I have now watched three Lifetime films with the meme of a young person showing up on the doorstep of a family and claiming to be a long-lost child. Inevitably, a DNA test is conducted, and the results reveal the paternity of the mom or dad. The family is then on the receiving end of extortion, sadism, and potential murder, due to the charlatan. In every case, there has been tampering in the DNA testing for reasons that stretch credibility beyond the pale. In the case of this film, the lab technician was "bought off" to falsify the results. Right!!!
"The Wrong Child" focuses on a young man named Andrew, who disrupts the routine of the nice family of Charles and Renée Callahan and Renée's young daughter Amy. Andrew claims that Charles is his father and that the mother never let Charles know that he had impregnated her. Charles has only vague recollections of a one-timer with the mom.
Of course, Andrew, who is actually a conniving adult, is an imposter, who has somehow managed to be accepted into the University of California, Berkeley, and wants to extort a half million dollars to pay for his tuition and have some spare change left over At one point, he brags of being the "talented Mr. Ripley." At first, he uses some charm to ingratiate himself with Renée. But the audience knows from the outset that he is a phony, as he has set up residence in an empty house next door. He especially has his lascivious sights set on Amy, whom he is constantly photographing.
The film was unpleasant with three senseless murders, especially the brutal slaying of Renée's assistant Joyce and Amy's close friend Darci. While there was an intriguing plot twist involving the luckless loser Charles, who is actually in cahoots with Andrew, the film collapsed in the final minutes with a routine and violent ending. There was not even a denouement to wrap up the loose ends and allow Renée and Amy to move on with their lives. Of all the characters, the one who was most interesting was Charles, who, unfortunately, made an untimely exit from the screenplay, courtesy of the un-talented Mr. Ripley.
"The Wrong Child" focuses on a young man named Andrew, who disrupts the routine of the nice family of Charles and Renée Callahan and Renée's young daughter Amy. Andrew claims that Charles is his father and that the mother never let Charles know that he had impregnated her. Charles has only vague recollections of a one-timer with the mom.
Of course, Andrew, who is actually a conniving adult, is an imposter, who has somehow managed to be accepted into the University of California, Berkeley, and wants to extort a half million dollars to pay for his tuition and have some spare change left over At one point, he brags of being the "talented Mr. Ripley." At first, he uses some charm to ingratiate himself with Renée. But the audience knows from the outset that he is a phony, as he has set up residence in an empty house next door. He especially has his lascivious sights set on Amy, whom he is constantly photographing.
The film was unpleasant with three senseless murders, especially the brutal slaying of Renée's assistant Joyce and Amy's close friend Darci. While there was an intriguing plot twist involving the luckless loser Charles, who is actually in cahoots with Andrew, the film collapsed in the final minutes with a routine and violent ending. There was not even a denouement to wrap up the loose ends and allow Renée and Amy to move on with their lives. Of all the characters, the one who was most interesting was Charles, who, unfortunately, made an untimely exit from the screenplay, courtesy of the un-talented Mr. Ripley.