I Don’t Understand, I Just Wanna Be Your Friend!: Death of a Cheerleader (1994)

I don’t understand – I just wanna be your friend!

So amazon brought this film back and I just had to watch it again. As you know, I love Lifetime movies, and this was one of the top Lifetime movies. I was only two when it came out, but I have watched it again and again through the years.

It is Lifetime at its best-based on a true story and full of over the top drama!

It is based on a true story of the murder of Kirsten Costas by Bernadette Protti. And I just want to say, this review in no way is meant to hurt or poke fun at the victim or their family, I know what it is like to have someone close to you be stabbed to death-this is just a review of Lifetime’s depiction.

So the film is pretty low-budget and ’90s to the max. One of the many reasons to love it.

We start off with Stacy Lockwood (Tori Spelling) knocking on a door and asking to use their phone. She explains she was out with a friend, but their friend started acting weird so she left. She tries to reach her parents, but no dice.

The father of the family drives her home and drops her off. As he is driving away, he hears screaming. He witnesses her being stabbed by a “friend” and calls the police. When the Lockwoods arrive, they find the paramedics and police outside the home.

They flashback 10 months, to the start of the school year. Angela Delvecchio (Kellie Martin) is going to Santa Mira High this year instead of St. Josephs. Angie is a shy girl who wants to be the best she can be. She wants to be devout, do well academically, be the most popular, most beautiful, and above all-a cheerleader. Just like the beautiful and perfect Stacy Lockwood.

Angie feels this year will be her year-no doubt. Her best friend Jill tries to talk her out of it, but Angie has a manic devotion to her goals. Angie tries as hard as she can to get into the coveted school sorority, the Larks.

By the skin of her teeth she makes it in-and just a short regress in 80-90s book and movies they always had these “special” high school sororities/clubs that were for popular people that did community service and threw all kinds of parties-the Pearls, Unicorns, Pi Belta Alpha, etc. Did people really do that? I never went to a regular school-I went to an art school so my high school life wasn’t normal.

Hmm…

Anyways, she gets in and reconnects with her old friend from Saint Joseph’s, Jamie, and tries to do all she can to get close to Stacy-to be Stacy.

Angela loves the Larks, her favorite thing being the community service.

Jill: Great, Angela, my friend the do-gooder. Honestly, you make me feel like I should go to church and confess or something.

Angela sets herself to her next goal-the school attendance office. To be chosen is to rule the school as you have the power for hall passes. Only the coolest can get it, so when Angie gets picked she is over the moon.

Angela Delvecchio: I got a job in the Attendance Office, and guess who I’ll be working with!

Jill: From the way you sound, it must be someone important. Who is it? Nancy Reagan?

Angela Delvecchio: Stacy Lockwood!

Jill: Oh. Miss Queen Bee herself! What? Are you one of her drones? I’m sorry, Angela, I just don’t wanna see you get hurt.

Jill tries to be friends with Stacy, but Stacy is incredibly mean and cruel-Regina George has nothing on her. Stacy rules the school with an Iron Fist-what she says is cool is cool and what she says or who she says is lame is destroyed!!! Such as a girl Monica who wears all black. Stacy constantly taunts her in class:

Stacy Lockwood: [reading her poem] Face like a ghost, hair black as sin/the witch of Santa Mira scratches her chin/she cackles, she gloats, she summons her broom/and flies like a banshee right out of the room.

Monica: [furiously] I‘m gonna KILL you, Stacy Lockwood!

Teacher: Monica! [to Stacy] Stacy, I think you better apologize.

Stacy Lockwood: I’m sorry, Mrs. Chadfield. It was just a poem. It wasn’t about her.

Actually, now that I think about it, Stacy is like Regina George and Heather Chandler rolled into one.  Speaking of Heathers, this film has the same type of vibe of that with a touch of David Lynch. Beautiful on the outside, with evil and ugliness lurking on the inside.

Angie fawns over Stacy and strives to be her friend. She’s kind of like Anna Kendrick in A Simple Favor.

Angel works hard to go on the Ski Trip with the Larks, even though her family isn’t wealthy. There Stacey steals Monica’s diary and reads it in front of EVERYONE.

[after Monica threatens Stacy about her diary]

Angela Delvecchio: Monica, just let it go. She didn’t mean anything by it.

