A Father's Nightmare (2018)

A vindictive and psychotic new roommate attempts to convince an innocent college freshman to commit suicide by slowly destroying her life through the means of drugs, paranoia, and manipulation.

Director:

Vic Sarin

Writer:

Shelley Gillen

Stars:

Annabeth Gish, Jessica Lowndes, Joel Gretsch

Cast

Credited cast:
Annabeth Gish	...	Maddie Stewart
Jessica Lowndes	...	Vanessa / Amanda
Joel Gretsch	...	Matt Carmichael
Kaitlyn Bernard	...	Lisa Carmichael
Ana Golja	...	Sasha
Lucia Walters	...	Laney
Tom Stevens	...	Jim
Ellery Sprayberry	...	Katie
Sebastian Greaves	...	Dude
Adam Tyk	...	Police Officer

Storyline

Lisa, a college freshman on a gymnastics scholarship, is surprised to find her new roommate is not a fellow gymnast, but Vanessa, an older, more experienced girl. As the new roommates bond, Vanessa becomes increasingly manipulative, playing Lisa against her teammates, undermining her confidence and making Lisa emotionally dependent on her. Though he's kept at a distance, Lisa's father Matt senses trouble, especially as Lisa's behaviour becomes more erratic after Vanessa introduces her to an expanding cocktail of "performance enhancing" prescription drugs. Stymied by the school's administration, Matt takes matters into his own hands, investigating Vanessa's identity. As Vanessa pushes Lisa to the brink of suicide after she faces a drug test and potential expulsion, Matt makes a shocking discovery and must confront a secret from his past in order to save his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | gymnastics | beam | leotard | barefoot woman | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music of the lullaby "Love Me Til You Die" was composed by Alexandra Mihill in five minutes during the shooting of the first film in 2012. The lyrics were written by the writer of the movie Shelley Gillen.

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Alternate Versions

A pair of alternate endings aired during Lifetime Movie Network's reairing of the sequel on July 27, 2018. In the first one, after Matt's reveal as Amanda/Vanessa's father, Zofia appeared and revealed herself as her mother, while detailing everything that she had done in her mental state. The scene also included mother and daughter embracing each other, with Vanessa in tears as Zofia sung her familiar song--which Vanessa sings as an anthem to her psychotic actions. Similar to the original ending, Vanessa is arrested and back in a mental hospital, but the final scene shows Vanessa being visited by Matt, much to her pleasure. In a second ending, Vanessa is only confronted by Matt, who ended up having to save Lisa after she slipped and nearly succumbed to her evil half-sister's attempt to kill her. The villainess escaped while Matt came to Lisa's aid, with Laney and Zofia arriving at the scene--the latter asking where her daughter (Amanda/Vanessa) was. The final scene of the second alternate ending showed Vanessa in a different city, giving the indication that she was still up to her villainous actions.

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Soundtracks

Love Me Til You Die
(Lullaby)
Lyrics by Shelley Gillen
Music by Alexandra Mihill
Performed by Jessica Lowndes

User Reviews

The best Lifetime movie ever written.

"A Father's Nightmare" is perhaps the absolute best film I've ever come across on the Lifetime Movies network. Suspenseful, heartbreaking, original, well-written, and superbly well-acted, this story was something that I'd have expected to see on the big screen instead of TV.

Brilliant.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Father's Nightmare

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brainstorm Media, Sepia Films, World International Network (WIN)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD