Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story (2020 TV Movie) User Reviews

"She's sick, and we didn't know it"

[evening1 · 6/10 · 13 December 2021]

This story wouldn't be believable if it were made up, so it's all the more astonishing that it's based on real life.

Nia Vardalos is scary as Stacey Castor, a dedicated-seeming mom who kills two husbands and then turns on her older daughter. Some excellent detective work stops this evil woman, just in the nick of time. What would have happened if she'd entered Ashley's hospital room?

Chanelle Peloso does well as betrayed daughter Ashley. I don't usually notice makeup in a film, but Ms. Peloso's face seems to evolve in such a way that we truly get the depths of her shock and despair.

One thing I'm sorry about is that I have not been able to identify the actor who plays high-strung second husband David's dad. Wow, what a classic older-actor mug! I have seen him in something, but don't know what.

A little misstep here is the lack of explanation of the turkey baster. I don't think the typical viewer will connect the dots. To understand its role, look up Stacey's bio on Wikipedia, and weep.

This movie was really stunning. God save us from the psychopaths, who can be so unfathomably difficult to recognize.

good cast..

[pfarnell · 6/10 · 19 October 2023]

The super Emo? Daughter was so incredibly annoying , reminded me of the daughter on Californication except maybe even worse, that it would not have been that surprising her mother making a move on her...but, of course wife/mother had also anti-freezed not one but two husbands so it was maybe three strikes and did not look good for her. It was amazing that twice stupidly calling it 'anti-free " instead of "anti-freeze" (personally I just call it Glycol but I work in the business, it's full title is Ethylene Glycol..) finally got her put in the bracelets.

Of course the spoiled petulant Emo thing and almost getting murdered by her mother herself and having to testify against her own mother meant that she completely over-shadowed the other sister/daughter in the movie.

Probably average to a little above-average as US True crime TV-movies goes.

Terrible

[Moonflwr0704 · 1/10 · 2 February 2020]

Having lived in the area and lived through the day by day stories of this horrible woman, I was disappointed with how very wrong they got the story.

Many reasons to dislike a film

[laragi · 2/10 · 15 February 2020]

This is my kind of film on a boring Saturday afternoon BUT I couldn't get past the unattractive cast. I know that sounds terrible but that's how I feel. I lasted about an hour.

Excellent production - great acting

[montgomerysue · 9/10 · 3 February 2020]

I read the earlier review where the writer was disappointed with how wrong this story was. But, after seeing it, I researched Stacey Castor and it seems to me that this movie follows the real life events quite accurately. In an event, this is the best work by Nia Vardalos since "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." She gives a fascinating, excellent performance that keeps you wondering just who is this woman and what is she up to ? The entire supporting cast is also very good, giving interesting and professional performances like Vardalos, particularly Chanelle Peloso as the eldest daughter, Ashley, and Genea Charpentier as the younger Bree. Peloso is a real revelation here, nicely demonstrating how Ashley was at wit's end with her mother's behavior. The production is well done throughout and the first time director, Jim Donovan, deserved kudos for a creating a thoroughly enjoyable mystery in a compelling way. The two hours just fly by.

Gripping depiction of a shocking crime

[phd_travel · 8/10 · 3 February 2020]

Lifetime is at its best when doing true life crime movies. Here the events of the worst mother in the world unfold in a straightforward and mesmerizing manner. When the facts are interesting you don't need to mess about with the delivery. The court room scenes are quite powerful by Lifetime standards.

The cast is well chosen. Nia is good especially at the end. The girl who plays Ashley the victim / daughter performs well as a resentful teen then as a devastated daughter.

A case to good to be true

[DarkVulcan29 · 8/10 · 10 February 2020]

When I saw this story on Forensic Files, I had a feeling when this would most likely end up being a T.V. movie, and now it is. I know it took some liberties with some events, I expect that with some true stories. But the story stays the same, Stacey Castor(Nia Vardalos) a widow with teenage daughters, Ashley(Chanelle Peloso) and Bree(Genea Charpentier) becomes the prime suspect in her husbands sudden death, when they look closer and begin to think it was not a suicide, then her oldest daughter is found near death, and a suicide note saying she was the one that killed her father and step father, but a little mistake in the note says otherwise.























Nia Vardalos really gives a good performance as Stacey Castor, really stepping out of her comfort zone,. Chanelle Peiloso and Genea Charpentier are very strong here has Ashley and Bree. It's really a sad story of greed and murder, a woman like Stacey Castor who destroys everything that is dear to her, just for greed. But I'm glad that Ashley and Bree have moved on.

Chilling

[lavatch · 8/10 · 12 January 2023]

Stacey Wallace was a widow living with her two beautiful daughters, Ashley and young Bree. A romance with her boss, David Castor, leads to marriage and a new family arrangement. David has a temper, and there is tension between him and Ashley. Next, David is discovered dead.

In what is first ruled a suicide, the police revisit the case when the quick-thinking detective discovers a turkey baster in the trash. The baster was likely used to poison David with antifreeze.

At the trial, the overwhelming evidence pointed to Stacey having murdered David. She also apparently killed her first husband, Michael Wallace, using the same technique with the antifreeze.

Most appalling of all was that Stacey also attempted to pin the blame on her daughter Ashley. This last allegation, which the jury found credible, stunned the judge at trial. He said to Stacey, "among murderers, you are in a class by yourself."

During the screen credits, we learn that Stacey died in prison at the age of 48 and long before serving her 51-year sentence. She apparently continued to maintain her innocence up to her death. But, as presented in the film, the daughter was clearly incapable of committing such diabolical crimes. Ashley periodically visited the grave site of her father, Michael. It was telling that Stacey never visited it.

This story may be summed up best in a single word: chilling.