Monica: [angry] I’d like to kill her.

Angela Delvecchio: No, Monica, you don’t mean it. You’re just angry.

Monica: [to Angela, darkly] What would a wannabe like you know about it anyway, huh? Go on, go. Get away from me, run back and lick her boots. That’s what your dying to do anyway, isn’t it?

As said before-Stacey rules the school. And all must bow to her will.

Angela sets her sights on the next part of her goal-yearbook. But isn’t accepted. She contiues to try for cheerleader and tries to be noticed to be known, but is continuously looked over by teachers and others. She has to be a cheerleader, just has to be.

But she isn’t picked-Stacey is.

That really gets Angela, after all everything on her list-Stacey has gotten it. Sure Angela is a Lark and Office Aid-but she doesn’t have true popularity. Stacey has achieved all she has wanted. She will never be Stacey Lockwood…but maybe she can be her friend?

Jill comes over one night and the two drink and hang out. Jill brings up a party that is coming up. That’s when it hits her-that is how she will become Stacey’s friend. She lies to her parents about baby-sitting and borrows her sister’s car. She calls the Lockwood home and tells them about a party for the Larks that Stacey is invited to, something she will be honored for.

The night comes and Angie picks Stacy up. Stacy is not happy being with a nobody loser like Angie, but she convinces her that she lied about the dinner so her parents wouldn’t find out about the rager they are going to. But things don’t turn out well,

Stacy Lockwood: [looks at a knife and vegetable next to her] What’s this, hors d’ouvres?

Angela Delvecchio: Oh, my sister. She sometimes fixes lunch in the car.

Stacy Lockwood: Mmm, now that’s real class, Angie. So, who did you say was gonna be at this party?

Angela Delvecchio: Oh, the older crowd.

But when Staey pushes for more information, she gets Angie to admit that she wasn’t  invited to the party, Jill was. Stacey is not going to crash a party and be laughed at. She starts calling Angie pathetic and refuses to go to the party.

Angela Delvecchio: Why are you so mean?

Stacy Lockwood: [coldly] Come on, put a lid on it. Let’s go.

Angela Delvecchio: I don’t understand – I just wanna be your friend!

Stacy Lockwood: [sarcastically] Sure, and I wanna fly to the moon.

Angela Delvecchio: I admire you, Stacy. I’ve always admired you. You’re so pretty and funny and confident.

Stacy Lockwood: You’re pathetic!

Angela Delvecchio: All I want is to be like you.

Stacy Lockwood: That’s it, I’m out of here.

Angela Delvecchio: Wait! Wait, no!

Stacy Lockwood: You know what, you are even weirder than I thought! [exits the car] Why don’t you give Monica a call. Maybe SHE can be your date.

Angela Delvecchio: [yells] No, Stacy, that’s not what I meant!

Stacey gets out and knocks on the door of the house and uses their phone. With Angie she drives away but all she can think about is Monday at school, all the things that Stacey will say, how her social life will be OVER! She snaps and knows she has to go after and convince Stacey not to make her a pariah, not another Monica, NOT after all the hard work she did!

Going mad!

Angela grabs the knife left in the car by her sister-now this is so weird to me that her sister would carry a knife in her car to cut up vegetables and fruits for snacks. That always rang false with me, it just seemed too weird. And you are talking to a person who used to take her nieces to school in the morning, then go to work for five hours at one job, and then to another for two hours. I spent a lot of time eating in my car, but I wouldn’t bring a knife that would get dirty and make the car gross. Yeah, I don’t buy it. I’m not saying she planned the murder-but there is more there I know it!

Anyways, she speaks to Stacey but it is too late.

Angela Delvecchio: [approaches Stacy, voice breaking in anguish] I would’ve driven you home.

Stacy Lockwood: You are so weird! Just go away! GO AWAY!

[Angela attacks Stacy and stabs her leaving her for dead]

Her family returns home and find the scene of the police, paramedics, etc. Angela hurries home.

Angela is questioned as she fits the description and is a friend, but overlooked as she is nice, quiet, and not memorable.

[after the news on Stacy’s death and describing her killer]

Angela Delvecchio: [in disbelief] I’m a teenage girl with shoulder-length hair and we have a Nova.

