Splendida e mortale

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...

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".

This is not a bad made-for-TV crime thriller in which widower Don McAndrews (Barry Bostwick) gets into a relationship with Linda Crandell (Jane Seymour), who leads a dark secret life as a serial killer that marries men and then murders them after their first night together.

The plot goes at a fairly fast-pace and it is pretty entertaining seeing the sinister Linda Crandell trigger a domino effect in the seemingly well-to-do McAndrews Family, creating chaos whenever the opportunity comes. It is especially interesting seeing Jane Seymour, known for playing the motherly and gentle Michaela Quinn in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Women, play the out-of-character role as the evil and crafty Linda Crandell. She did a pretty good job in her role, though, I've found her character to be quite annoying at times: she sighs a lot when she talks and comes across as nosy and pitiful (despite the fact she plays a serial killer).

Barry Bostwick, Francis Fisher and Chad Allen also portrayed their roles well. The two clueless FBI agents played by Colby Chester and Michael MacRae were the cheesiest part of the movie, showing no urgency or emotion during the course of the events; they just roam around, hoping some clues that would lead to Crandell's whereabouts drop in their laps. In addition, this movie could have used some more action or edge-of-your-seat suspense to make it an more captivating feature.

But overall, it's a pretty good TV thriller that one might find alluring and exciting.

Grade B-

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.