Retrouvailles mortelles

Good grief, this movie was terrible!! It's hard to know which was worse, the script, the directing, or the acting. Actually, I feel like the actors may have been passable, but the over-the-top, melodramatic directing made this film so campy and dopey that it could literally be fodder for mockery in memes across the web.

I was interested in the film because the synopsis had elements that I liked in "Pretty Little Liars", sneaky, backstabbing friends trying to solve a murder of one of their besties.

The script relied on dense layers of exposition. At the big reveal scene, I was tempted to grab a yellow pad to diagram the plot so I could keep track of it all. But at that moment, I was far too distracted by the bombastic, heavy-handed, bigger than big "emotional" shouting scene between the characters. The acting in that scene was so completely over-the-top that I erupted into spontaneous belly- laughing. I doubt that was the intention of the scene. This movie had zero nuance at any level. The characters weren't cardboard cutouts, they were regurgitated clowns.

Why did I continue watching this film if it was so bad? I was playing a game of trying to predict each character's next line. I did really well… until everything came off the rails in the bizarre expositional ending showdown.

Geez, this movie got a slamming from the reviewers , but I have to say that I really enjoyed it ! Yes , I know the acting wasn'nt top notch , but the plot was a good one . I always like a good " Who Dunnit ", and this was one that kept me guessing .

The location was good , and the characters were a good mix .

A few crazy situations , and a mad ending , but look , it kept my interest . It was way better than some other movies that I have seen lately .

Give it a chance .

Five Harmony High School girlfriends make and hide "time capsules" revealing their innermost secrets. They are hidden by pretty blonde Abigail Klein (as Abby Edwards). That's too bad because she drops dead at a party during the opening minutes of this story. They attribute her death to "alcohol poisoning." Her gravestone says "Abby" only, placing this character in league with "Cher", "Garbo" and "Elvis". Ten years later, the four remaining girlfriends gather for their "10 Year Reunion" and must decide whether or not to dig up old secrets. Freelance photographer Kacey Clarke (as Carly Newman) is our heroine. She is the main protagonist and the one we guess is not a killer...

The other three young women are brainy brunette Kayla Ewell (as Patty Garner), dancer-turned-teacher Jillian Nelson (as Rose Crenshaw) and Washington politician's wife Anya Engel-Adams (as Erica Campbell). They all drink a lot of wine. There are two good-looking young men in the mix, both acting like suspects. They are blond policeman Bryce Durfee (as Chase Majors) and edgy drifter Johnny Pacar (as Shane Conley). Even though they look nothing alike, it's difficult to tell them apart. You could say the same about the women. The "clues" to find a killer are implausibly hidden and writer-director Jake Helgren simply doesn't have the resources to make this story work.

*** 10 Year Reunion (10/23/2016) Jake Helgren ~ Kacey Clarke, Kayla Ewell, Jillian Nelson, Johnny Pacar

Very bad acting. Ridiculous story line. I feel like the script was written in an hour, and not much thought was put into it. Like others have said in their reviews, its ridiculous that the clues were out in the open but were never found for 10 years. I usually enjoy the cheese factor in Lifetime movies, but this one was too much. Did I mention the bad acting? The over the top facial expressions are ridiculous. It takes you out of the moment and distracts you from the story. The characters are trying to solve whether their friend was murdered or not. It's no surprise in the end who the murderer is. Surprise, its one of two characters who share most of the screen time.

Kind of lost a little credibility when they started talking about not being able to get student loans 🤣 By the time you're in high school, you know student loans are guaranteed, please tell me the writers know this too. Please don't ask why this stuck out in my head but I was like "WHAT???" So now I have to write 500 characters all because I just HAD to say this!! This movie was typical - I knew it was going to be one of the girls and Abby's video - when she acts so nonchalant about dying and "not being there later" - ugh 😩. I like the movie but not something I'll be watching again! What are people thinking- this is a comedy-horror and I was looking for horror lol.