Jill: [chuckles] Don’t be ridiculous, Angie, nobody’s gonna suspect you. You’re, like, the nicest girl in Santa Mira.

But Angie isn’t caught. Time passes and soon Junior year is going to begin. They want to disband the Larks, but Angela rouses everybody with a speech about how important the Larks were to Stacy, how they help the community and that it can’t be disbanded. This gains her popularity and title of secretary/treasurer.

She also does peer mentoring, candy stripping and more-being popular, confident, and achieving all she wanted.

I have everything I have ever wanted!

But the guilt starts to eat at her when everyone attacks Monica. They harasses her, attack her, vandalize her locker, and it starts to wreck her.

[Jamie and Angela notice Monica’s locker with the word “Killer” in red]

Jamie: She had an alibi, you know? There’s no way she could’ve possibly done it. And it didn’t matter… they just kept hounding her and hounding her.

Angela Delvecchio: I know.

Jamie: All because she was different. And you know what? I did it too. Stacy mocked her, so I mocked her. Stacy said “jump”, and I jumped. You know, Angie, I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately, and I’m ashamed to admit it: I never really liked her. I was just afraid of her. And I’ve been thinking about her killer too. Maybe it was… I don’t know… someone like me.

 The FBI comes and resumes investigations, hounding Angie until she finally snaps and confesses to her priest, the police, and family. She is sentenced to prison until she is 25. 

The film ends with Jamie writing a letter to Angie, staying her friend and sorry to have not done more. She leaves Santa Mira to go back to Saint Josephs.

I think why this movie has struck a cord with viewers and became so popular is that it is very relatable. Everyone has either been or known the mean popular girl (Stacy), the “weird” girl who is picked on (Monica), the girl who wants to be popular and goes with the crowd (Jamie), the girl who doesn’t care and does her own thing (Jill), and the girl who is desperate to be popular she will do anything (Angie).

Plus there is a fascination with murders over the smallest things. Social reputation, that’s what set her over the edge and its crazy. Either way it is an entertaining film and captures your attention.

To start Horrorfest VIII from the beginning go to, Count Dracula the Propagator of This Unspeakable Evil Has Disappeared. He Must Be Found and Destroyed!: Horror of Dracula (1958)

For more Lifetime movies, go to Lifetime Didn’t Go Psycho Enough: Psycho Mother-in-Law (2019)

For more Tori Spelling, go to It’s Happening Again, Isn’t It?: Scream 2 (1997)

For more horror movies with cheerleaders, go to It Was the Curse. My Curse: The Cheerleader Murders (2016)

Lifetime Didn’t Go Psycho Enough: Psycho Mother-in-Law (2019)

So I was just in a Lifetime-movie marathon mood (say that five times fast) and seeing what films I can get to watch free on Youtube. This popped up and I began watching.

But I was actually very disappointed in it, as I am with all these newer films. The ’80s and ’90s film were much better in story lines.

This had the potential to be better, but didn’t go as far as it could have.

Disappointed!

Sharon Vickers (Romy Rosemont) is a single mom who is all about her daughter, Amber (Victoria Diamond). But lately Amber has no time for her mother. She calls but only gets answering machines and hardly ever gets to speak to her. Amber just has no time for her mom anymore.

I’m not happy

This makes her sad, and angry. She is a hospice nurse, but you don’t want her as she kills her patients. Eeek!

But this day is different. Sharon goes home to find a message that her daughter is engaged to her boyfriend Luke (Matthew Raudsepp) and they are staying with Luke’s mother, Jill Jones (Kari Matchett). They invite Sharon to come and celebrate the engagement party and she goes.

The Bat

But all is not well with Sharon. She is pleased about Tom, but she does not like Jill. Jill is blond and perfect and trying to replace Sharon in Amber’s life.

No joke, I started thinking that Jill was the psycho-in-law, even though we had for real watched Sharon murder someone already.

Pamela Voorhees: [high voice] Kill her, Mommy! Kill her! Don’t let her get away, Mommy! Don’t let her live!
[normal voice]
Pamela Voorhees: I won’t, Jason. I won’t!

I mean Jill was so “kind” but was clearly trying to take over. She talks down to the mom and makes fun of her to everyone.

She has taken Amber dress shopping, caterer testing, and already has firmed down several wedding plans and they just got engaged like a day or two ago.

