Stepmom from Hell (2024)

Stepmom-from-Hell-(2024)
Stepmom from Hell (2024)

For most Lifetime pictures, spoilers seem to be quite the peculiar animal. There is absolutely one title that does not bother to try and keep the audience guessing as to the identity of the killer. Usually, there are indeed some twists, but the purpose of watching these movies is to see how things culminate.

It is, however, a little annoying how Stepmom from Hell completely destroys its suspense with an unimaginative title that simply says what the film is about. The authors, Hamish Briggs, Daniel Kautz, Nathanael Lirio, and Elizabeth Snoderly do give a murder mystery with embezzlement elements lot of twists, and red herrings but as the title is quite the spoiler, it does undermine the writer’s artistic vision (I was subjected to a different title when watching the film, Shattered Ties which is dull and vague, but at least does not give away the plot).

The film directed by Corbin Timbrook depicts the story of Izzy Thompson (Lexi Giovagnoli), an astoundingly smart and active businesswoman, who is trying unsuccessfully to commercialize a dog-oriented app in the shadow of a prominent businessman, Jack Thompson (Lorenzo Lamas) with thirty years in the business world. His real estate company is bound to go to his stepdaughter, who bears the nickname ‘crazy’ Dana (Bri Ana Wagner), or the financial director Terry (Milli M) rather than to the ambitious Izzy who should take it over.

Catherine (Shelby Janes), Jack’s second wife, has a daughter named Dana, whom she refers to with an almost zealous regard for monitoring Jack’s wellbeing. However, it seems that his recollection is deteriorating, a condition which beginnings at a corporate reunion and progresses to an extent where Jack cannot recollect the time when his first wife passed away or what institution Izzy attended.

This distressing episode coincides with the moment when Izzy is able to find an incriminating dossier in the Archive room. This dossier contains a bill of lading revealing the scheduled movement of $700K out of the firm’s account to a credence account. That is worth getting murdered to obtain as is shown by the fact that nearly everyone who had laid their eyes on that receipt or knew of it got set upon and assassinated by some black caped marauder.

Similar to how When Mom Becomes A Murderer provides the audience with a complete twist in the final act, the film also aims to shock its viewers with the details of the mystery. Dana is rude and hostile toward Izzy, but is she the one who made off with the funds? Maybe she is just a busy bee who is striving to crown the company with modernity. Or what about Terry, Sunday-slicing women’s documents (the flag is red here too)? And when looking at the pretty dismal state of Jack’s facilities, who should be the one to treat him apart from the family doctor Jeffrey Nichols (Boz Wells), who does not seem to be all that bothered?

Usually, there is no doubt that such questions would be reasonable for the audiences, but the person behind the perpetration is literally spelled out in the name. To say the least, the last act of this movie when Catherine’s real motives are finally exposed should be the part that makes us feel that Stepmom from Hell was overstretched, but that is just because we’ve always known that she was the one tricking everyone in the first place.

People are laughing at heart while the performances have also stepped up to the silly aspect which is a good thing too. It is possible that how some lines are delivered and certain plot progresses are purely comedic, but when Izzy gets a restraining order and later fights with Catherine at the hospital, it is just impossible not to chuckle during that scene, how Izzy threatens Catherine by saying “Just shut up! I don’t believe that restraining order is worth a lot” and then Catherine says in an emotionless tone that she controls the lawyer all the time in a classic “wife over daughter” situation is a classic.

It’s a killer line and as soon as the mask comes off Janes really embraces Catherine’s villain side which is nice to see. The finale, located inside the Thompsons’ gorgeous mansion, is a bit on the longer side as there’s a lot of running around and punches thrown (two people get knocked out, one practically flying over the back of the couch, which is pretty entertaining).

Giovagnoli is the best performer in this film in my opinion. She is quick on her feet and has to act in a true Lifetime manner by taking on all the physical leg work for the case. Giovagnoli’s performance becomes even more impressive when Izzy is absent from her life, one of the moments that are hard for her is when she cries out while sitting and screaming in a car.

Brian Roman, an old friend of Giavognali who became a detective, has developed great chemistry with her. Fultz has the charm of a romantic lead rather than a cop. He tells Izzy at one point that her accusations are unsubstantiated without proof, and instead of encouraging her to go out and get a taped confession, he should be doing it himself, or perhaps, he should remember that doing so would require her to breach the restraining order against him.

If Det Roman wasn’t a good cook and had a great smile, he would definitely not be necessary at all!

Stepmom from Hell is also enhanced by a number of effective and suspenseful moments that are captured beautifully by the cameras. Aside from the intense action-filled finale, there’s a weird scene where a bolt of lightning flashes and we see an intruder hiding in wait for Izzy when she comes home. Later, while planting a bug in Catherine’s home, Izzy gets trapped inside a cupboard waiting for Timbrook to shoot her in profile, completely dark except for one small shard of light spotlighting her eyes as she looks terrified.

Regrettably, there are other aspects where the polish is somewhat lacking. The sound of some key discussions at the Thompson household is somewhat irritating because it is characterized by an annoying echo, a certain overpowering and quite ugly look of mustard-colored make-up is seen on Janes when she’s at the climax of the conflict, and as we all expect from cheap Lifetime, a number of the sites had dull and geographical settings (where all the paintings at the place are?).

In any case, in spite of being relatively mediocre, there are some emotional beats that shun the less encouraging (Michael Giovagnoli) at least a couple of quiet action sequences, as well as a dose of humor (deliberate or otherwise) which makes Stepmom from Hell a very enjoyable diversion.

For More Movies like – Stepmom from Hell (2024) – Visit on 123Movies

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top