Cheerleader Nightmare (2018) Reviews

• A Lifetime diamond in the rough

  mgconlan-12018-08-03

  I watched a Lifetime "premiere" movie that was actually surprisingly good. It was released under the title "Cheerleader Nightmare" but imdb lists it as "Teen Drone Stalker" and gives "Cheerleader Killer" as an alternate title, and it's so new that though imdb lists a director (Danny J. Boyle, not to be confused with the Danny Boyle who made "Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire") they don't credit any writers and they list the cast members but don't identify them with their roles. The leading characters are Sophie White (Taylor Murphy), a high-school girl with long blonde hair and a disinterest in participating in the Cleveland High School cheerleading squad even though her mom Paula (Melissa Ponzio) is the school's cheerleading coach. (One of the interesting things about this movie is that it makes being a cheerleader seem like almost as hard work as being a football player; the teams exercise similarly.) Instead she's pursuing photography, and her mom is saying that's fine but she really needs an avocation that will teach her how to participate in a team rather than something she can do on her own. About the only acquaintances she's made in her high school are her boyfriend, football team captain Tyler (Johnny Visotcky, who's tall, rail-thin and has an oddly angular face reminiscent of the young John Carradine; he's O.K.-looking but really isn't physically credible as a football player); and Mikey (Jeremy Shada), her partner in the school's AV lab where they have access to a red helicopter-like drone that can take photos of people around the campus and essentially spy on them. The moment we see Jeremy Shada, with his boyishly cute appearance, we immediately conclude that he'd be a far better match for Sophie than Tyler - especially since we also see Leah, head of the school's cheerleading squad, making a play for Tyler with lines like, "The head cheerleader is supposed to go out with the captain of the football team - it's like a law of nature!" We also learn that Tyler's father is in prison for armed robbery and that he himself has a couple of minor infractions on his record, but he's trying to put all that behind him and help the school win football games so he can get a scholarship and go to college. Things heat up when Leah mysteriously disappears after a wild party; later her body is found in the woods surrounding the community (the name of the school may be "Cleveland High" but the locale is a typical affluent suburban bedroom community, not a major city, and the long shots representing the houses are some of the most preposterously obvious model work ever passed off in a movie - as if the director had his 12-year-old son build them out of balsa wood) and the film basically becomes a whodunit. Sophie insists that Tyler couldn't have done it because ... well, even though he has a police record and he's the son of a criminal, she's in love with him and she trusts him. Instead, against the opposition of her mother who thinks that this will put her at risk, Sophie teams up with Mikey to investigate the crime herself (interestingly, no official police officers are ever seen in the film, though we hear a siren indicating their presence at the end). "Cheerleader Nightmare" is actually one of Lifetime's best recent movies; not only does director Boyle have a flair for suspense but the writers, whoever they are, have created genuinely interesting and conflicted characters who act, for good or ill, from recognizable human motives. They've also created a credible whodunit whose ending is logical and believable. It's a quite chilling movie and one that keeps the viewer's interest, and it's also quite ably acted - especially by Taylor Murphy and Johnny Visotcky. "Cheerleader Nightmare" is a quite capable piece of work and one of those diamonds in the rough that keep people like me watching Lifetime movies! It's also an interesting exploration of just how much modern technology has made everyone's - especially everyone who's a teenager in a relatively affluent community, and therefore comfortable with and having full access to the technology - life an open book; you can't have a clandestine affair anymore with all the security cameras and that darned drone (which practically becomes its own character in the film) spying on you all the time.

• Crime, about

  nijazmuratovic2019-05-10

  This is similar to those typical movies about Psychopath Obsession, but this time it is criminal instead of psychopath. While psycho is more likely to go to hospital, criminal to prison. There is some lack of interest, quality. story...but idea is good. Teens, Love, Rejection, Criminals, Fear, Family... Worth watching because it tells us about reality and motivates us to be more aware of relationships, society. Shows us what is it like to be abused, threatened, and live in suspicion. Good for people looking into insight of typical teen abused life.

• Unprofessionell and boring movie

  CarfelMA2018-08-25

  This movies is quite disappointing. The actresses/actors are more saying their lines than actually acting. The dialogues are lame and so unnatural. The scenes dont appear like a story happening, more like too obviously scripted in a non professional lacking entertaining way. It's really boring and forgettable

• Predictable

  phd_travel2018-08-25

  Who killed a popular cheerleader? A drone provides some clues. The ending is a tad predictable and the killer is a cliche killer. The main actress is much hotter than anyone on the cheerleading squad. OK but not one of the more gripping Lifetime movies.