She manipulates Sharon out of everything-the wedding, Sharon’s wedding dress, any tradition at all-and takes all of Amber’s time with “work”.

Jill runs a powerful gallery and Amber is an artist, so Amber will do all she can to keep the contacts Jill promises and of course she wants her mother-in-law to like her. When Luke makes a joke about spending their first Christmas with Sharon after tasting her cooking, Jill goes full on angry and moves the conversation back in her court.

Amber decides to wear her mom’s dress, but Jill manipulates her into thinking it is ugly and will be ugly on her.

In fact, Amber makes a date to go with her mom wedding dress shopping, just to look and Jill crashes the party, offers to pay for a super expensive dress, and wipes the mom out of the picture completely.

The vacation ends and Sharon goes to leave, but returns to tear up the house. Unfortunately, Jill comes, and Sharon knocks her off the second floor.

Ouch

Here is where the film dies for me. Sharon takes Jill home to “nurse” her back to health as she has a broken leg, more a Misery nursing than anything else, and eventually plans to murder Jill in order to have Amber back. This just felt so overdone and out of line as what is her endgame? There is no coming back from torturing your soon to be in-law.

Or plot!

Now, I think Jill was also pretty psycho in her manipulation and cutting Sharon out of the picture. I mean Amber calls Jill more than her own mother!

How much more awesome that instead of Sharon being the psycho mother-in-law they both were psychos. What if instead of having a broken leg, Jill pretended and the two play against each other for their kids’ love and attention?

Hmmm?

I think that would be much better than a Misery reboot. What do you think?

To start Horrorfest VIII from the beginning, go to Count Dracula the Propagator of This Unspeakable Evil Has Disappeared. He Must Be Found and Destroyed!: Horror of Dracula (1958)

For more deadly engagements, go to He’s Married to a Corpse. He Has A Corpse Bride!: Corpse Bride (2005)

For more Lifetime Movies, go to Who Did I Marry?: The Stranger Beside Me (1995)

 

Who Did I Marry?: The Stranger Beside Me (1995)

Who did I marry?

I saw this film about four years ago when I was going on a Lifetime binge on youtube. It is still up there so you can check it out for yourself if you wish. It is based on a true story.

The film starts off with Jennifer Morgan (Tiffani Amber Thiessen). She is a respite worker for a man in a wheelchair, she wants to be an artist and keeps to herself-no dating and no men.

She gets encouraged to date Chris Gallagher (Eric Close), a guy she meets at a picnic, and at first is hesitant-but quickly falls in love.

We discover why she is so closed off, she reveals to Chris that she was raped by a friend’s stepfather. Chris understands and later proposes. The two get married and Chris reveals his dream of joining the navy. He enlists and the two are off to base.

All are happy

There Chris starts changing, he is extremely jealous and starts becoming anxious about being away from Jennifer and underwater. He starts acting out-very angry and frightening, but is always apologetic afterward.

Then a neighbor gets spied on by a peeping tom. One night when her husband is on duty she is raped.

Jennifer is terrified, but Chris just blows it off as no big deal.

Hmm…

Meanwhile, Chris has a panic attack and is relieved of his duties. Jennifer finds out later that it wasn’t an attack, but that he threatened to kill himself if he had to go under and is getting psychiatric help. But that doesn’t seem to help his possessiveness and anger.

Chris gets discharged when he is caught and charged with voyeurism. Jennifer wants to leave him, but is pregnant and decides to give him one more chance.

Things get better and then they become very much worse. He becomes angry, bad tempered, abusive, and voyeuristic. To add to such terror a masked rapist starts attacking women in the neighborhood.

Jennifer has the baby, and Dana, Alyson Hannigan, Chris’ niece, reveals that he molested her her whole childhood. Jennifer wants to leave him, taking the baby with her, but Chris attacks Jennifer.

Noooo!

Jennifer tries to go to the police to press charges, but he has a friend in the police and not enough evidence to connect him to the rapes.

Chris tells her that she cannot leave or else he will hurt her and their daughter. Jennifer stays and pretends to be a dutiful wife always watching, and trying to find a way to catch him, looking for a slip up.

She becomes friends with a detective that believes her husband is guilty, the two working together in the hopes of getting evidence and putting him away.

It has a great and powerful ending, you should check it out for yourself.

