Praying Mantis

This is so blatantly a made-for-TV ripoff of Black Widow (1987) - even the insect titles are so similar.

If you want a better "marrying for money" movie, check out Black Widow, starring Debra Winger & Theresa Russell.

These movie is cheesiness at its best..! I just had to watch it entirely to see how it ended.

This is such an underrated film made for TV. A villain bride prays on men with the purpose to marry them and kills them. Okay without going into too much spoilers, the dresses and jewels are beautiful, the food looks appetising and the rest is classy. Jane Seymour plays the killer and she does it really well.

Debra Winger's 1987 "Black Widow" is MUCH better.

This is like a lame version, and Jane Seymour usually does better.

Chad Allen is pretty poor in this too. Just playing his usual role as a boring rebellious child.

Maybe the both of them being from Dr. Quinn was supposed to make us get excited.

If it's on, go grab a copy of "Black Widow".

Jane Seymour plays a woman who marries men and kills them on their wedding night for reasons that only become somewhat clear by the end and, even then, they're not all that well articulated.

It's fun to see Seymour go nuts even if the material itself never rises to the occasion and plays things pretty safe. The rest of the cast is good, including dependable actors such as Barry Bostwick, Frances Fisher, and Chad Allen.

Despite an FBI investigation subplot could have been deleted altogether, it's a pretty tight and mindless 90 minutes.

PRAYING MANTIS stars Jane Seymour in the role of Linda Crandell, who follows up her very lovely wedding with a very short honeymoon, poisoning her new groom, and leaving him dead on the hotel room floor!

Linda's been at this sort of thing for a while.

Enter handsome, eligible widower, Don McAndrews (Barry Bostwick). Don's a great guy, the perfect type for Linda's plans.

Oh No!

He's got company, with his son and sister in-law, Betty (Frances Fisher) living with him! Of course, we know from early on that Linda's a ball of seething rage, out to ensnare and terminate every rich. Male boob she can dupe! She's not going to let a couple of pests stop her.

Ms. Seymour is fantastic in her lethally looney role, devouring the scenery only when necessary. Much of this movie's enjoyment is derived from watching her play such a blatantly wicked role. Linda is sort of the anti-Dr. Quinn!

One of the better films in its sub-genre...