The Black Widow Killer (2018 TV Movie) User Reviews

Oh, it wasn't *that* bad!

[prickly101 · 5/10 · 18 March 2020]

I'm not saying that it would 'set the River Thames on fire', but housebound(ish) as I am thanks to the 'underlying conditions', it helped to pass some time.

One external viewer wrote that part of the problem is that most of the characters, good-guys and bad-guys are very hard to like or empathise with. This is true, apart from the 2 teenagers. I almost felt sorry for the villain until we were shown how they came by a new identity.

Worth a watch on a rainy afternoon, during lock-down or self-isolation/ social distancing.

Location of movie.

[dougthornton-10410 · 6/10 · 18 January 2021]

This movie was filmed in Carleton Place, Ontario, CANADA. References are the Town Hall, old post office and Carleton Place High School.

Surprisingly Okay

[mochamist-496-745302 · 6/10 · 11 April 2021]

As far as Lifetime movies go, this was actually okay.

The mom was horrible. So was the daughter

[CranberriAppl · 17 November 2021]

They were so nasty to everyone. I've seen this movie before and it came on Lifetime this week. I realized I'd seen it before once I saw the father cop's hair. I remember thinking a couple of years ago that no police chief would have that look as well as how Canadian everything was.

Anyway, having the daughter slap her father was so offensive to me. I hate over the top scenes like that. And ironically, they had her do it to him because had she done it to the other officer, the other officer should have taken her in. What makes it worse is the mom disrespecting him gives the daughter the license to do so, and the father ends up paying for it the most severely (shot and killed by the villain). And of course because she didn't sign the divorce papers, she is his next of kin and gets to handle his affairs without any reflection on her behavior towards him. It was very annoying the first time and even more so now.

The mom was SO NASTY. I generally like Erin K, but as I watch it again, I remembered how much I hated her character. Her entire demeanor in the movie was basically fueled by the fact that her husband (police chief) wanted a divorce and she was mad about it. Just watch the way she talks to him. So nasty and in front of their daughter too. I loved when he dressed Erin K's character down about her lack of self-awareness.

Another thing I hate about these movies is that the protag (Erin K here) is so self-righteous and is like a bull in a China shop demanding their way all the time. That type of character is rarely sympathetic, but they're always written to be right no matter what and have zero flaws.

It's a typical thriller in the vein of SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER .......... I Know What You Did Last Summer so it's watchable in that way, but you have to get past the mom and daughter's personalities to "enjoy" it.

I agree with another contributor, neither the title nor the description are accurate in terms of what the movie actually portrays.

Noooooooo

[svader · 1/10 · 21 July 2021]

Please be warned that this film will minus some of your time.

Awful acting and daft storyline.

Why do this cheap matinees not use age appropriate actors? Why is someone in their mid twenty's playing a teen.

Daft.

God it's boring!

[rainbowkid-52373 · 1/10 · 5 November 2019]

40mins in and about to switch it off. I'm just one of those people, if a movie hasn't gripped me or at least made me mildly interested or intrigued by this point it's being switched off. This is boring as hell! It's a shame because I liked the mum in 'Being Erica'. This is rubbish though.

Not that bad really

[nicholls_les · 5/10 · 4 August 2021]

OK it wasn't the best story line or the best acting, but it wasn't that bad either. The movie title makes no sense, and the story makes no sense. Exactly why someone would want to kill four people because they were in a car that killed her boyfriend is stretching it a bit, OK maybe be angry at the driver, but just because the others walked off isn't bad enough to want to kill them is it?. And the driver had served some time in prison for the crash anyway hadn't he? Also the lead character chasing around after who was clearly a dangerous person on her own was silly and her ex-husband was the worst policeman ever, he had no interest in finding the real killer even though he had received a threatening note as had his ex-wife and her friend who had already been murdered. But I still wanted to see what happened in the end, even though I had pretty much guessed who the murderer was so it was an OK movie, not great but OK.

Not The Worst Movie I've Seen

[dgiblin · 7/10 · 19 January 2021]

The movie is okay, but the synopsis is not even close to what the movie is about. And i have no idea why it's called "Black Widow Killer"

The daughter does not try and solve the crime, the mother does not go missing.

What it really is about is someone from the past comes back for revenge on the people who fled the scene of an accident 25 years earlier.

It's not horrible, but it's not great. Good way to pass a couple hours.

Good Thriller

[tiagotorlay · 7/10 · 15 February 2021]

The name of this movie in Brazilian Portuguese is Suspecious Past which is much better than the original one. The mystery and tension are good and I am lucky I didn't see the movie poster before watching the film because it looks a spoiler to me. I don't know why the producers chose that one.

I liked it. Good acting and nice scenery.

[andrewburns-95511 · 8/10 · 5 December 2020]

I'm not sure why this has gotten such low reviews. As far as Lifetime Movies go this is one of the better ones I've seen.

The Secrets of Old Stone Bridge

[lavatch · 8/10 · 24 February 2021]

"Black Widow Killer" is set in a quaint town that the filmmakers use extensively for footage of old brick buildings and snowy cityscapes. It could easily be the setting for Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." But the confluence of events all lead back to a fateful and tragic encounter on the majestic Old Stone Bridge.

Twenty-five years in the past, Jason Alexander Hall was driving too fast, and he rear-ended a vehicle stalled on the bridge. A human life was cut short in the figure of Kyle Hanson. A young woman named Shannon Collins was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Kyle was killed, and Shannon was sent into a coma.

The identities of all of the people in the car driven by Jason Hall are only gradually revealed in the course of the complex narrative. The focal point is the sharp-tongued attorney and deputy mayor, Judy Dwyer. Judy is in the process of getting a divorce from her husband Steven, who is the town sheriff. After both Steven and Judy's best friend Kendra are killed, it is clear that someone is out for vengeance against Judy, as well as her young daughter, Abbey.

Judy proves to be an excellent sleuth as she follows the trail of evidence to the Pine Grove Rehabilitation Center for the final piece of the puzzle. One of the most intriguing characters is the substitute teacher, Miss Alice Evans, who appears to have a little too much knowledge of the history of the Old Stone Bridge accident. The only shortcoming of the screenplay was the implausible decision to arrest Daniel, an unprepossessing teenager for the death of his mother Kendra.

The performances were first-rate, and the film really captured the stultifying environment of a small town where memories are long and the secrets of a hidden past run deep.