It is an amazing film, but so sad. Watching that was like watching my life when I was married. It was awful, and I feel so bad for this woman. If you would like more information on the actual case, go here. But even though she encountered hardship, she took that guy down like a true hero.

No banner this time as there weren’t any pictures big enough to use. Oh, well-there’s always next time.

To start Horrorfest VII from the beginning, go to It’s the End of the World: The Birds (1963)

For more Lifetime films, go to It Was the Curse. My Curse: The Cheerleader Murders (2016)

It Was the Curse. My Curse: The Cheerleader Murders (2016)

“It was the curse. My curse.”

So I was housesitting and dogsitting for a family friend while they went camping, and they asked if I would hang out with their dogs as they just love attention. They told me to help myself to anything to drink and that I could watch TV or movies.

Sounds good to me.

As dogs love attention I would come multiple times a day. And as I don’t have cable anymore I miss watching TCM (Turner Classic Movies) along with Lifetime and Hallmark.

So I was checking out what was on and then decided to look up xfinity’s on demand. I came across this movie’s summary.

Ellie was just your regular cheerleader until her father and sister were murdered. Now she’s investigating, but then two other girls are kidnapped. It seems as if the killer is on to Ellie’s investigation. Will she figure it out before they go after her next?

I thought it sounded great. Girl’s father and sister are murdered and she’s hunting down the killer’s in this huge game of cat and mouse?

I’m ready to watch

This film was no where near that at all.

Majorly

Instead it was stupid, Ellie was a giant numbskull, and it was extremely obvious who the killer was. I hated it and wished I hadn’t wasted my time.

However, as I already spent about two hours watching, so you guys are going to get my review.

As I didn’t really like the film it will be mostly images from other things. Just a quick FYI for you all.

So the film starts off extremely strangely. The girl believes everything that has gone wrong in her life is because of a curse.

Some “curse” of cheerleaders follows her family. First the prom king was killed  when he was with her mom in high school. Then her sister and her boyfriend broke up. He didn’t take it kindly and snuck into the house. Ellie saw him and didn’t say anything due to her shock. He went into the sister’s room and shot her.

The father hearing the cries came out and was shot as well. The boyfriend then committed suicide.

Ellie blames herself for the murders, saying they happened because she is cursed.

Now I get blaming yourself (even though it wasn’t her fault. In fact if she had tried to do something she probably would have been killed) but a curse? A curse? Really? Why does she believe it? It makes zero sense, it just doesn’t jell of line up. There is no reason why she would believe she is cursed.

huh

So now it is a year later. The mom and daughter are strangely still living in the same house. I don’t know way they wouldn’t have moved, I sure would’ve.

Getting out of here

So Ellie is friends with the two most popular girls in school, also cheerleaders, Morgan and Dee. Morgan’s parents are out of town so she’s having a sleepover with Dee and Ellie. Ellie also dates the newest, yet hottest, guy in the school; Nicholas.

They think they are pretty hot.

Meanwhile, there is a guy who is on the fringe of high school social society, Ben. He tries to talk to Morgan but Dee scares the “loser” off.

Meanwhile, Morgan and the coach seem very friendly, so much that there is a rumor that something might be going on there but Morgan denies it.

At the sleepover one of the girls notices a little clay bunny. They ask Morgan where it came from, but Morgan doesn’t know, it just appeared.

So the sleepover doesn’t end well. Ellie and Dee are trying to find out if Morgan’s rumors with the coach are true. She gets mad and says some remarks to the two girls. Dee strikes back and Ellie gets offended when they say something that triggers her father’s and sister’s death.

Ellie leaves and heads home. When she arrives there she finds a clay bunny in her room too.

The next day Morgan and Dee don’t show up at school. It isn’t weird that they would skip, as neither girl is really an academic like Ellie, but hey would never miss the big day of the pep rally, I mean after all Dee’s the head cheerleader.

Something is not right!

Ellie decides to drive out to the house to check on the girls, but both are gone! And it looks like a struggle!  She calls the police and they start investigating as to what could have happened.

Hmm…

Ellie goes home where they have the police wait outside just in case. After all, everyone knew she was going to be at the sleepover, she is lucky she left when she did or she would’ve been taken too.

Woah! Close Call!

