Born Bad

Born Bad is far from a good movie by any stretch of the imagination- from this viewer's point of view anyhow- but it also could have been much worse. It does at least have two good performances, Michael Welch who is chillingly effective(at least for two thirds of the movie) and Meredith Monroe who makes for a movingly sympathetic mother figure. The production values are competent also at least, and the beginning rape and murder scene was very graphic and disturbing(which did give the impression that this could be a decent movie if done right), Lifetime's other movies are tame compared to this one scene. The rest of the acting is not so good though, the worst case was David Chokachi whose acting as the father was dull and veering on overwrought. Bonnie Dennison also doesn't have very much to do other than be all doe-eyed and naïve. And while Welch is fine for most of Born Bad, the final act was where the movie really started to lose steam and his acting became rather over-the-top with a lot of his lines literally screamed. Everybody else never get a chance to properly distinguish themselves. The soundtrack is rather monotonous and heavy, it rarely gains momentum and generally it's dreary and unimaginative to listen to. The characters are characterised and written stereotypically and with little development to them, and relationships between characters seldom ring true, especially between Welch and Dennison. Not helping them much is that the script gives them little to work from, especially in the final act it's lifeless and unintentionally cheesy(especially in the melodramatic parts), "he looks like an alright guy" is such a clichéd and cringe-worthy line. The story had a promising start but meandered very quickly, if anything it was here where Born Bad let itself down most. It lacked any kind of atmosphere, thrills, suspense and even total engagement, was way too rushed and was more predictable- incredibly so, you pretty much knew how the movie was going to end when it started- and hilariously stupid(somebody actually gets shot in the stomach and then they seem okay afterwards? Bad continuity that is) above all else. The direction lacks character and comes across as flat generally. So all in all, has its moments with two good performances, a promising beginning and competent production values, but mostly predictable, stupid, rushed, lifelessly scripted and just un-engaging really. 4/10 Bethany Cox

I confess I am a junkie of Lifetime films. They are hokey but enjoyable and thoroughly old fashioned. The women are all moderately good looking, their husbands and/or brothers are nice guy but simps. The women start out being wimpy but in the end get all Rambo, as they team up to do in the psycho criminal murderer boyfriend from hell. This one had the usual mystery drifter, charming but ruthless, and his pair of dimwitted accomplices. He already has been shown killing a random girl by himself then a friend of the damsel in distress with the help of his posse. But for a while his good looks and charm fool the nice blond upper class family. The guy who played the bad boyfriend really did a good job, the rest passable

In short, it is a passable film if you have Amazon or Lifetime, but don't spend your money to see it.

No votes as I have mixed feelings. The cast kept my interest. Especially Meredith Monroe who made it believable and touching on the family side. Papa is played handsome David Chokachi (Baywatch fame) and had very little to do but act tough and helpless. Each time he made an attempt to fix things he gets shot down. Wifey seems to do the work here. Then we have the obnoxious daughter played by Bonnie Dennison, who to me, was not the pretty thing worth all the fuss about. Kid brother played by Park Coppins cried a lot. Villains played by Michael Welch (over the top acting), Kaiwi Lyman (greasy idiot) and Carl Donaldson (a thug) were acceptable. Victims Donnabella Mortel and Tony Christopher had little to do but wait to get done in. And you waited for that to happen. Some of the acting kept me tuned in. Script was very predictable. You knew the ending in the beginning. Just had to painfully watch these poor actors deliver this dull uninteresting dialog. Not even the direction had any distinction. Too bad.

Extreme scenes open this wild ride of a film,Shows the audience a character…Well who was BORN BAD.

Michael Welch has a JAMES DEAN screen prescence, He controls his emotions and brings you into his reality.

Great cast and plot that just flows with a ' Roller Coaster' of emotions drawing you into the jeopardy and sheer terror.

Wanted to hate ( And probably was made to by plot) these bad guys from the start and feel for the family that they invade.

Great cover (poster art) and to think Welch comes from the TWILIGHT movies,Huh,May have to watch one now to see in another role.

This is one of the better LM's, nudity and language made it feel like an almost real movie. It did drag on around the end though. So although this was a bit long for me, it was better than some LM's. Worth seeing if you enjoy LM's. Your typical low budget where in 26:14 you can actually see the camera crew in the reflection of the house. Good acting though so it kept in interesting.