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POISONED LOVE: THE STACEY CASTOR STORY (TV movie 2020) 6 out of 10 stars Time to Read: 1:35 min

BASIC PLOT: This film is the dramatization of the true crimes of Stacey Castor. Stacey was a black widow serial killer, who murdered two husband's by poisoning them with antifreeze. When she was at risk of being caught, she framed her daughter Ashley, and then poisoned her as well, after leaving a typed suicide note by Ashley's side.

WHAT WORKS: *THIS MOVIE PROPERLY HIGHLIGHTS HOW NOT TO BLEND A FAMILY. These adults are so wrapped up in their own happiness, they never take the children's needs into consideration. How selfish do you have to be to move your seventeen year old daughter, in the middle of her senior year? They could have waited until she graduated, and most of these problems wouldn't have been here. People should have to get a license to have children.

*CHANELLE HARQUAIL-IVAAK DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB AS ASHLEY, THE FAMILY'S IP Chanelle Harquail-Ivsak portrays Stacey Castor's oldest daughter Ashley, the "Identified Patient" of the family. The IP is often the black sheep, ostracized for not playing along with the dysfunctional family dynamics. Chanelle does a fine job showcasing Ashley's destructive behavior, and portraying someone who knows they're living in a malignant and maladjusted environment, but who's powerless to do anything about it.

*THIS MOVIE IS VERY WELL SHOT for a low budget, made-for-tv drama. This is a credit to the director, Jim Donovan & cinematographer Ryan McMaster.

*VERY WELL ACTED for a low budget, made-for-tv true crime drama. Nia Vardalos does a good job as Stacey Castor, and Chanelle Harquail-Ivsak is believable as Ashley, the troubled, older daughter. I'm also a fan of Mike Dopud, his performance as David Castor, a man in decline, is very well done.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *PEOPLE DO NOT TYPE SUICIDE NOTES There's always some type of personalization added, hand written notations, professions of love, signatures, drawings, etc. I'm assuming the real Stacey Castor typed her daughter's fake suicide note too, as is portrayed in the movie. This would be a huge red flag to the police.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *This is an engaging, and heartbreaking portrayal of a real life tragedy. If you enjoy made-for-tv recreations of true crime, you'll like this. It's well done, well acted, and the script is well written. It's a successful low budget, made-for-tv drama, and it succeeds, where others have failed.

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.

Having lived in the area and lived through the day by day stories of this horrible woman, I was disappointed with how very wrong they got the story.

This is my kind of film on a boring Saturday afternoon BUT I couldn't get past the unattractive cast. I know that sounds terrible but that's how I feel. I lasted about an hour.

I read the earlier review where the writer was disappointed with how wrong this story was. But, after seeing it, I researched Stacey Castor and it seems to me that this movie follows the real life events quite accurately. In an event, this is the best work by Nia Vardalos since "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." She gives a fascinating, excellent performance that keeps you wondering just who is this woman and what is she up to ? The entire supporting cast is also very good, giving interesting and professional performances like Vardalos, particularly Chanelle Peloso as the eldest daughter, Ashley, and Genea Charpentier as the younger Bree. Peloso is a real revelation here, nicely demonstrating how Ashley was at wit's end with her mother's behavior. The production is well done throughout and the first time director, Jim Donovan, deserved kudos for a creating a thoroughly enjoyable mystery in a compelling way. The two hours just fly by.

Lifetime is at its best when doing true life crime movies. Here the events of the worst mother in the world unfold in a straightforward and mesmerizing manner. When the facts are interesting you don't need to mess about with the delivery. The court room scenes are quite powerful by Lifetime standards.

The cast is well chosen. Nia is good especially at the end. The girl who plays Ashley the victim / daughter performs well as a resentful teen then as a devastated daughter.