Now I don’t understand why she thinks there is a “curse” that affects her. I mean she is pretty lucky. Here she wasn’t kidnapped, and later  she does some real stupid things but makes it out okay. If anything she should think she is a “blessed” person.

Anyways, so she is at home while her boyfriend pulls a Billy from Scream and sneaks in through the window instead of going through the front door.

Now immediately I think, “hey, he’s new in town, this never happened before they moved here, and he gives off mega Billy vibes.” He is definitely in the equation.

So they end up finding Morgan’s body out of town in a ravine. It matches up with some other deaths that have happened all over the country, and is clearly the work of a serial killer. The FBI are called in and are very interested in Ellie.

But why would they think that Ellie is involved? There is zero evidence and no reason why she would do such a thing.

The FBI find a clay bunny in Dee’s room as well. Could it be left by the killer?

Ellie then receives a threatening note at school and decides to tell NO ONE ABOUT IT!!

What the HECK?!! WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?! So stupid! TELL the POLICE!!!

And this makes no sense at the end. How did the…whoa getting a head of myself.

So Ben has been questioned by the police and acting up, yelling, being mean, etc. Ellie becomes suspicious of Ben and decides to investigate.

And DOES THE STUPIDEST THING EVER!!! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING GOING TO THE HOUSE OF A PERSON YOU THINK IS A KIDNAPPER AND MURDERER?

There, at Ben’s house, Ellie finds a bunch of clay bunnies. She freaks out, and then Ben come home with his drugged up mother. He says that he did leave the bunnies, but only because he wanted to be friends with them.

Well then why you creeping around? I mean I know that he didn’t feel he could approach them one on one in school, as they might be cruel or laugh in his face. But come on man, did you really think that by breaking into their house you would become besties with them?

Ben gets arrested, of course, but I know it’s not him. 1) He doesn’t seem like a killer, just a misunderstood boy looking for the love he is not getting from an abusive mother. 2) Its too easy. 3) There is a whole lot more left to the film.

Nope, not him.

Now Ben, I feel bad for you but you are going about this all in the completely WRONG way. First, stop skulking about the halls, no one likes a skulker. Second, stop being so mean and grouchy. Everyone likes a brooder but not someone who yells all the time. “

So Ellie gets more threats, but these through her text messages. She still choses to not discuss it with the police.

She’s also not even freaked out that crazy kidnapper and murderer, nay serial killer is after her. She’s just like no big deal.

really? I can’t stand this movie.

So she is not at all questioning her boyfriend or his father’s weird behavior. I mean she barely knows them, they just moved here, none of this happened before they came.

It is totally one of them and I’m leaning toward the dad.

Ellie decides to head out to where Morgan was found and the little altar/memorial they made for her but does the stupidest thing in the world.

really? I can’t stand this movie.

First, she was supposed to go with her mom but tells her she can’t because Nicholas and her are going together. Then Nicholas offers to go with her but she turns him down as she wants to go BY HERSELF TO TRY AND CATCH THE KILLER!!! Can you believe that? How stupid! Did you just forget that you’ve been threatened twice already?

You are just asking to be killed.

So I’m like please take a weapon or something with you, and does she? NO! BECAUSE SHE IS A BIG, FAT, STUPIDHEAD. Jeez, I try not to judge but you are really encompassing that stereotype of dumb cheerleader because you are so dumb!!!

My dream ending is that Ben will comes to Ellie’s rescue somehow, redeeming him and making everyone love and want to be his friend. That’s how I would end it. Either the dad or boyfriend turns out to be the psycho and Ben has to help her.

But back to the film. As soon as Ellie gets to the memorial, everyone just disappears! Why?

Morgan’s dad comes depressed, sad, and acting really creepy. A big red herring is what I think, tossing him in like that as a potential suspect.

You think I’m really going to fall for that?

As Ellie is leaving a car kind of attacks her and they go on a chase, but he takes off and Ellie gets no plates or anything.

So Ellie decides to drive up the highway where Morgan was found. So goes up to THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!! YOU ARE JUST ASKING TO BE KILLED, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!

She finds this house that is all alone and just looks like the ideal murder spot. And what does she do? Call the police? NO OF COURSE NOT. THIS DUNDERHEAD DECIDES TO GO MARCHING IN. Just because you can’t see a car doesn’t mean the killer isn’t there. And what if there is more than one? Eh? You don’t have anything to protect yourself. I mean, seriously.

