Secrets in the Attic

Rachel Davis (Gina Holden) returns home to Chehalis, Washington for her mother's funeral with her daughter Callie (Abbie Cobb). Michael Collins is wanted for Ed Brinson's murder. As Callie helps her mother clean out the house, she suspects the home is haunted. It's actually a boy whom she likes living in the attic before her arrival.

This doesn't really work as a mystery. It's overload with extraneous backstory. It could have been simplified into a more compelling thriller. The basic idea has potential. There is some bad dialogue and general problematic story writing. I question many actions in the movie and it moves too slowly in the first half. Generally, there are too many things wrong for me to overlook.

The first time I seen the movie, I Missed the first half leaving me wanting to see the rest. Luckily I found it on YouTube. After watching it all the way through I'm really wanting this movie on DVD. Its different from the other movies I've been seeing. Great mix of Drama,action, thriller etc. It had a great choice of characters. I could watch this movie over and over. I noticed in other comments people said that the daughter looked older than the mother, I really didn't see it. However, I bowl with this Mother and daughter that both look like teenagers so it really didn't bother me much. It could be a rare thing where the mother just isn't showing her actual age in the movie.

Reel One, the author of the synopsis here, is incorrect. I'm not sure whether this was a mistake or fabricated intentionally as a joke. There's no pregnant teen, love child or child support involved.

The glaringly absent age disparity between mother and daughter was distracting at times. The actresses are only 10 years apart in age, and it's evident on screen. If Lifetime could've garnered Jennie Garth for the mother role it would have been great since it would make the age disparity a bit more clear, plus Abbie Cobb is known to audiences as Garth's junior doppleganger.

The boy Micheal, played by the handsome newcomer Max Lloyd-Jones, delivers what is arguably the best performance of the piece and provides us with eyecandy.

Remember, it's a Lifetime TV movie, so no one's aiming for the SAG awards. It must be enjoyed for simply what it is - the viewing equivalent of a dime-store novella. There are some inconsistencies, such as an explanation for the boys preference to enter and exit the home through its main door when there's a door from the attic leading outside. The "boy in the attic" indicates (both in appearance and in script) that he's 18+, so he's really the "man in the attic". I guess having a man hiding in the attic didn't quite hold the same appeal.

Fairly decent entertainment for lazy viewers who aren't hungry to critique a film.

While the credits roll, police discover a dead man in an old mansion. Two months later, the setting switches to Chehalis, Washington, which we're told is 200 miles from Coburg. You needn't bother to jot down that particular fact. A pair of women drive into the small town. These two are mother Gina Holden (as Rachel Davis) and her mature-looking blonde daughter Abbie Cobb (as Callie). They've inherited an elegant-looking mansion. Even nicer, for daughter Cobb, there is a handsome young man living in the attic. As it turns out, blond "Boy in the Attic" Max Lloyd-Jones (as Michael Collins) knew Cobb's grandmother and decided to stick around after the old woman died. Even luckier for Cobb, another handsome young man, Iain Belcher (as Jordan), is her new neighbor. Her cup runneth over...

Cobb opts for the attic "boy" and gets into trouble as secrets unravel...

This story unraveled even earlier, during casting. Producers favor casting juvenile performers who are too old for their parts. In the theater, this didn't matter much because people sit apart from the actors and there are no close-ups. For film and TV, parts need to be cast closer to age. There are exceptions, of course, but "Boy in the Attic" isn't one of them. A short adult could play a young child for some time, especially while possessing a youthful look. You give a pass to Mr. Lloyd-Jones playing a "boy" herein because people are calling young men and women "boys" and "girls" more often and he isn't that far off. However, the age discrepancy between Cobb and Holden is simply too distracting. The younger woman is way too mature for her part and the older actress looks far too young for her role.

** Boy in the Attic (8/1/2016) Paul Shapiro ~ Abbie Cobb, Max Lloyd-Jones, Gina Holden, Iain Belcher

Good movie with a predictable ending. Only problem I saw was that the mother and daughter look like sisters. In real life they're only 10 years difference in age. They could have made it look a little more believable. Still worth the watch.