It's a fun movie in terms of it does raise your heart rate a bit trying to figure out who the killer is. It makes you want to know who did it... until it drags on. Now you just can't wait for it to be over. And once you find out the reason for the murder, you can't help but crunch your eyebrows because you KNOW there has to be better reasons for killing someone that what this movie provided. Even the choice for the killer is so far fetched. You can tell the writers said, "Let's choose the most unlikely killer and throw in a random reason and make it work! They'll never see it coming and that's what will sell!" and thought it was brilliant.
It's a little bit more murder-y than your average everyday Hallmark mystery movie that's why it feels more exciting-- it makes you think the stakes are higher. The creep factor is to a 10 and that I can appreciate. But once you find out the reason for the murder you'd be just as as me. All that drama for nothing, very underwhelming. You'll appreciate the journey more than the destination.
The writing is disappointing. The whole time you're watching you're being made to believe it's brilliant because it's impossible to tell who the killer is based on the clues. Turns out, the clues themselves are unreliable. It's just a bunch of red herrings and wild goose chase with no connection to the actual killer until the 11th hour. If there is a connection it's so minor and vague. They magically show you that ONE and only important piece of information that tells you who exactly the killer is but only the characters know. You're in the dark same as the protag until come face to face with the killer themselves. Here's the thing, we get it. It's not the first time we're seen this kind of trope. It's just done lazily. It's like 99% of the movie was useless and might as well jumped to the last minute to where the relevant stuff actually happens.
The other disappointing part is how Jewel oversells that controlled emotion expressions that Hallmark makes all the main female leads from their other movies do (because true realistic emotions from women are forbidden in Hallmark, as we all know lol) to a point where it's annoying. In the 1st movie, you notice it after a while BUT are able to brush it off. Not in this 2nd movie though. This time you REALLY see it and you can't ignore it and it's cringe. It doesn't help that her crooked teeth takes you out of the fantasy that this movie is selling as well.
Overall, it's fun enough if you ignore all these things. It's still a nice family movie on a Friday night if you don't want to think too hard but still have a thrilling time. Plus the houses and interiors are beautiful, so there's that.
