Stepmom from Hell (2024)

Stepmom-from-Hell
Stepmom from Hell

Spoilers on Lifetime movies are an odd concept, this is not the case with one of their pictures which quite frankly does a great job of ruining the identity of the killer. For the most part, there is still some room for some plot turns and the need to actually watch to see what exactly happens remains.

Although on the contrary Stepmom from Hell has decided to go down the single route and provide zero suspense in the movie which is the title of the film itself and directly explains what happens in the film. The movie was directed by Hamish Briggs, Daniel Kautz, Nathanael Lirio, and Elizabeth Snoderly, all of whom managed to put together a story surrounding a crime intertwined with some embezzlement schemes, although the title does reveal a coarse spoiler that ruins the intended creative approach by the authors, there were indeed twists in the plot. Instead, the title misleadingly led me to believe that the movie Shattered Ties had a gripping twist and plot, but in reality, it was quite the opposite.

The movie ‘Dog Days Seeing Eye to Ask’ features an antagonist Izzy Thompson played by Lexi Giovagnoli who is a brilliant woman struggling to sell a dog-oriented app. In an attempt to sell the app, she finds herself competing against a masculine businessman named Jack Thompson, played by Lorenzo Lamas, who also happens to be a multimillionaire. As the plot unfolds, we understand that Thompson has a real estate empire that he intends to pass down to his step-daughter, fondly known as “crazy” Dana played by Bri Ana Wagner. Thompson has never planned on passing on his ambitions to Izzy.

Catherine (Shelby Janes), who is now the second spouse of Jack, has a daughter Dana whom she takes an ultra-vigilant approach towards ensuring Jack’s health. However, it seems that his recollection is deteriorating, a condition that begins at a company get-together and progresses to such an extent that Jack cannot recollect the time his first wife died or the place where the school Izzy went to was located.

The distressing episode also happens to coincide with the time Izzy is able to locate an incriminating document in the Archive room. The document in question comprises a bill of lading which exemplifies the planned movement of $700K from a company’s account to a credence account. That is worth being batched for and is the reason why nearly everyone who came into contact with that receipt or was even acquainted with it got hunted down and killed by some mysterious clothes.

When Mom Becomes A Murderer, just as Dana is out once again to spoil the plans, offers a completely different ending. The movie does set up to surprise its audience with its resolution as well Dana is crass and unfriendly to Izzy but is she the perpetrator behind the crimes who made away with the money? Perhaps she is just trying to freshen up the face of the company, a tad too busy. Or talk about Terry, slicing Sundays’ worth of women’s files and documents (red flag here too)? And Jack’s rather pathetic facilities aren’t necessarily the worst. Why is it that the family physician Jeffrey Nichols (Boz Wells) is reading disinterest?

Such questions may seem reasonable to the public, but this is no more than a reflection of one of the traits of Stepmom from Hell Penetrator because I repeat, the name says it all. At least, the segment of the movie is when Catherine’s real motives of some sort finally roll into sight. But that still doesn’t mean that Stepmom from Hell wasn’t deprived of its justification – it is simply because we have always known that it was her behind the ruse all along.

People are maintaining an orchestration of laughs as the actors start adapting and integrating the more foolish characters, which is also a good thing. That’s possible to say about how some lines are said, or how the plot is on some bits more like a stand-up comedy plot, but when Izzy is served a restraining order and later overseas at a hospital, tries to hit Catherine it quite hard to keep a straight face during that time, when Izzy shouts at Catherine saying “Just shut up! I don’t consider this restraining order to be something of value” and then Catherine stoically “It is a classic case of wife over daughter. I control the lawyer all the time” priceless.

It’s a good one and I could see Janes really go for the reveals and once the mask is off, it’s interesting that Catherine’s dark side is taken on fully. Although the last scene taking place inside the beautiful house of the Thompsons may be a bit long due to the excessive running and profuse throwing of punches (two were knocked out, one almost soared over the couch’s back which was quite amusing). In this movie, I think Giovagnoli is the best. She moves fast and has to do everything physically in the case like it is a true Lifetime. One of the touching moments for Giovagnoli is when she sits in a car and is screaming and cries out when Izzy leaves her.

Brian Roman, who used to be Giavognali’s friend as well as now a detective, seems to have a lot in common with her. Fultz is more of a romantic hero than a police officer. At one point Izzy tells him that it is unfounded to vaguely accuse people unless proven and that instead of expecting her to go out and get a taped confession, he should be the one doing it, or that he is the one who should realize that in the event of doing so, she would have to violate the restraining order.

Stepmom from Hell is also complemented with a lot of gripping suspenseful scenes which are also excellently shot. Apart from the action-packed adrenaline ending, there is one really strange sequence where lightning strikes, and an intruder is seen waiting for Izzy to arrive back home. In later scenes, while placing a bug in Catherine’s house, Izzy becomes stuck in a closet waiting for Timbrook to take aim at her from the profile while it’s completely dark except for a spotlight shining at her terrified eyes.

Unfortunately, there are other areas where the polish is a bit rough. Some key conversations around the Thompson family home can be a little bit grating as they tend to be quite echoey, there’s some rather unsightly mustard yellow makeup that Janes wears at the peak of the argument, and like the cheap Lifetime movies that we all expect, some of the locations were uninspiring and geographical (seriously where are all the art in that place?).

Nevertheless, they are not entirely useless. For example, even though they are by Michael Giovagnoli relatively flat, there are a few good action scenes and some good comedic moments (intended or not) many of which have remarkable emotional notes making Stepmom from Hell a good lighthearted entertainment.

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