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Lifetime Review: 'Secrets of My Stepdaughter'

Tiera Skovbye goes to the dark side in this excellent Lifetime thriller.

By Trevor WellsPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Originally titled "A Murderer Upstairs"

With the right actors, any Lifetime film can be great. Hell, I'd even be willing to say that one of Lifetime's celebrity biopics (which are for the most part reviled by the Lifetime fanbase) can be tolerable with the right cast of players in its hand. That, combined with a compelling story and well-paced action, and you've got a great flick on your hand.

That is most certainly the case for Secrets of My Stepdaughter (alternately given the equally great titles A Murderer Upstairs and My Stepdaughter's Secret). The film centers around the Kent family and, in their first scene together, they appear to be the perfect and ideal family one comes to expect Lifetime movies to center around. Cindy Kent (Lifetime royalty Josie Davis) is an attentive mother. Greg Kent (Cameron Bancroft) is close to his daughters. And Rachel and Addy Kent (played by real life sisters Tiera and Ali Skovbye) are so close that Rachel is willing to drive Addy to school with her.

But later on, in a surprising twist, the family is revealed to be much less idealized than they initially appear. Rachel is actually the daughter of Greg's previous wife, and had only been living with him and Cindy for a few months—as Rachel's biological mother had initially gained custody of Rachel following her divorce from Greg before abruptly disappearing as a result of addiction problems. So even before the plot kicks into dramatic gear, the Kent family has some psychological damage going on.

The dramatic gear I'm referring to is the day when Rachel doesn't come home after spending the night with her friend and clothing store co-worker Leslie Miles (Madelyn Grace). When Cindy tracks Rachel's phone back to the store, she is horrified to come in and find the store ransacked. In the back, Leslie lies dead from a head wound with Rachel beaten and tied up next to her. At the hospital, Rachel tearfully recounts what happened, saying that robbers invaded the store and killed Leslie before knocking her out and tying her up next to her corpse. Afterwards, Rachel's troubled family comes together to support her in the healing process, but along the way, Cindy finds herself noticing Rachel's odd behavior...and will soon realize her stepdaughter has more than a few secrets....

In its initial release, it was made no secret by Lifetime's ads that Rachel was a murder, with the promos highlighting Rachel murdering Leslie and tying her own wrists to pose as a victim. But regardless of this spoilage, Secrets of My Stepdaughter is an excellent Lifetime film, with most of this being thanks for the actors behind it. In what might be Tiera Skovbye's first time playing a villain, she gives a fire to her portrayal as teen sociopath Rachel Kent, making her a compelling character with real depth. Josie Davis is no stranger to Lifetime, and she makes Cindy a likable and well-faceted protagonist; she wants to protect her husband and daughter from Rachel, while at the same time wanting to help the psychotic Rachel get help.

There are also two characters who I highly admire for breaking molds commonly associated with Lifetime: Greg Kent and detective Pam Cherfils (Lucia Walters).

While Greg can be viewed at times as the typical "unsupportive husband who works too much and is unhelpful to his heroine wife when she needs him" that many Lifetime movies have had, Cameron Bancroft turns the trope around in his emotional portrayal of Greg. In one moment of palpable emotion, Greg bemoans himself for not fighting harder to gain custody of Rachel and for spending so much time at work when he did finally get his daughter back in his life, all while choking back tears of bitter regret. It's a powerful moment, and one that will hopefully cement Mr. Bancroft as a new Lifetime staple.

As for Pam Cherfils, she completely turns the Police Are Useless trope on its head. From the moment Pam begins her investigation, she comes to notice Rachel's odd behavior and begins work to prove her suspicions have merit, even at the expense of having her abilities chastised by her boss. It's an amazing moment that did not go unnoticed by the Lifetime community—and hopefully is one that Lifetime itself will take notice of.

Secrets of My Stepdaughter is basically the pinnacle of Lifetime: drama, action, suspense, and underrated actors giving it their all. This is certainly one movie Lifetime should place in its metaphorical Hall of Fame.

Score: 10 out of 10 cash register drawers.

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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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  • CHIRAQ King lil 48 months ago

    This one dumb white people movie y'all need black friends 😂

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