Lifetime’s ‘When Mom Becomes a Murderer’ Is Equal Parts Mystery and Silly [Review]

Hell hath no fury like an overprotective mom in Lifetime Movie Network’s latest thriller, When Mom Becomes a Murderer.

It’s obviously a ridiculous title that initially seems to reveal all of the movie’s cards, which is frustrating considering that the first two acts treats everything as a mystery. Thankfully writers Declan Dineen, Lucy Foster and Victoria Saxton have a few additional surprises up their sleeves.

Unlike many other recent Lifetime films, there’s an earnest straightforwardness to When Mom Becomes A Murderer. The film opens with recent high school graduate Ellie (Matreya Scarrwener) securing the win for her debate team, much to the delight of her principal father Nathan (Roark Critchlow) and high school counsellor mother Marion (Lauren K. Robek).

Almost immediately, however, Ellie’s good girl status is put in question when she locks eyes with a cute boy post-debate and secretly plans to go clubbing with “bad girl” Nancy (Emily Giannozio) against the wishes of her best friend Isla (Khamisa Wilsher). Despite being exceedingly bad at sneaking out of the house and disobeying her parents in general, it’s understandable why Ellie wants to break out: Marion is the embodiment of a helicopter parent and she is smothering her daughter (figuratively).

The plot kicks into gear when Nancy, who has borrowed Ellie’s jacket, is pushed over Gib’s cliff by an unseen assailant. And while Ellie immediately catches her mother in a lie, it takes several more developments, including the reveal that Nancy lodged a complaint against Marion that got the counsellor put on administrative leave, that Ellie starts investigating her mother’s shady past.

The summary of suspicious behavor includes: Why is Marion so averse to having her picture taken and why does she insist on having no social media presence? Why do they never visit family or talk about the past? Why is Marion so intent on infantilizing Ellie? And why does she lie to Chief Jones (Byron Wilson) about taking the car out on the night of Nancy’s murder?

In true Lifetime fashion, there’s both a convoluted explanation and more than a few twists, but aside from the seemingly spoiler-y title, all of these developments are treated as a genuine mystery. By withholding the identity of the killer, Dineen, Foster and Saxton spend most of the film exploring red herrings, including Isla’s complicated relationship with Nancy, while also turning Ellie into an amateur sleuth who connects with journalist Simon (Spencer Borgeson) and librarian Carla (Beth Fotheringham) to piece together her mother’s secrets. Naturally, in true mystery form, everyone seemingly has their own secret agenda.

While the mystery is treated 90% seriously, there are still moments of silliness that teeter dangerously close to camp. First and foremost is Robek’s performance, which walks a razor’s edge of utter ridiculousness. The mother’s reactions to every single one of her daughter’s infractions is outsized to the point of parody. Marion is terrified when her daughter dares to speak to a boy in the film’s opening scene, and her response only grow in intensity as Ellie’s rebellious acts escalate.

Then there’s the idea of a girl in 2024 who is on the cusp of going away to College who has never a) had a drink, b) dated, or c) done something other than debate and get good grades. It’s so quaint that the film might as well be set in the 50s.

Ditto Isla, a goody-two shoes whose concern over Ellie’s investigation would be appropriate for a middle school girl, but makes no sense for a teenager. Certainly there are girls who want to savour a final pre-College summer with their girl friend, but Isla’s definition of friendship lives and dies on ice cream and slumber parties.

The other extremely silly (and very late-90s) element is When Mom Becomes a Murderer‘s reliance on asthma attacks. The film features no less than five different instances that hinge on Ellie’s (in)ability to breathe, so each time the girl gets into a scrape, out comes Scarrwener’s frantic eye-acting, plus the requisite gasping and sucking on an inhaler. The use of debilitating asthma as a narrative crutch truly feels like something from a bygone era; it’s both hilarious and apt to induce plenty of eye-rolls.

Despite this, Scarrwener is winsome in the lead role. As Ellie’s paranoia about her mother escalates, the screenwriters manage to tow the line between satisfying red herrings and ludicrous developments, and Scarrwener holds it all together capably.

The film is admittedly light on moments of violence and director Paula Elle is hit and miss when it comes to the tension. For every sequence that works (like the final killer reveal at the site of Nancy’s death), there’s another that doesn’t (like a mother/daughter hiking trip that relies on bad cell service and a rocky quarry).

Still, When Mom Becomes a Murderer works decently well as a mystery. Thankfully it is more than its very obvious title, and there’s enough silliness here that it’s clear that, despite all of heightened teen drama, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously. That’s enough to recommend.

When Mom Becomes a Murderer debuts on Lifetime Movie Network Thursday, July 18 at 8pm EST.

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