Unwanted Guest

The girl who moves in and starts wrecking your family while everyone involved is clueless. The temptation given in to by Daddy. The police {who in most communities can have a presence in a moment or two} who take an eternity to show up to save the day. And yes, the criminal who has to recite a verbal manifesto before killing -- which in Hollywood's view, all of them do, it seems.

Yes, all your favorite parts are here. And less.

Another formulaic "thriller" you've seen a few dozen times before that you could write in your sleep. Which apparently the writers do. Tune in for the latest version next week.

UNWANTED GUEST (TV Movie) 3.7 out of 10 stars Time to Read: *WARNING: ANIMAL CRUELTY AS A PLOT DEVICE (see below)

BASIC PLOT: Christine's (Valentina Novakovic) a college student who's about to return home for winter break. She's decided to take her new friend Amy (Kate Mansi) home with her. Amy's parents are in Europe, and she has no one to spend the time off with. But as soon as they arrive home, and Amy meets Christine's stepfather, Charles (Ted King), things take a dark turn. Amy has decided she must have Charles, and she's not going room let anything stand in her way. Can Christine, and her mother, Anna ([link=nm0514719)Beth Littleford[/link]) uncover Amy's sinister motives in time to save themselves?

WHAT WORKS: *IT'S A FAIRLY FUN RIDE, IF YOU DON'T THINK TOO HARD There's lots of plot holes, and blind corners, but it's not supposed to be a deep, complex story. If you go into it with that attitude, you'll enjoy it a whole lot more.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *USING ANIMAL CRUELTY & DEATH AS A PLOT DEVICE IS NEVER JUSTIFIED There are many other ways to show a person is violent/mentally disturbed/evil. Showing us a precious little hamster, and then having us watch while it's put down the garbage disposal lowers my rating 1.5 stars. It's time to let writers know this is unacceptable!

*AMY'S TRANSFORMATION WITHOUT HER GLASSES IS A BIT LIKE WONDER WOMAN... Totally unbelievable

*CHARLES IS A BIT OF A LETCH He's staring, very obviously, at Amy's legs, not half an hour after meeting her. I get there are problems in his marriage, but leering at young girls does not make him very sympathetic.

*THIS MOVIE MUST HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY A MAN There are lots of misogynistic overtones here, like Anna (Beth Littleford is not a good wife because she doesn't wait on Charles (Ted King hand and foot. And because she doesn't, this gives Charles permission to cheat on her, while she's injured, in the same house! C'mon! Also, why is it Anna's responsibility alone to get the spark back in their marriage, and how is "making breakfast" a euphemism for something sexual?

*CHRISTINE'S DIALOG IS NOT BELIEVABLE These girls are supposed to be 21, but Christine chatters on like she's in junior high. Her dialog is ridiculously banal.

*WHEN DOES AMY HAVE TIME TO CUT THE BREAK LINES ON KEN'S VET? The implication is that Amy messes with Ken's car so he won't tell Charles the police are looking for her. When would she have time? Did she do it in her cocktail dress?

*MODERN GAS RANGES HAVE SAFETY FEATURES Amy wouldn't be able to just flip a switch, and stick Christine's head in the oven. The oven would light automatically, it wouldn't spew gas.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *This is a very basic melodrama. If you like & understand the art form, then you might like this. If you like complex, intricate plots and characters, then look elsewhere. I'd recommend this to fans of Ted King & Kate Mansi

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. This review was NOT written in full, or in part, by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews (less trolls and fanboys), and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.

Who puts a Dutch Oven on a top shelf ten feet off the floor? Unwanted Guest does. And like a dangerous thud from a plummeting Dutch Oven this film hits the floor early and keeps going down. I highly recommend if you like cheese. Especially cooked in a Dutch Oven.

They keep coming from LMN. This one I got impatient for it to end and our young evil one demise. I kept looking at the clock and it seemed time went slower than usual. There was nothing rewarding about this horror. What annoyed me most of all was the family being so stupid as to not realize the girl was just plain evil. The father being the worst of all. An idiot with no sense at all. And the mother was clueless until too late and the girl friend from school who gets sicker throughout the film hasn't a clue. All the time this nut case is taking care of them. I remember this actress from another LMN film called The Boyfriend Killer, where she was just as bad and just a nuts.

Christine (Valentina Novakovic) insists that her friend Amy (Kate Mansi) come home with her during school holidays.

Christine lives with her mom Anna (Beth Littleford) and stepfather (Ted King).

Amy wears large glasses and her hair wrapped in a bun. So we know, especially if we've seen the actress on General Hospital, that with Christine's encouragement, Amy will let her hair down and remove her glasses.

Christine also introduces Amy to her beloved hamster, Mr. Chips. Lifetime aficionados know that little chipsey isn't long for this world.

Christine becomes quite ill - we learn Amy had a hankering for Christine's old boyfriend who was mysteriously killed on campus before the girls left on their holiday.

One day while Amy is helping Anna retrieve a Dutch oven from a high shelf, gee, somehow she falls from the stool and breaks her leg.

Meanwhile Amy usurps Anna by making breakfast and acting domestic, when she isn't slithering around in front of Anna's husband in Victoria's Secret lingerie.

Will anyone ever figure out that this woman is the devil incarnate? Watch and see.

A word about Ted King, who had a dual role on General Hospital. He is a wonderful man, but in this film he seemed very uncomfortable and somewhat rigid. It was hard to tell if he and Anna had good marriage.

Part of his discomfort was Amy's lingerie appearances. I guess the rest was because he had to do a Lifetime movie.