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kaf2187
Reviews
Pretty Little Victim (2021)
Watch Murder in the Vineyard Instead
I cannot pretend that I expect quality of any Lifetime Original film, yet Nobody Will Believe You still managed to disappoint me to the point of anger--yes, I was emotionally invested in the outcome of this TV movie, inspired by an irrational belief in this cast's talents. Aside from featuring twenty-five-year-old high schoolers and veteran actors of three weeks, the plot was so convoluted as to make me question what the actual story was. I think it was about a girl named Hannah being bullied by her counselor and maybe having some issues with her dad, but then there's the whole murder plot that Garrett decided to involve her in at an undisclosed point in time and the fact that he's looking for a cheerleader wife upgrade. Also, he killed Amber's stepdad and Garrett's wife was having an affair with the choir teacher who supposedly didn't know she was married to a coworker of his?
As typical of Lifetime, few loose ends were tied by the closing shot. In fact, our protagonist had only just confirmed who the antagonist was at the final five minute mark. Did it make sense? No. But then again, little did. Apparently all guidance counselors have easy access to students' houses, where they set fires and prey on young cheerleaders (AKA replacement wives). And I suppose that there's no need to check up on said preyed-on cheerleaders after their counselor boyfriends are killed (arrested?), especially not when they're your arch nemesis. That's best left to the therapists. Also, I guess it's normal for your mom to just date your choir teacher that fled the state after breaking up with your ex-guidance counselor lover's murdered wife, which I found to be a bit of a plot twist because, really, we all know the mom is dating her new spa. I won't even mention the fact that Garrett seems to burn the evidence that clears Hannah with the house (yet she's not in prison at the end?) before being murdered with a stool.
I'll put it this way: the most exciting part of this film was when Amber's stepdad was shown watching a slightly superior Lifetime movie pre-death. I don't know what creates more questions, the fact that Lifetime somehow exists as a corporation within the Lifetime Cinematic Universe or the idea that this poor man's last moments of life were spent watching The Secrets She Keeps. If you're looking for a reasonably cheesy TV movie that might be about high school cyberbullying that is basically logical and more easily followed, watch Murder in the Vineyard, but out of respect for your own mortality, skip this one.
Anyway, there is only one fitting way for me to wrap up this review: mac and cheese.