Dr. Ray Colton and his wife Miranda invite Ray's niece, Christie, into their home in Philadelphia. Christie is studying at the nearby university, and the accommodations with the Coltons will allow her to save money. Little do the Coltons realize that Christie is a sociopath bent on killing her Uncle Ray because, in her twisted thinking, he was responsible for her father's suicide
The only member of the Colton clan who finds Christie suspicious is the young daughter, Haley. From the outset, Hayley finds Christie's behavior to be "weird." Haley gives sufficient warnings to her parents to be on their guard. Of course, the parents do not listen to their daughter.
Christie's plan for revenge is her version of the perfect crime. She first enlists a confederate named Selene to blackmail Ray. But, in the process, Christie finds that Selene has worn out her usefulness, and she murders her, conking her over the head with a tire iron.
It is now up to the quick-thinking Hayley and her mother, who finally listens to her daughter, that leads to the unraveling of Christie's diabolical scheme to murder Uncle Ray. The film turns especially nasty when Christie laces Ray's latté with Dilental, effectively making his heart stop. Miranda learns clues about Christie's past from Josh, who ran a support group that included Christie when she lived in Baltimore. It is now a race against the clock for Miranda to return from Baltimore and come to the aid of her husband.
While the film built good suspense, the diabolical machinations of Christie were so unpleasant that some moments were hard to take, especially the poisoning scene. Through flashback, we learn that Christie's beloved dad was an inveterate gambler, who lost $30,000 of Ray's money betting on Eagles' games. Ray actually wanted to pay for Christie's college education and cover her dad's mortgage payments, prior to his suicide.
The film's main takeaway is how Christie was deceived by appearances. Not knowing all of the facts, she concluded from overhearing a phone conversation that Ray would not give her father money. She jumped to an erroneous conclusion based on only partial evidence. Christie was a sad character, and, unfortunately, the filmmakers did not even allow the audience to know what became of her in the rushed denouement.
The only member of the Colton clan who finds Christie suspicious is the young daughter, Haley. From the outset, Hayley finds Christie's behavior to be "weird." Haley gives sufficient warnings to her parents to be on their guard. Of course, the parents do not listen to their daughter.
Christie's plan for revenge is her version of the perfect crime. She first enlists a confederate named Selene to blackmail Ray. But, in the process, Christie finds that Selene has worn out her usefulness, and she murders her, conking her over the head with a tire iron.
It is now up to the quick-thinking Hayley and her mother, who finally listens to her daughter, that leads to the unraveling of Christie's diabolical scheme to murder Uncle Ray. The film turns especially nasty when Christie laces Ray's latté with Dilental, effectively making his heart stop. Miranda learns clues about Christie's past from Josh, who ran a support group that included Christie when she lived in Baltimore. It is now a race against the clock for Miranda to return from Baltimore and come to the aid of her husband.
While the film built good suspense, the diabolical machinations of Christie were so unpleasant that some moments were hard to take, especially the poisoning scene. Through flashback, we learn that Christie's beloved dad was an inveterate gambler, who lost $30,000 of Ray's money betting on Eagles' games. Ray actually wanted to pay for Christie's college education and cover her dad's mortgage payments, prior to his suicide.
The film's main takeaway is how Christie was deceived by appearances. Not knowing all of the facts, she concluded from overhearing a phone conversation that Ray would not give her father money. She jumped to an erroneous conclusion based on only partial evidence. Christie was a sad character, and, unfortunately, the filmmakers did not even allow the audience to know what became of her in the rushed denouement.