Credit: Lifetime
Director:
Dave Thomas
Writer:
Lauren Greenwood
Starring:
Courtney Grace, Malena Cunningham Anderson, Aria Celeste Castillo, Terry Woodberry, LaKeta Booker, Brashaad Mayweather, Riley Hough
Synopsis (IMDb):
When Shanice learns her friend, June, is missing, she returns home to help in the search. She suspects June’s boyfriend, but when June is found dead and Shanice becomes a target, she learns the murderer might be much closer to home.
Monique’s review:
Secrets To Kill For is a Lifetime murder mystery that follows Shanice (Grace) who has a thriving career in Atlanta as a lifestyle blogger whose main niche is writing about adult friendships. Her friendships, however are facing some challenges. One friend, Haven (Booker) accuses her of not spending enough time at home–which is about 200 miles away from the big city–and another, June (Castillo) is in the middle of an intense breakup with her very paranoid and controlling boyfriend, Lee (Mayweather).
Things get worse as Shanice finally goes home to check on June after not getting return phone calls. Unfortunately, a tragedy has befallen June, leading Shanice and Haven to put differences aside and work together to find out the truth.
I felt that the film is what you’d expect from a Lifetime thriller, but I don’t mean that as a slight. What most people want from Lifetime films is a juicy. but slightly silly plot, easy characters to understand, and comfort in knowing that the twists won’t be too twisty, but just enough that you can have fun watching on a Saturday afternoon with a bowl of popcorn. In other words, Lifetime movies are that guilty pleasure junk food type of entertainment that is satisfying in its own, somewhat predictable way. Secrets We Kill For is no different.
As someone who actually likes watching the random Lifetime movie, I felt that Secrets We Kill For was fun and enjoyable. I liked the fact that the film did provide a twist that wasn’t as telegraphed as I expected, and the revelations build up to a conclusion that is satisfying to watch. Personally, I was glad there was no romance in this film; I assumed there might be something between Shanice and her childhood friend-turned-police officer Glen (Hough), but thankfully, we didn’t have any meet-cutes cluttering up the overarching murder story. If there’s one thing I don’t understand in many murder mysteries, its how murder becomes a backdrop to two characters falling in love. How would you be able to tell your kids that you met while under investigation?
Overall, Secrets To Kill For is a fun film that scratches that Lifetime itch. The film is available to rent or by on Prime Video, YouTube and Fandango At Home. You can also stream it for free on Philo, Hoopla (with a library card or membership), DirecTV and Frndly.