Desejo Macabro

I thought this movie was exciting because it was a true story. The directer made us take a look at the characters and developed them very well. I never would have guessed the ending, because they covered it up so well. This is one thriller not to be missed!!!! I'd give it a 8/10. Well done!

This is a mediocre, made-for-TV diversion, in which Melissa Joan Hart is miscast as an evil, psychopathic teen. She tried, but evil she is not. Her engaging and charismatic personality is much better suited to her ironic role as Sabrina, the teenaged witch, on ABC Friday nights, although at twenty-three she should be getting her PhD instead of playing a high school girl, witch or otherwise. I think the original idea they had for her as a newspaper reporter would have worked. At least she wouldn't have been instantly too old for the role.

Incidentally, I understand she auditioned for the title role in Adrian Lyne's "Lolita," losing out to Dominique Swain. Funny thing about that: Hart really is the Lolita type, so much so that at the age she started playing Clarissa (perhaps 14), she would have been perfect for Nabokov's enchanter. However, by the time Lyne got around to casting for his film, she was way past sweet sixteen, and much more a young woman than a nymphet.

Had they shown her smashing that car window with a baseball bat, I might have believed this movie a little. And they could have made her a tiny bit slutty, which would have been consistent with her character. I had the sense that her mother was watching every detail of the production and didn't want Melissa to look bad, even though the character she was portraying was very bad indeed.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

I caught this movie from the murder-scene and watched it from there. Looking back, I miss that hour and a half of my life.

The acting is pretty bad. Melissa Joan Hart (who I really liked in "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch") was insanely horrible in this. Turns out, she can't do drama. Or acting, for that matter.

The plot holes were numerous. Watch (if you dare) and you'll see. It was corny. Besides MJH, the rest of the acting was pretty atrocious also (especially by the kid who pulled the trigger, the guy who played Nick). The writing was weak.

The end sequence went from pretty cool to bad and then back to pretty cool again with the last scene. But even the titles explaining what happens to the characters at the end leave you angry.

3/10.

The REAL story involved a girl and her boyfriend, and how they plotted together to kill her parents. There was not another boyfriend involved. The real crime involved just one girl and her boyfriend. He came to her house and he shot her parents in bed. Later, he claimed that he had been smoking marijuana on his way over to their house. He said that his girlfriend was there to let him in and she yelled at him to shoot the mother again after seeing the first shot didn't kill her. The boy's attorney had claimed that the boy suffered from mental problems and had a low IQ. But these claims were argued and he was convicted. The girl and her boyfriend had both ended up in prison and served time, but her boyfriend was eventually executed. The girl was eventually released. One of the last statements he made was about how he didn't think it was fair to execute him while his girlfriend walked free, since they had both been part of the murder. He claimed to have been reformed and he wanted another chance at life. He never got that chance. I personally don't like it when "true crime" books TV shows and movies change the facts. I wish they'd just tell it the way it actually was. This movie does not give you the real story. Besides, Melissa Joan Hart's acting was just awful.

I recently stumbled across this film on TNT five minutes into it, while on vacation in Florida... (hey there has to be some down time in the hotel, right?) I was initially surprised to see Melissa Joan Hart in any feature length film on TNT. I mean "Drive Me Crazy" isn't THAT old already, is it?

But I stuck with it, and was thoroughly surprised and entertained. Melissa plays her role as the psychotic Jennifer excellently. The supporting cast (Nick, the ex-con boyfriend; Karen, her best friend; and her life-controlling parents) all added a great degree of believability. The twist at the end was a nice closure to this tale of the girl who always seemed to be one step ahead of everybody.

If you get a chance, check it out!