any interest in knowing where her twin is, and more importantly, doesn't seem to remember that she even *has* a twin. Amber also has no interest and/or knowledge in reconnecting with her twin, until she sees some article about Kendra, now an educator, in some local rag.

Then Amber, whose entire life seems to be about stealing money and scamming people with her lesbian roommate (and don't tell me she isn't; I'm gay; I know) suddenly decides she wants Kendra's perfect life -- and hot husband.

Amber then breaks into Kendra's place twice in what seems to be the same day, without any issue, so she can "make herself up" like Kendra (who has the most glorious hair) and... after she "does" her face, with Kendra's make-up, Amber takes off her ski cap and shakes her hair free, takes out her nose ring (as if!) and, voila, she's Kendra!

The second time she breaks in, again, without issue, and of course, without hubby home because he's "busy," Amber knows exactly where Kendra has left her purse, steals her wallet and leaves - as if anyone in this day and age would live in a big house without some kind of security system.

Then Amber, without apparently taking any credit cards from Kendra's wallet, "maxed out a few credit cards in my beloved sister's name" - again, why? Why is she angry at her sister? Twins have a strong desire to connect and be together. In this story, so far, we don't get a sense of that.

Then there is an insane scene where Amber watches a video of Kendra so she can "match her voice." Why is she going to such trouble? What a loser!

Then Kendra has a "flashback" dream about her sister... who she should have been searching for her entire life.

Then: Kendra and hubby are searching for the key to Kendra's safe deposit box. They're at home. It's night. Someone comes to the door. They've been robbed; there are problems; Kendra, pregnant, is worried. And yet, hubby keeps searching the sofa and lets his pregnant wife, the one he's worried about, go to answer the door. Insane.

It's the "Detective," working alone, unshaven, clothes a mess. Even though he has a CLEAR PHOTO of Amber at the bank, with a VIDEO of her smashing in one of the bank employees with the safe deposit box, he doesn't show it to Kendra or ask her to come down to the precinct right away. *Why not?*

Then, Kendra decides to visit the orphanage, where she tells the birdbrain "manager" that her adoptive parents' family name is "Collins." Birdbrain asks her, "Collins, with a C?" I'm sorry... what other way is there to spell it?

This conversation between Kendra and the birdbrain goes on and on and on. They talk about the original manager, "Eunice" and all the mistakes she made there for 45 years (we see her twice in the movie, 30 years apart -- she does not age one day. Not one.) Birdbrain discusses many of "Eunice's" mistakes. (Girl, please, you are going to make plenty of your own!) And also... There's no computer!!! Maybe there wasn't one 45 years ago, but this film takes place in current day! *Where's the computer?*

Also, as Kendra's BFF Monica (a POC, whoo-hoo, Lifetime! Finally, movin' on up!) tells her, "If she's your twin, she probably wants to talk to you, not rob you." Well, Monica, in a normal world, yes. But in Lifetime Land, the twin sister has to be evil!

And when Monica discovers Amber by accident, Amber STABS her to death IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. No repercussions. NONE.

55 minutes into this film, one GREAT thing happens. The adoptive mother of Kendra sees Amber drive off after killing Monica, but Amber doesn't know who the woman is, so she tries to mow her down! And it's clear the mother is thinking, "Why is my daughter trying to kill me?"

Then, FINALLY, the detective asks Kendra to come down to HQ... and hubby (and Mom!) both let her go ALONE. WHY???

Then, without ANYONE seeing Amber kill Monica, there is an "image" of someone who looks like Amber/Kendra on TV, "if anyone sees..." - INSANE. NO ONE SAW HER.

This "movie" goes on until its insane end where Kendra tosses Amber over the railing and Amber lands, splat, on the floor -- and yet, recovers as soon as Detective Man arrives (without back-up!) to arrest her... and more importantly, for Amber to give Kendra the evil eye so that we know there will be a sequel.

Give me a break! Once was bad enough!

I like this movie. It's one of the better twin stories on Lifetime

[CranberriAppl · 6 October 2021]

But as other contributors note, there are problems. So many good ideas in the other reviews, and I love the idea of Amber being more calculating in her takeover of Kendra's life. But at the same time, based on their childhood flashbacks, she was true to form. I liked that Kendra's parents had no idea she was a twin and acknowledged that had they known, they would have adopted both. It takes a lot of the wind out of Amber's motivations to get back at her sister. But at the same time, Kendra never tells her mom (who she is clearly close to) that she had a twin? This woman is in her 30s and it never came up? None of the adoption papers accidentally mention a sibling when referencing the birth parents? I guess since they were three, it's possible Kendra had very few memories of Amber but surely she would have known the name "Amber" by three years old.

