Wizard-8
I think that it's safe to say that most, if not all of us viewers of "Playdate", have seen this basic premise many times before. So the movie does not get any points for originality of its premise. However, the movie does get points for trying very hard to be a more realistic than usual take on this premise. Throughout most of the movie, I kept saying to myself, "Yes, I can believe this" to what the characters were saying and doing. However, apparently in the quest to make this movie feel more realistic, the filmmakers forgot to make the drama compelling. The movie is really slow, really padded out, and is desperately missing enough thrills to engage the viewer. This is capped by a climax and ending that has enough head-scratching details to frustrate viewers significantly, and is definitely not a satisfying payoff. Actually, after watching the movie and thinking about it, I realized that there were additional questions brought up in the movie that weren't answered as well. So I can't recommend this movie despite it having some positive and fresh features.
SnoopyStyle
A boy is driven off a cliff. Emily Valentine (Marguerite Moreau) leaves work to be a stay-at-home mom for her husband Brian (Richard Ruccolo) and daughter Olive (Natalie Alyn Lind). A new family moves in next door. It's single mom Tamara Moor (Abby Brammell) with her sons Titus and Billy. Olive has playdates with Billy but he seems have a dark side. Titus lurks around and spends his time looking out his bedroom window. A man attacks Emily's family at home. Tamara claims that he's her violent ex-husband. When that man is killed later in a motel room, she claims to not know him. Olive gets hurt while playing with Billy. The family dog shows up dead on their doorstep.This has the potential of a good horror but as a TV movie, it struggles to be more. It has no style. The dark tension comes mostly from the constant dread of a creepy child. Creepy children is a great horror trope. Otherwise, this does not have much of a punch. I like Moreau but the suburban mom character is limited. The acting is mostly fine. I don't buy the father's cavalier attitude towards his daughter getting rough-housed by a boy. It would make sense for two boys but a girl is different. That's not to say anything is wrong with Natalie Alyn Lind. She's great. In addition, there is a trick to a red herring. It needs to be revealed before revealing the truth. This red herring is somewhat anti-climatic and it loses its power. It could have been a great reveal if it's done earlier. This limited TV horror struggles for mediocrity and almost makes it.
korskjaer
I found it really hard to watch to the end.I can't believe I just watched a whole movie that did not contain a single element of surprise.Everyone is acting so unnatural and so stupid in this movie... The mother lets her daughter play with a psycho kid The daughter doesn't seem to mind that the psycho kid tries to kill her The father doesn't worry about anything at all, not even his own life as he decides to remain laying under a suspended car even though there is a crazy killer obviously wanting to kill him.Even the dog eats a plant and dies. My god!Sorry but I just can't recommend watching this.
jloner
One of those classic mystery suspense movies. Lifetime's always been a guilty pleasure of mine and this one is right up my alley. Everything about this movie was creepy specifically the mother of the child. I never knew what she was going to do and expected a full freak out scene from her in the end. I would love to know more about what happened to the characters after the story ended. Did Billy stay with the Mom? Were they arrested for anything? I would like to have seen more of Titus actual crime from the beginning, but i get the basic jist of it. Good performances, directing, and a fun story. I have many neighbors and they are all equally crazy lol. If you like these crime thrillers, it's definitely one to check out.
AD
