Killer Crush

Following the sudden death of her father, pretty blonde med student Daveigh Chase (as Paige York) becomes attracted to her older, still attractive university professor Rick Roberts (as Lucas Emery). Most appropriately, Ms. Chase's educational focus is on psychiatry. From the opening scenes, Chase demonstrates a need for psychiatric help. Fortunately for fans of psycho-driven "Lifetime" TV movies, Chase doesn't get help. To get closer to Mr. Roberts and bring home the bacon, Chase takes a job at the older doctor's luxurious estate. She's going to help his sickly wife Sydney Penny (as Gabby), who has multiple sclerosis...

The Emery estate looks like it would need a large staff to manage, especially with Ms. Penny in a wheelchair and her husband working. Their cute young daughter Grace Zanichkowsky (as Amy Emery) seems capable, but would need some training. Probably, we see Chase working there on the other workers' day off. Mainly, obsessed Chase makes drinks for her beloved teacher's wife. This means trouble. The scenes between Chase and her "rival" Penny lack suspense. Melanie Scrofano (as Tayler York) does well in her role as Chase's alcoholic sister. It's a secondary role, but Ms. Scrofano's character is the most interesting.

**** Killer Crush (4/4/15) Anthony Lefresne ~ Daveigh Chase, Rick Roberts, Melanie Scrofano, Sydney Penny

Paige (Daveigh Chase) and Tayler York (Melanie Scrofano) are bickering sisters. Paige has a disturbing love for married men. It doesn't help that their criminal dad commits suicide right after the girls refuse to support his latest scheme. Paige is haunted by discovering both her mother and her father's suicides. University medical student Paige takes a liking to new professor Dr. Lucas Emery (Rick Roberts). He needs help with his disabled wife Gabby and young daughter Amy.

Daveigh Chase will always be Samara to me. She's had a few good child roles but generally has struggled to distinguish herself as a grown up actress. The shocking part in this movie is that she's blonde. She's still pretty cute but the acting has not advanced. This could be a juicy acting role as a deranged maneater but she's not wild enough. The movie moves too slowly and she's barely trying to seduce Lucas. The slow takeover has its appeal but it has no spice. This could have spiced things up by the Emerys having a teen boy in lust for the new helper. This is a Lifetime TV movie and doesn't get beyond that.

The acting is pretty good especially from the two key leads, that being, actress Daveigh Chase who plays a medical student named Paige York, and her suregon/professor Dr. Lucas Emery played by Rick Roberts, who she is infatuated with so she pushes herself upon him as his part-time caregiver to his ailing wife and teenage daughter.

What is frightening about this story is that sometimes fiction is stranger than reality and I would not be the least surprised that there are some rael life innocent men sitting in a prison somehwere as a result of a woman setting them up for a crime they did not actually commit.

Okay, so this story is far fetched, especially when the good looking middle aged professor/doctor Lucas Emery gets up in the morning and after dressing himself he has one of those "ah-ha" moments and checks on his sleeping wife only to find out there is something tragically wrong so he calls 911 for assistance. He's a surgeon for craps sake, shouldn't he know that if his wife is that ill that he requires a part time (young and attractive) caregiver that he may want to pay just a little bit more attention to her well being and check on her during the night?

Oh well, this is not as good as 1954's "Dial M for Murder" but for a TV Movie it is still a pretty good time waster. I give it a 6 out of 10 rating for the good acting.