Les secrets du passé

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.

Abbie Cobb was 30 when the movie was filmed. Reminds me of Luke Perry, Gabrielle Carteris and Ian Zering playing teens on Beverly Hills, 90210 when they were already past 30.

Peyton List (the Disney Channel starlet) would have been perfect, considering she WAS 17 when the movie was filmed. A 20-something actress, and there are many of them starring in Lifetime movies, would have been more plausible.

The movie is pretty good, by the way.

The teenager, Callie (Addie Cobb) look older than her mother, Rachel (Gina Holden).Then I found out why...Addie is 31 and Rachel is 40.The Director must have had blinders on because Addie does not look like a teenager, as a matter of fact, she look older than Rachel. Addie is a pretty lady and I tried to enjoy the movie, but trying to overlook Callie (Addie) as a teenager was very distracting. I hope she accept more adult roles next time because she is a good actress. But I did eventually overlooked it and enjoyed the movie. I would have rated this movie higher if there was more twist and turns in the movie, but it was enjoyable. I did enjoyed the role of the mother, so that is a plus.

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.

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.