Look at your life, look at your choices. You are making some really bad ones.

So she breaks a window and gets into the house. Now of course this is the murder site, the writer of this flick wasn’t too bright or interesting. But what if this wasn’t the murder house? What if this house belongs to someone and you just wrecked it? You just don’t think do you.

Or do anything

This girl is so dumb, she deserves to die. Now I’m not usually that callous, but seriously the way she is acting. She’s asking to be a victim.

So Ellie hears a noise and heads down into the basement. There she finds Dee chained up, starved, and abused. Ellie gets her free and expects her friend to take off with her, but Dee is in too much of shock. She can barely move. If only Ellie had not forgotten to bring her phone.

Yes this entire movie Ellie has her phone permanently in her pocket, but then this one time she cold really use it, she left it in her car.

Then the killer returns. This part as actually interesting as the girls have to play a type of cat and mouse trying to flee from their attacker. Now this guy is fast, really fast like a football player. Hmm…just like her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s dad…

The killer is wearing a mask so they can’t see who it is. As they are running, Dee of course falls as she barely has control over her body after being bound for so long. The killer gets her as Ellie continues to run to the car and eventually has to go before she too is killed.

Told you so!

Again she blames the curse but this is on you. Too bad you didn’t bring a friend with you. Or your phone.

So later Ellie is an artist and draws the car that she saw trying to drive her off the road. Nicholas comes over to cheer her up when he looks at the sketch and freaks out:

Nicholas: [Worried] It’s happening again.

The dad is the killer, he just has to be the one!

Then we have Ellie who is completely convinced she is cursed and everything is her fault.

Blah, blah

Again with that? Really. I mean a five year old would believe that but you are almost an adult and you think a “curse” is to blame?

Anyways we have this weird and crazy flashback. This happens periodically throughout the film but have no reason. They don’t add anything to the story and they are just dumb.

really? I can’t stand this movie.

Ellie then gets a creepy message about how she can’t save the other? Others who? cheerleaders? I mean, come on. If you are going to threaten someone be clear.

So Ellie starts talking to her mom about the curse and the mom is actually pretty bright and decides to send her to the grandma in Sacramento.

It is extremely rare in this film.

Ellie is mad and decides to go see Nicholas to tell him good-bye. Nicholas isn’t home so the dad lets her go up to his room to wait for him. Nicholas’ room is really weird. He has a bunch of pics of himself, nothing with friends or anyone, just him. Weird.

Nicholas finally comes home and says some vague creepy things.

Nicholas: What if things weren’t exactly how you think they are.

What are you talking about?

The dad ends up killing his son and goes after Ellie taking her back up to the house. Luckily, the FBI were doing their job and has investigated the house, discovering it belongs to Nic’s dad. One of the FBI saves Ellie.

The film is over!!!

But Ellie still doesn’t think she is safe. She is still CURSED. UGH!!!!

So yeah. This film was extremely bad.Do yourself a favor and just skip on by it.

To start Horrorfest V from the beginning, go to Who You Gonna Call?: Ghostbusters (1984)

For the previous post, go to That Face-I’ve Seen Her Before…: Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1997)

For more cheerleader-horror films, go to I’m the Chosen One. And I Choose to be Shopping: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

For more on curses, go to You Will Die in Seven Days: The Ring (2002)

For more serial killers, go to She’s Been Totally Different…Like Stepford: Ted, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)

 For more sucky films, go to Don’t F*** With the Original: Scre4m (2011)

Psycho Strangers: The Girl He Met Online (2014)

You never know who’s online

This was one of Lifetimes “real life” intense dramas. It is cheesy, silly, but still creepy and enjoyable.

*Spoiler Alert*

This is the story is of young, beautiful, Gillian Casey. She was adopted as a child into the Casey family, and seems agreeable and sweet, that is until something doesn’t go her way. Then the dark side comes out.

She is able to attract good-looking, rich men; BUT manages to scare them away when she starts acting crazy.

We start the movie where her current boyfriend dumps her. She becomes incensed!

Grab your torches and sharpen your pitchforks!

And takes off to his apartment destroying everything of worth in the building. Scratching and marking up art, ripping things apart, spray paint, etc.