It's always amusing when the "twins" played by one actor/actress have the exact same hair. Since she already broke into the house, yes stealing a blouse here, a pair of heels there, taking Kendra's favorite lipstick, etc. Would have worked better than wholesale stealing packages. Kendra could have felt like she was losing her mind with little, subtle things happening. But everything Amber did was an escalation so there was really no way her scheme would have worked out because Kendra and Dane were aware something was going on. The police were involved the whole movie. She was nothing like Kendra although the movie made it seem like it was easy enough to pass. I really hated that she killed the bff bc had she been a thinker, she could have pulled a fast one on Monica and kept up her charade. But that, even more than the bank thing, ruined her chances of succeeding. Not to mention almost hitting Mom with the car. I know that there has to be a way to distinguish the two but she was too impulsive and out of control. It would have been better for her plan to seem more long-term. Plus it shows more depth when the difference btwn the twins isn't as simple as evil/not evil. See Bridget and Siobhan from Ringer for example.

Dane and Kendra were a cute couple. This is like truly one of the rare examples of a spouse realizing the twin is not their spouse before things go too far. Related to that, and it's a spoiler, but come on, you saw it coming: I am very glad that it was clear which twin was in jail and which was not. Another twist could have been Amber NOT being a murderer and maybe just doing identity theft. That might have been something that Kendra could forgive over time and Amber would come to realize her sister is not her enemy. They reconnect as sisters and then the movie could end. Lifetime could have done either a final shot of both twins maybe saying something that the same time (so the audience can see the two of them together without Amber being murderous) OR a final shot on Amber where we're guessing whether or not she really changed. The ending was fine and the right one, but just having fun w/scenarios.

The movie is fairly well done. They weave the flashbacks to Kendra and Amber's childhood at the orphanage pretty well. I still think three years old is potentially old enough to realize they have a sibling but it's a movie I guess. Lindsay does a good job with the story, dual roles, and I'm sure she pulled from her soap opera background. Killing Kendra's best friend made it not fun however l. Nevertheless, as I always note, you can tell when Lifetime tries a little harder and this is one of their best good/bad twin movies. Without some of the simple plotholes, this could have easily been a 7 or 8/10. I've watched it several times so I can recommend at least one watch. It's from 2018, but it holds up.

Oh No! Another Lifetime Movie!

[caitlinthompson-03016 · 1/10 · 14 October 2018]

Normally I rarely watch Lifetime movies. I decided to try watching this having nothing else that sounded interesting on my TV. But I have to ask, why are Lifetime movies so lame?

Why would a sister who hadn't seen her twin since they were children in an orphanage just decide that she's going to go after her and ruin her life? It wasn't believable to me at all. You'd think being a twin she would want to reunite with her sister but instead she sets about trying to destroy her. There's just no real motive for doing that I thought, as I was halfway through the movie at that point.

Plus the actress, (Lindsay Hartley) who played her, was miscast as this character. Not that she wasn't a good enough actress she was, but she was too attractive. To see this beautiful woman with thick long lustrous hair looking like she just stepped out of a hair commercial, viciously killing people who get in her way, just seemed a bit of a stretch for me.

The twins played by the same actress looked more like a supermodel or an actress which in reality she is the latter. The casting director should have chosen someone a little plainer, it would have been more believable.

And this is what I mean about Lifetime movies. They don't put a lot of thought or effort into characters or plot. Maybe the problem is they just don't have a big enough budget. All in all, a total waste of 2 hours I will never get back.

Horrible movie

[daronc · 1/10 · 14 August 2019]

Good thing me and the wife enjoy watching horrible movies. LOl

Plot flaws but hey, its Lifetime

[andreatodman · 2/10 · 3 August 2019]

So many plot flaws already mentioned above. But here are a few more.

Kendra returns to the orphanage she was adopted from 25+ years ago. Her info is in the current book the staff person is working in. Really? She flips a few pages and "oh, here you are"

Just dumb. Amber you feel like your life was ruined. Why are you destroying Kendras life, shes not the one you're mad at. Destroy everyone affiliated with the orphanage.

