Engaged to Kill (2006) (TV)

Director:

Matthew Hastings

Writer:

Alan Moskowitz (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Some promises can kill...

Plot:

Abby Lord (Maria del Mar) is kidnapped and her husband Robert Lord (Joe Lando) has to pay off a million dollar ransom. Based on a True Life story. |

Cast

Johann Benét	...	Vincent
Anne Marie DeLuise	...	Sarah Jacobs (as Anne Marie Loder)
Peter DeLuise	...	Crawford Blake
Daniella Evangelista	...	Sally
Don Hastings	...	Dr. Albert Lennox
Bryce Hodgson	...	Corey Lord
Katharine Isabelle	...	Maddy Lord
Joe Lando	...	Robert Lord
Maria del Mar	...	Abby Lord
Paul McGillion	...	Lester Denton
Amanda Tapping	...	Detective Burns
Elias Toufexis	...	Sullivan
Dominic Zamprogna	...	Nick

Runtime:

94 min | Canada:120 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Brainstorm Media

Soundtrack:

Abby's Theme

Two stars at best

I probably should just desist from commenting on this flick. The few previous comments which commend it have high approval marks from those accessing them, except for the one from overseas, which was 0-for-11 previously.

However, I caught this film on a Friday after a pretty hectic week, and with a busy weekend approaching, so just laid back for a couple of hours mid-day.

I did miss the kidnapping portion, but not difficult to infer what had occurred there, and with other comments - and was understandable that family would be a bit spooked and on-edge following.

Still, there wasn't a single character with whom I could empathize or sympathize, and the twerp who entered their lives as the obnoxious daughter's love interest (Nick) was too insipid for me believe him capable of his chicanery. The lead couple, including "Abby," who was commended elsewhere, were a weak pair.

And the whole nonsense regarding the financial transactions, the compromising of the father's credit card via internet poker, the ease with which Abby's reputation as a physician was besmirched, was all presented on the level of the silliest of soap opera fare.

The back-and-forth emotional exchanges among the family members, in every possible one-on-one combination, or en masse, were also on the level of those seen in the weakest "soap" episodes.

The snail's pace with which the police finally got some hard information was unbelievable - even given the ineptitude of the cops on most Lifetime fare.

By the time things got to the inevitable 10 minutes or so of climax and revelation, I don't see how anyone could possibly care.

(If you wished to insert something illustrating an example of the word "schlep" in a time capsule for future generations, a DVD of this flick would suffice. These folks - without exception - schlepped around throughout this story, from beginning to end.)

The only thing raising this presentation from 1* to 2 is that the quality of production was better than most.