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Lifetime Review: 'A Father's Nightmare'

Vanessa Lowndes returns in the role of a memorably crazy villainess in this excellent follow-up to a Lifetime classic.

By Trevor WellsPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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In an unexpected sequel to 2012's A Mother's Nightmare, A Father's Nightmare begins with Vanessa Redlynn (Jessica Lowndes) being released from the psychiatric facility she was sent to following her attempt to kill her ex-boyfriend. But despite spending five years in confinement, Vanessa is still very much her usual deranged self and has already focused her sights on her next object of twisted obsession: Lisa Carmichael (Kaitlyn Bernard), a college freshman still dealing with grief following the death of her mother.

As Lisa struggles to find her footing in college, she finds herself being placed as Vanessa's roommate thanks to her manipulations with a housing clerk. While initially wary of her older roomie, Lisa grows to trust Vanessa and relies on her as she struggles to deal with her best friend Katie (Ellery Sprayberry) growing distant from her while maintaining her gymnastics to keep her scholarship. Throughout this time, however, Vanessa begins setting up events to isolate Lisa, leaving her more vulnerable than ever and turning her against her father Matt (Joel Gretsch). As Matt fights to save his daughter from Vanessa's possessive clutches, it becomes clear that Vanessa's obsession with Lisa isn't as random as it initially appears....

With the release of A Father's Nightmare, it gives me the chance to talk about both it and its 2012 counterpart A Mother's Nightmare, as both were very well-constructed obsession thrillers with strong casting and excellent storytelling. As with her first appearance on Lifetime, Jessica Lowndes plays a frighteningly realistic villain, one of a different caliber than most antagonists found in the realm of Lifetime. Unlike most obsessed villains Lifetime has given us over the years, Vanessa hardly resorts to outright violence in her plot against her object of obsession. Instead, Vanessa relies namely on manipulative mind games against her victim, gaslighting them into believing that everyone else is against them and that only she understands and cares about them. Her manipulations in A Father's Nightmare are far more vicious than her first trip to Lifetime, fully establishing Vanessa as a truly frightening and dangerous villain.

The rest of the cast also delivers, with Kaitlyn Bernard playing Lisa with aching authenticity. Even before Lisa falls under Vanessa's spell and her already fractured life begins to fall apart, she is shown to be an immensely vulnerable and traumatized girl, desperate to feel some sort of stability in the wake of her mother's death. All of this occurring right as Lisa is preparing to leave home for the first time to attend college on a scholarship only compounds her unstable emotional state, leaving her completely open to Vanessa's crazed manipulations. Like Grant Gustin from A Mother's Nightmare, Kaitlyn Bernard gives an excellent performance as a troubled young person manipulated and destroyed by a person preying on their vulnerabilities and (much like Grant Gustin's Chris Stewart from A Mother's Nightmare) is nearly impossible not to sympathize with as Vanessa pulls her further into a downward spiral.

In terms of plot, A Father's Nightmare shares the same plotting as its predecessor, giving time to develop Lisa to the same degree as Chris and further show Vanessa's ability to charm and manipulate others, making them almost blind to her malicious intentions. This also allows for tension to build organically, with Vanessa's crazed behavior making it impossible to know just how things will turn out for her and the people she has brought into her schemes. It all makes for a fantastic Lifetime thriller that will be sure to keep viewers on their toes, succeeding in the same thing that has made A Mother's Nightmare a memorable film.

A Father's Nightmare was a sequel many weren't expecting from Lifetime, but it's a film that is just as enjoyable as A Mother's Nightmare and does not disappoint in plot or characters. Both films are top notch for Lifetime, and are films that are bound to grow to become classics for the channel.

Score: 10 out of 10 drug dealing college housing clerks.

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About the Creator

Trevor Wells

Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.

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Twitter: @TrevorWells98

Instagram: @trevorwells_16

Email: [email protected]

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