She then goes back to working on finding a guy on the internet.

Besides her ex-boyfriend, Gillian is also “dating” her boss. She works for a married doctor, and was able to get the position by seducing him. She hasn’t slept with him yet, but most of the other staff assume she is. She’s been able to ward the doctor off by always saying something has come up: mom, sister, etc. In return she has a great job, a car, extra money, etc. But the doctor is getting a bit fed up with waiting.

Meanwhile, Andy Collins has had a string of bad luck with girls.

He has yet to find “the one”, so he goes to the computer to find the girl of his dreams. Instead he finds Gillian.

AAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The two start dating, and Andy falls head over heels for her. She falls for his bank account.

Now Gillian is extremely embarrassed by her mom and home. Her mom recently hurt herself, and is recovering. Instead of helping her, all Gillian does is complain. In fact, instead of just complaining she is incredibly rude and horrible to her mother. Always yelling and screaming at her.

She wants to separate herself from her “poor, disgusting” mother, that she asks her sister if she can stay the night, and has Andy pick her up from there.

Gillian is supposed to meet Andy’s mom and has nothing she feels is acceptable. She goes to a fancy boutique, and tries on tons of clothes.

She loves how she looks, but can’t afford the price. Instead she shoplifts it and takes off.

That next date, she meets Andy’s mom and sister, who both like her but feel something is off. Also who happens to be there, but the boutique owner. She threatens to reveal all unless Gillian pays for the dress. Gillian returns it damaged with some money.

You shouldn’t have messed with me

Meanwhile, Gillian’s ex has discovered her parting gift. He gets extremely angry and heads over to speak to Gillian. He asks her why she destroyed everything, including his favorite picture. She tells him she was upset.

Well he is extremely angry and tells her that he is thinking about pressing charges. Of which will make things horrible for her as he knows all about her past issues with men and the destruction she has spread.

Gillian manages to persuade him not to press charges if she pays him. She gives him her car, and promises more money later.

She weasels more money out of the doctor, but that’s not enough. She has to finally give it up, that weekend or else. Gillian doesn’t want to, but she feels she has no other choice. Andy will be out this weekend, in Boston with friends.

That night, Gillian and Doctor Harris are at the hotel and who happens to see them? Andy’s sister Heather.

Gillian and Dr. Harris go upstairs. While she is “getting ready”, Gillian spikes Dr. Harris’ drink. She then goes down to see Andy’s sister and try to explain that she’s not really dating the doctor. Andy’s sister won’t hear any of it, she in fact yells at Gillian that she is going to tell Andy. Gillian gets so angry that she pushes Andy’s sister, and knocks her down the stairs. Killing her.

She immediately runs back to her room, and discovers that Dr. Harris is missing.

The next day, Dr. Harris is angry with her. He knew that something felt off after her drank the drink Gillian poured for him. He woke up alone with no memory and immediately went to his clinic to check himself for having been drugged. He fires Gillian and sends her on her way.

Meanwhile, Andy has returned home and heard about his sister. While grieving, he checks his phone which he had accidentally left behind while in Boston. As he looks at it, he sees that his sister left a voicemail. He checks it and hears that Gillian was seen at the hotel with somebody.

He goes to Gillian’s house to see her (really Gillian’s sister’s house). There he finds no Gillian, but gets the real address. When he gets to Gillian’s mother’s house, she reveals that a lot of what he knew about Gillian is all a lie, a huge lie.

He leaves to process this.

When Gillian gets home she finds out that her mom spilled the beans. Gillian becomes so angry that her mother ruined everything she starts strangling her.

This isn’t the first time she done such behavior to her mother. When she was suffering from a heart attack, Gillian took a long time to actually call for help.

Before Gillian can finish her mother off, Andy and the cop investigating Heather’s death come and save the day.

Gillian goes off to jail, and the film ends with Andy visiting his sister’s grave, Lifetime once again warning you to stop looking for love on the internet as it only ends in death.

And any film review of Horrorfest is incomplete without the facebook cover/poster I make. 🙂

To start Horrorfest IV from the beginning, go to You Cannot Conquer It. It Has Conquered You!: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

For the previous post, go to A Haunting We Will Go: The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

For more online dating taking a bad turn, go to Secrets are Great, Unless You Get Caught: Perfect Stranger (2007)