A Sister's Nightmare

It's so great to see the lovely Kelly Rutherford of Gossip Girl stretch her dramatic acting abilities as a police officer. You might not think it but she can play both the high society matron and a cop just as well. Her fiancé is played by her Gossip Girl co star Matthew Settle. They always work well together. Her sister who is released from a mental institution after a long confinement and comes to stay with her. She is played by a regular of lifetime movies the versatile Natasha Henstridge of Species fame. With 3 A list for TV actors it's got to be better than the run of the mill lifetime thriller. It's entertaining enough and not as obvious as you would think and remains plausible. Picturesque coastal town for a filming location. Things don't get too outrageous or unbelievable. Worth a watch.

A SISTER'S NIGHTMARE

BASIC PLOT: Jane (nm000539) is a police officer, who is trying to raise teenage Emily (Peyton List) with her fiance, Phil (Matthew Settle).

Emily (Peyton List) is having nightmares and panic attacks about drowning. They are debilitating, requiring medication.

Cassidy, Jane's sister, (Natasha Henstridge) is finally being released from the mental hospital, after 15 years. She's been drugged and given shock treatments while inside. She's had no contact with her sister, and is very much alone in this world.

Meanwhile, Jane continues to have bloody flashbacks, about an incident in a bathroom. In the flashback, there's a dead man next to a bathtub full of water, and an injured woman.

Jane continues to imply Cassidy is a danger, but it is Jane's behavior that is becoming increasingly bizarre. Jane sits up all night on guard, she puts deadbolts on on the bedroom doors, and she puts bars on all the windows. Is Cassidy as unstable as Jane continues to espouse, or is something else amiss here? Why does Cassidy say she's going to take Emily away with her, and why is Emily so afraid of water?

WHAT WORKS: *The sisters are afraid of each other, but because we are only given bits and pieces, we don't know who's side to be on.

*The pace of the unveiling of the plot is right on the money. It doesn't reveal too much to soon, but it's not so slow, boredom sets in either.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *I hate movies that use the word sis. No one who has a sister calls them sis, myself included.

*The doctors at the mental hospital say Cassidy's last name is Rydert, the same as Jane's, but Cassidy was married to a man named Brian. Shouldn't she have his last name?

*There's a continuity error at about the 1hr mark. Emily and Phil have just had a conversation about the bars on the windows, but in the very next scene, Jane drives up, and there are no bars to be seen.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: I would recommend this movie, it is a higher quality made-for-tv movie, probably because of the two leads Natasha Henstridge & Kelly Rutherford, whom are both experienced actresses. The plot is also more taught than most of these, it unveiles itself in an enjoyable way, without a lot of clunky or unbelievable nonsense. It manages to avoid the pitfalls so many of these made-for-tv movies can't escape.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

Good twist that slowly turns with good performances by the two leading blondes Much better than the typical Lifetime movie of this genre Natasha gives a particularly good portrayal of the disturbed sister Unhinged comes to mind. Stay tuned because it changes.

Cassidy (Natasha Henstridge) is released from a mental institution. She goes to stay with her younger patrol policewoman sister Jane (Kelly Rutherford) who has a family of her own. Jane's daughter Emily (Peyton List) is struggling with nightmares of drowning and has a water phobia.

The reveal holds no surprises. In fact, the pieces fall into the exact places that one expects. For anybody with elemental math skills, one should be able to figure out Emily's origins. Quite frankly, this story is made to be a psychological horror from Emily's point of view. Instead, it's a Lifetime movie and it is all Lifetime. As such, there isn't much tension and has no momentum. Even the final twist is fully expected. I would have been disappointed if the script doesn't take it to its logical ending. At least, it arrives at its end point without big screw ups.