Anna, a psycho mother, is the starring role here played by the talented Crystal Allen but the plot is strange and rather far-fetched. What mother is going to let the neighbor's mother get close to her daughter? Skip it!
8 Reviews
Crazy mom!!
kyleallencole931 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Crystal Allen did an awesome job in this one as one crazy mother. Even though she seems to come off as the 'cool mom, her dark intentions are well hidden.
After the death of her husband and daughter, she is hellbent on replacing her with a neighbors daughter so that her surviving daughter can have a sister.
Plus she viciously murders anyone who gets in her way.
This one is actually a pretty twisted lifetime movie!
"She'd Light Up a Room"
lavatch2 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It is with great irony that Anna fondly recalled memories of her deceased daughter Lena by describing her as follows: "She'd light up a room." In point of fact, the poor girl was blown to smithereens in an explosion set by Anna herself! A gas leak was intended to kill Anna's husband, who was about to leave her, instead took the life of Anna's most prized object.
The deranged Anna now has conceived a hare-brained scheme to separate the neighbor girl Kylie from her mom and raise her along with own daughter Jessie.
The film was a by-the-numbers psycho on the loose scenario with Anna bumping off anyone who gets in her way. The "loose ends" included the co-worker of Jessie's mother Tanya and a nice motel proprietor. Anna also has poison in store for Tanya, believing in her twisted mind that she could somehow adopt Kylie with the mother deceased. The film needed more of the ironic banter to avoid a one-note dreary saga of a psychopath. The film also needed a tidier denouement to allow the audience to know the fate of Anna and young Jessie.
The saddest part of the film was Anna's abusive treatment of her daughter Jessie. Her efforts to enlist her daughter in the kidnapping scheme were abhorrent and despicable. The best part of the film was the demonstration on the part of Tanya of a parent genuinely devoted to her child and family. Tanya's husband died in Afghanistan. In stark contrast to Anna, Tanya soldiered on to instill decent values in her daughter. Unlike Anna, one need not beware of Tanya as a mom because she was a role model.
The deranged Anna now has conceived a hare-brained scheme to separate the neighbor girl Kylie from her mom and raise her along with own daughter Jessie.
The film was a by-the-numbers psycho on the loose scenario with Anna bumping off anyone who gets in her way. The "loose ends" included the co-worker of Jessie's mother Tanya and a nice motel proprietor. Anna also has poison in store for Tanya, believing in her twisted mind that she could somehow adopt Kylie with the mother deceased. The film needed more of the ironic banter to avoid a one-note dreary saga of a psychopath. The film also needed a tidier denouement to allow the audience to know the fate of Anna and young Jessie.
The saddest part of the film was Anna's abusive treatment of her daughter Jessie. Her efforts to enlist her daughter in the kidnapping scheme were abhorrent and despicable. The best part of the film was the demonstration on the part of Tanya of a parent genuinely devoted to her child and family. Tanya's husband died in Afghanistan. In stark contrast to Anna, Tanya soldiered on to instill decent values in her daughter. Unlike Anna, one need not beware of Tanya as a mom because she was a role model.
Terrible writing.
ms-shoegal1 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Slight spoiler....
A 40 something woman is not going to talk about "the gram" the way she does. It's a Lifetime movie, so you're expected to roll your eyes constantly but these ridiculous lines are next level. I had second hand embarrassment just from hearing them. Let's not get started on the grown man serenading a supposed 16 yo. There's so much wrong with this movie, but you don't expect Oscar winning performances/writing with these movies.
A 40 something woman is not going to talk about "the gram" the way she does. It's a Lifetime movie, so you're expected to roll your eyes constantly but these ridiculous lines are next level. I had second hand embarrassment just from hearing them. Let's not get started on the grown man serenading a supposed 16 yo. There's so much wrong with this movie, but you don't expect Oscar winning performances/writing with these movies.
VIEWS ON FILM review of Beware of Mom
burlesonjesse520 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Are you insane?" That's an unloaded question. I'm gonna bypass the uncertainty and guess yes. That's what I don't wonder every time a Lifetime movie villain hits the screen.
Anywho, 2020's Beware of Mom is my latest write-up. Kathleen Turner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Faye Dunaway would be darn proud if they saw it. The "mom" of course is the malefactor and as we all know, demented moms rule the roost when it comes to all things Lifetime network. Crystal Allen plays said mom Anna and with angry scowl and possible Tourettes in tote, she dutifully channels feminine spastic lunacy.
Registering a little over 90 minutes (typical Lifetime feature-length) and leaving no stone witnesses unturned, Beware of Mom is rather creepy because the antagonist has almost no shred of penitence. Allen's Anna is robotic and puffed up as she nonchalantly goes in for the next kill.
