I usually don't care for the high school ones since I'm in my 30s, but this one reminded me a bit of the movies and shows from the 90s with this kind of theme. I won't give spoilers other than to say it's played very straight to the synopsis, and I, for sure, expected a twist with another character that didn't pan out. I was rather relieved by that because it would have been illogical and overly complicated.
I agree with the other contributor...the movie benefits from not being a slasher and typical psycho movie. Thankfully, the villain is not all-seeing/all-knowing/superhuman. Every escalation in this story made sense for the villain's character. The one fatality was kind of expected when you see that character's first scene (whenever a character has "something" going on, it will play into the movie). Tiffany, the mean girl, reminded me of Taylor from She's All That and what the character would be if that movie wasn't a comedy. What a spoiled brat. Her mom was an absolute clueless doormat and if her dad was the same way (they're divorced we learn), it's no wonder she's got such a nasty personality. Dylan's actress was ok, kind of dry, but it mostly worked if you look at it from the POV that Tiffany was getting more and more outrageous while Dylan didn't react to her shenanigans the way she wanted. The other kids were fine. It seems like Lifetime actually cast people who could pass as teens instead of the usual 30 year olds.
The weakest part of the movie was the mom's "hacking." It wasn't technically a deus ex machina since the first couple of scenes told us her line of work, but it did play out like they gave the mom that nondescript job so she could use it later.
It kept my attention. Not a fan of the title, Psycho Sweet 16, but it aired in the US as The Gift of Murder. The former gives you a clue at least that you're watching a teen movie, so maybe it is the better title.
I agree with the other contributor...the movie benefits from not being a slasher and typical psycho movie. Thankfully, the villain is not all-seeing/all-knowing/superhuman. Every escalation in this story made sense for the villain's character. The one fatality was kind of expected when you see that character's first scene (whenever a character has "something" going on, it will play into the movie). Tiffany, the mean girl, reminded me of Taylor from She's All That and what the character would be if that movie wasn't a comedy. What a spoiled brat. Her mom was an absolute clueless doormat and if her dad was the same way (they're divorced we learn), it's no wonder she's got such a nasty personality. Dylan's actress was ok, kind of dry, but it mostly worked if you look at it from the POV that Tiffany was getting more and more outrageous while Dylan didn't react to her shenanigans the way she wanted. The other kids were fine. It seems like Lifetime actually cast people who could pass as teens instead of the usual 30 year olds.
The weakest part of the movie was the mom's "hacking." It wasn't technically a deus ex machina since the first couple of scenes told us her line of work, but it did play out like they gave the mom that nondescript job so she could use it later.
It kept my attention. Not a fan of the title, Psycho Sweet 16, but it aired in the US as The Gift of Murder. The former gives you a clue at least that you're watching a teen movie, so maybe it is the better title.