Entertaining, but predictable

[vitamutatio · 7/10 · 5 August 2018]

This movie was so predictable, but enjoyable. Five minutes into the film, they showed Kendra's birthmark so I knew that the 'good' twin would prevail, and the scene in the bar where they pretended not to know each other set things up for Amber to trick Dane. Saw that one coming...as I said, predictable. Lindsay Hartley did such a nice job with her dual role, I would have liked to have seen the plot take a different direction rather than the typical Hollywood 'evil twin' plotline. When Amber first visits the house, she signs for some packages that Kendra had ordered online. Some clothes and nail polish. I would have liked to have seen Amber break in and take some of Kendra's actual clothes, or use the same online shopping to duplicate her outfits. Taking the packages raises suspicion. Amber was a thief by trade, so getting seen at the house was her first mistake that really shouldn't have happened and why didn't Kendra and Dane notice the big blank spot on the wall from their missing wedding photo? Amber took pictures of everything else with her phone, why not that? Amber stole Kendra's credit card info and went on a shopping spree at the same boutique and maxed out her cards. Stupid. If her plan was to get rid of her sister and take over her life, she was doing it all wrong. For her plan to succeed, she should have worked from the shadows gathering information, not going out in public dressed as Kendra and running into her friends. When she went to have her nails done and fooled Kendra's regular manicurist, I was hoping that Amber was practicing her 'Kendra' persona and working her way up Kentra's friends to see if she could fool them, but alas, it went downhill from there and she ended up having to murder people to keep them from telling Kendra. I think it would have been more sinister for Amber to insinuate herself with Kendra's friend Monica and even her mother to make them begin to doubt the real Kendra as she worked her way to Dane. Amber had also stolen Kendra's epi pen and safe deposit box key. Who carries their safe deposit box key all the time? Really? Kendra went to the bank to get some jewelry from the box and couldn't find the key, then shortly after, Amber shows up with the key wearing different clothes and of course, the same bank employee helps her. The smart move would have been to wait until the following day when the change in outfit would have been less suspicious. And bank employees NEVER stand in the room and chat you up while you open your box. Only in the movies. I'm still not sure what the box's contents had to do with the storyline. Amber's friend, Lotto who employed some typically bogus movie hacking techniques accessed Kendra's email allowing Amber to have some visibility into Kendra's life. Why not her social media? Why not clone her phone? Why not bug the house to listen in? It would have been nice to see an 'Amazon Echo' or some other device in the house that Lotto could have hacked to give Amber more current information. If you're going to use fake hacking...do it right. Amber needed a way to spy on Dane and Kendra's intimate moments if she wanted to successfully take her place, especially fooling her husband. When Amber lands Kendra in the hospital with an allergic reaction to poppy seeds (you can buy just the seeds by the way, you don't need to scrape them off bagels) , she deliver's Kendra's speech flawlessly and then goes to the bar to seduce Kendra's drunk husband by playing their little 'we just met' game, as predicted. Dane notices that 'Kendra' isn't wearing her wedding ring and Amber kisses him to distract him. (Kendra should have had a prettier, more distinctive wedding set than the plain gold band anyway and Amber should have devised a scheme to get it.) Dane, of course, forgets his phone when he goes off with Amber just as Kendra tries calling again. Again, this all would have been so much better if they didn't know that Kendra had a twin. When Dane sees the missing birthmark, he is suddenly sober as a judge and Amber has to knock him out and her plan falls apart. With these movies, the impersonation usually only lasts a few hours before they're hauled off in cuffs. If I were writing this movie, I would have sent it down a darker path. I would have not used the birthmark so the two would be nearly impossible to tell apart and I would have had Amber gather more information and stay hidden until it was time to switch places. Amber wanted what she thought was rightfully hers, Kendra's life and she wanted to make Kendra suffer for 'abandoning' her at the orphanage. What better way than to keep Kendra tied up and drugged in a dingy basement somewhere while she took over her life? Visit her daily wearing her clothes and her wedding ring and brag about sleeping with her husband until such time as she became 'disposable'? The pregnancy was another giveaway that the good twin would prevail. It would have been better to see Kendra unable to get pregnant and then see Amber get pregnant in her place while sleeping with her husband. Maybe even have Kendra escape and try to confront Amber in a psychotic, drug-induced rage, then being hauled away in cuffs while Amber, wearing Kendra's sexy nightwear, is comforted by Dane who is now convinced that the imposter is his real wife. I remember watching a movie called 'Echo' with Jack Wagner where a twin successfully takes over his brother's life and sleeps with his wife while the brother is forced to watch. It was a well-executed plot and the 'bad' twin prevailed. This movie could have been much more exciting and less predictable, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Seriously Horrible

[nealb2003 · 1/10 · 7 May 2020]

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. Bad writing HORRIBLE Direction. Do not waste your time.

