Playdate

I think that it's safe to say that most, if not all of us viewers of "Playdate", have seen this basic premise many times before. So the movie does not get any points for originality of its premise. However, the movie does get points for trying very hard to be a more realistic than usual take on this premise. Throughout most of the movie, I kept saying to myself, "Yes, I can believe this" to what the characters were saying and doing. However, apparently in the quest to make this movie feel more realistic, the filmmakers forgot to make the drama compelling. The movie is really slow, really padded out, and is desperately missing enough thrills to engage the viewer. This is capped by a climax and ending that has enough head-scratching details to frustrate viewers significantly, and is definitely not a satisfying payoff. Actually, after watching the movie and thinking about it, I realized that there were additional questions brought up in the movie that weren't answered as well. So I can't recommend this movie despite it having some positive and fresh features.

It's not that "Playdate" is a bad flick. It's just so plain vanilla horror/thriller stock stuff that it makes watching paint dry seem downright rousing. The only mildly intriguing dynamic here is that evil resides mere steps away next door in this cookie-cutter L.A. burb.

So how well ya know your neighbors there, huh?

First off, the cover is a bit misleading and may attract the wrong audience for this film while scaring away the right one. At first glance, I thought PLAYDATE would be one of them zombie horror flicks, but it's actually a Lifetime film which, though truly suspenseful and disturbing in places with some good jump scenes, has very little in the way of schlocky gore and nothing in the way of supernatural elements.

Anyway, the Valentines, a nice, patently normal L.A. family, get some new neighbors, single mom Tamara Moor and her two sons, Titus and Billy. The Valentines try to be neighborly, Tamara does the same, and young Olive Valentine finds a much-needed friend in Billy. The Moors, however, are trying to hide some very dark family secrets. . .

I wasn't expecting much from PLAYDATE, but it proved to be something of a pleasant surprise. It has the usual stilted Lifetime directions with melodramatic instrumentals constantly playing in the background. Still, it also has better acting and MUCH livelier, loaded dialogue than most made-for-TV affairs. {Wow, is Lifetime actually maturing?!} With a few nice new flourishes, the plot-line pretty much follows the formula. There aren't many really big surprises, but there are several good smaller ones. If you want to place bets on how PLAYDATE ends up, the chances are that none of you will be absolutely right on the money even if some of you come fairly close. Despite the various oversimplifications, blank spots, and unlikelihoods, suspense thriller fans who aren't too picky should enjoy and may even really love PLAYDATE.

Typical "Lifetime" style movie thriller fluff, very generic no surprises very PG13. Saw this on Netflix (Netflix is really going downhill fast). Perhaps I'm getting a bit sensitive in my old age but, how can a writer of the script have a character compare restoring a muscle car to "his Vietnam"? I had to rewind to make sure I heard it right. How old are the writers? Did they finish high school? Honestly, clean your litter box, organize your socks, alphabetize your spices rather than watch this movie.

This movie had a good concept, but it felt like as if they just wanted to end it quickly. They talk about the neighbors characters background, but only a little and has left the viewer to decipher the rest. I get that some movies do that, but they could've added more depth to the movie and it would've came out a lot better. It's a good movie, but you'll finish it feeling frustrated because they didn't go into detail about the characters just some snapshots which don't even explain much. I think my rating is fair at 5/10 stars because it's not terrible, but it's not the best.