Secrets of My Stepdaughter

Secrets of My Stepdaughter

Secrets of My Stepdaughter

Young Rachel Kent has come to live with her father and stepmother after growing up with her mother, Martha. After three months in residence in the Kent household, Rachel is involved in an apparent robbery at the clothing store where she works. Her best friend, Leslie Miles, is killed, but Rachel survives with some minor injuries. But there are deep, dark secrets at the heart of the story of Rachel Kent. The dramatic action is anchored by Cindy Kent, the stepmother of Rachel and the spouse of Greg, a high-profile attorney. Unfortunately, Greg is so deeply attached to Rachel and too guilt-ridden for not being a part of her past life that he cannot see the danger signals in his daughter's disturbing behavior. Even when Cindy is verbally and physically abused by Rachel, Greg comes to the daughter's defense. The role of Cindy was played by Josie "Lifetime" Davis, a great fan favorite. She brings a warmth and sensitivity to the role of the kind stepmother. Everyone wants to see Josie act in more Lifetime pictures. The rest of the cast admirably performed their roles with one of the standouts the wily Detective Pam Cherfils. Early on, Detective Cherfils recognized that Rachel's story about the robbery did not hold up. Yet she received no support from the top brass, especially her by-the-book supervisor Lieutenant Brian Smith, who chose to pursue a flimsy case against Aaron Barker, an acquaintance of the decedent, Leslie Miles. Leslie's dear mother Tess also provided helpful clues about the girls stealing from the clothing store. A couple of the defining moments in the film were when Cindy observed Rachel priming before a mirror and rehearsing the sob story that she would deliver to the media. In another fateful moment at the Crestview Motel, Rachel's birth mother, Martha Cook, is working as a maid. She informs a shocked Cindy that for fifteen years, she had been a prisoner in her own home. Armed with that knowledge, Cindy then moves into action to see to it that she will not be a similar prisoner and that the color of orange befits Rachel in her new jumpsuit at the state asylum for mentally disturbed criminals.

The acting is pathetic which seriously let this film down. Had potential but didn't deliver. This is a made for TV film without a doubt.

Early on my husband and I commented about the bad writing and acting. Yet, we agreed to keep watching it despite the flaws. It got a bit better and we watched to the end, we are just glad that it was on Netflix so we didn't have to pay for it.

Family secrets and turmoil are always good plot points for a thriller as is the case with this story and film. After being left on her own by her mother, Rachel Kent (Skovbye), is taken in by her father, Greg (Bancroft), and his wife, Cindy (Davis). She quickly ingratiates herself into the family and everything is good. However, when the store she is working is broken into and her friend is murdered, while she is left tied to a table, the police don't believe that the crime is as black and white as it appears. It's the titles of the movie which are the drawback as they reveal a major plot twist. This is a shame as the writer does try to keep a mystery, at least for a little while, as to who the criminal is. Though there should be a spoiler alert on the titles it only deters from the integrity of the film a tad. Where it's strength comes from is the story and the characterisations. There are some really dark moments, though because of it being a TV movie these are depicted in a lighter shade. I really liked the moment that Cindy Kent tracks down Rachel's mother. This is when she learns of her past and along with the portrayal of Rachel's mom this scene left me chilly. The director, Garrard, does a good job of keeping the pace of the story trotting along while building tension and atmosphere at all the right places. Though the rest of the directing techniques are basic, some differing camera angles and such wouldn't have gone amiss. While the actors and actresses, for the most part, do more than an agreeable job with their portrayals. However, sometimes, Tiera Skovbye, slips in and out of the maple, oak and sycamore style of acting. Unfortunately, most of these moments come in key scenes so they're more noticeable. These are only minor issues so I would gladly recommend this to all armchair detectives, mystery lovers, and thriller fans, as I found this to be an enjoyable and entertaining film. Not a bad way to pass a snowy afternoon.

Rachel (Tiera Skovbye) has been living with her father Greg, stepmother Cindy Kent (Josie Davis), and stepsister Addy for three months after her biological mother disappeared. Greg is away for business. Cindy is concerned when Rachel doesn't contact her after work. She assumes that Rachel is staying with her best friend Leslie. The next day, Cindy goes to the store to find Rachel unconscious and Leslie dead beside her. After a few incidents, Cindy starts to suspect that Rachel may actually be the killer. The alternative title is A Murderer Upstairs which reveals the big twist. I do wonder about Tiera's long term viability as a leading lady. She's definitely pretty enough to have a long Hollywood career. She could be a villain. She has the icy cold stare but her crazy needs a bit of work. It's scatter work and unrefined. It's a little awkward. This is a Lifetime movie and the female protagonist has to be alone against the world. That would explain the weak pathetic husband. "I can't do this", is a recurring refrain as the characters walk away. Addy is also dumb but at least, she has the excuse that her mother never says that Rachel is dangerous. There is a good fun section as she starts unraveling the secrets. In the end, it's only Lifetime and it has a few too many eye-rolling moments.

I feel that this was a huge disappointment if you really want to watch a chilling suspenseful movie. The acting from 'Rachel' and 'Cindy' is terrible based on the script, I feel the delivery was really poor. As the title is very predictable, it isn't worth watching the movie in the first place. The ending could have been more interesting but the way in which they revealed the murderer was just ridiculous, if felt like the movie was rushed and I can't say that we were left intrigued. I also feel like we have watched numerous movies like this so this provides no motivation for us to watch it unless it is something new and fresh.

Watched this to pass an hour and a half and I wish I had the time back. I knew after 30 seconds it had that made for tv feel about it but thought maybe it might be ok. Nope. I was wrong. Acting is shocking. Script is worse. Based on a true story so I don't know how they did it so badly. Would have been better off making a docudrama out of it than an actual drama. Don't waste your time