Good effort - could have been better

[delweb-90126 · 7/10 · 26 August 2018]

First off, vitamutatio posted an amazing summary that pretty much summarized my perspective on what should have happened. Nice premise, good 1st act but then Amber totally forgets to come up with an actual plan. She just acts in the moment and doesn't think about what will happen next. Like if Kendra actually does die, won't there be an issue with her taking her place? Seems like someone who is more than willing to stab others to death could plan for a kidnapping of Kendra or at least luring her to a remote location to get rid of her.

That being said, I thought Lindsay did an excellent job as the lead and is the main reason to recommend the movie. She is compelling as Kendra and pulls off the "teacher of the year" persona but is just as believable as Amber. Amber is almost sympathetic early on but really you can't keep pulling for her once she kills Kendra's friend. The other main characters are solid and provide a good backdrop for Lindsay to shine.

Probably a long shot but it felt like the ending could be a set up for a sequel. It would be great to see Amber beat the charges against her (honestly isn't there reasonable doubt by a jury about who did what?). Then she has the opportunity to do round 2 a lot smarter. Perhaps she causes a separation between Kendra and her husband which opens the door for her to more easily switch places. And/or Kendra's mother passes away (sorry) and leaves an inheritance which is additional motive and 1 less person she needs to convince.

In any case, really enjoyed the movie despite the plot flaws. Hoping to see Lindsay in Killer Twins 2: Amber's Back or whatever her next Lifetime movie is.

Just a really bad movie

[blownwideopen · 2/10 · 22 February 2019]

Poorly written. Bad script. Weak acting. All adds up to a really bad movie.

Suberb casting!

[paulgibson-29806 · 10/10 · 13 February 2024]

It's not often that the casting director gets the acclaim that they fully deserve but Ann Forry should be given a major cinematic award for finding two actresses who are almost identical to play the parts of the twins in the title.

Both actresses carry off their roles with aplomb in what is a fully enjoyable, exhilarating and suspenseful movie blockbuster.

All the thespians are at the top of their game and the discerning viewers enjoyment is only enhanced by a wonderful script which keeps one hooked until the end credits roll.

Especial mention must be made of V. G Winter as the delivery man. He is obviously a thespian of undoubted talent but his time on screen was far too brief to showcase his credentials and it is to be hoped that he will get well deserved more rewarding roles in similar future cinematic classics.

The same could be said of Nelson Wong who plays Marvyn the Banker. It is a travesty that this man is not a household name... He deserves better than minor roles, albeit in first class films such as this and it was a great shame that he sustained a nasty blow to the head courtesy of a medium sized deposit box which effectively cut short his bravura performance.

Lindsay Hartley is outstanding as Kendra Walker but the actress who plays her twin sister also delivers a power packed performance and one can only hope that we will see much more of the ladies in future similarly demanding roles.

Ultimately, this smorgasbord of cinematic delights should act as a warning to all award winning young teachers to beware of sisters who look uncannily like them and for bankers who go by the name of Marvyn to look out for doppelgangers who wield medium sized metal deposit boxes.

A rollicking great film!

I would like to thank Davalon-Davalon

[romodomo · 1/10 · 19 June 2021]

Hello, I have never had so much laugh while reading a review,I absolutely agree with your comments, I loved them.

I must also add that the acting is close to horrible,not speaking of the fact that I have rarely seen Linsay Hartley playing well. I often wonder why they employ mediocre actors while probably there are thousands of good actors without a job.

What is more, I detest those comments that they are television films as an excuse for their being badly made They are films too, for goodness sake.

Another pointless lifetime movie!

[amgee-89551 · 2/10 · 18 June 2019]

Another boring & predictable lifetime movie! Lindsay Hartley was ok init. There's much better Lifetime movies out there. One time watch for me. 2/10

No more Lifetime movies for me

[gary_sites · 1/10 · 11 November 2022]

I wonder, do the people who make these awful films, ever go back to watch them before they're released? How could anyone think there's anything entertaining here? Well, I did a lot of laughing, and shouting at the dumb-as -rocks characters doing totally unrealistic things, that I guess it could go out as a comedy. The writing is awful. The story is unbelievable. Casting was terrible. Has the general population been dumbed down so far as to like this sort of rot? I would guess, yes, they have. Try watching some films from the '40s and '50s, and you'll see what crap gets passed off as good today.

I wasted 90 minutes. Don't do the same.