Beware of Mom's story which has the obligatory Lifetime flashback and is set to suburbanite surroundings, goes like this: A stable mother named Tanya (played by Rene Ashton) is very protective of her teenage daughter Kylie (played by 22-year-old Nicolette Langley). When Kylie befriends neighbors Anna and daughter Jessie (Allen, Monica Rose Betz), Anna attempts to get rid of Tanya and replace her deceased lass with Kylie.
Beware of Mom minus its slight implausibilities, is baneful and edited for some solid payoffs. The unease builds and the acting as opposed to most TV flicks, is a little more believable this time around. Crystal Allen is the showstopper as she takes "mommy and me" and cougar midlife to a nerve-ending level. As an actress with over 50 credits to her name, Allen is kinda perfect for her role. The walk, the talk, and the "voices in her head" facial expressions are definitely on point. "Mother Superior". Rating: 3 stars.
Anywho, 2020's Beware of Mom is my latest write-up. Kathleen Turner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Faye Dunaway would be darn proud if they saw it. The "mom" of course is the malefactor and as we all know, demented moms rule the roost when it comes to all things Lifetime network. Crystal Allen plays said mom Anna and with angry scowl and possible Tourettes in tote, she dutifully channels feminine spastic lunacy.
Registering a little over 90 minutes (typical Lifetime feature-length) and leaving no stone witnesses unturned, Beware of Mom is rather creepy because the antagonist has almost no shred of penitence. Allen's Anna is robotic and puffed up as she nonchalantly goes in for the next kill.
Beware of Mom's story which has the obligatory Lifetime flashback and is set to suburbanite surroundings, goes like this: A stable mother named Tanya (played by Rene Ashton) is very protective of her teenage daughter Kylie (played by 22-year-old Nicolette Langley). When Kylie befriends neighbors Anna and daughter Jessie (Allen, Monica Rose Betz), Anna attempts to get rid of Tanya and replace her deceased lass with Kylie.
Beware of Mom minus its slight implausibilities, is baneful and edited for some solid payoffs. The unease builds and the acting as opposed to most TV flicks, is a little more believable this time around. Crystal Allen is the showstopper as she takes "mommy and me" and cougar midlife to a nerve-ending level. As an actress with over 50 credits to her name, Allen is kinda perfect for her role. The walk, the talk, and the "voices in her head" facial expressions are definitely on point. "Mother Superior". Rating: 3 stars.
NO! Not Another Lifetime Movie Network Movie!
docbates2114 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Beware of Mom is the worst kind of LMN movie because they give you absolutely no one for whom to root in this savagely sloppy piece of cinema. The antagonist mom, despite leaving a myriad of physical and forensic evidence in her wake, is able to get away with killing just about everyone she encounters. The protagonist mom is an overprotective, holier-than-thou, because-I-said-so mom. Although, guess she can't be that overprotective since at one point in the film, upon finding out that her daughter has been kidnapped and her location is at a motel over an hour away, protag mom can't be troubled with calling the police - or even calling the motel manager to give her the heads up that she has looney tunes serial killer staying on the premises (this may have also spared the manager's life. Instead, she was - I believe - the 8th victim of our Beware of Mom mom). Noooo! Instead, protag mom gets in her car and drives to the motel herself. Still, I thought she would have stopped off for some sort of weapon to bring with her on this big rescue mission. A gun? A knife? A can of bug spray and a lighter? No, not this mom. She shows up with nothing but her mom jeans and a fashionably tasty blouse.
Then there are the daughters of the two mains. Uggghhhh!! These two kids couldn't get out of each other's way long enough to realize that everyone around them was dying or dead. They barely had enough common sense between them to work a flip phone. If I was a ten-year old girl watching this movie, and thought that for just a moment that I might grow up to be like either one of these two girls within six years, I'm pretty sure I'd have to ask my parents to have me committed...and now!
No need going into the writing, directing, acting, and lack of originality of this treacherous tale of slasherism. Suffice to say, though, that by the end of the movie, all any viewer of this piece of schlep can hope for...is a power outage.
Oh, gotta go! There's another Lifetime Movie Network Movie coming on right now!!
So weird
aprilsfriendorin28 December 2020
This movie was just weird. I know the bad guy is supposed to be the evil mom but the main character was such a brat that I ended up rooting against her. Like, she threatened to move out because she was upset at her mom? Who above the age of five does that? Seriously, the mom was wasting her time trying to help her bratty child. The most disappointing part of the movie was that the main character didn't get murdered.
One of low end Lifetime movies.
Carriexoc25 August 2020
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