Peter Werner Movies

A grieving widow runs into a frustrating wall of silence while investigating the unexplained death of her husband during a rowdy New Year's Eve party. When Bob McIntosh (David Cubitt) politely told a group of hard-partying teens that a room in his friend's house was off-limits, he never anticipated the brutal violence that followed. Frightened and desperate to avoid spending the rest of their lives in prison, the high school kids responsible for killing Bob refuse to deviate from their carefully crafted alibi during repeated police interviews. When the investigation headed by Detective Paul Jackson (Greg Grunberg) stalls out as a direct result of that secret pact, Bob's desperate widow Katy (Kim Raver) takes the investigation into her own hands. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Talented young female racecar driver Kylie Shines (Michelle Trachtenberg) strives for success in a male dominated sport, and steps up to the challenge of filling her legendary father's position after he's cut from the team. As Kylie races toward the checkered flag, she discovers that sometimes sticking by your family is more important than celebrating in the winner's circle. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In the tradition of such omnibus films as Tales of Manhattan and Flesh and Fantasy, the made-for-TV Snow Wonder features five separate stories, tenuously linked together by a single plot strand -- in this case, a freak Christmas Eve snowstorm that has blanketed the world, striking even in such traditionally snow-free areas as Malaysia and Hawaii. While Madagascar-based meteorologist Billy (Josh Randall) tries to make sense of the phenomenon, his lovely assistant, Joey (Michelle Krusiec), muses philosophically "Snow can change people's lives." How right she is. As the film progresses, we are whisked off to Kentucky, where lovelorn bridesmaid Paula (Poppy Montgomery) watches in mute astonishment as her best friend's wedding crashes and burns as a result of the sudden blizzard; to New Mexico, where recently widowed Bev (Camryn Manheim) has retreated in hopes of overcoming the bitterness attending the death of her husband exactly one year before; to New York, where young Luke (Eric Szmanda), an aspiring writer whose parents seem to take great delight in discouraging him, receives a surfeit of inspiration from his freewheeling aunt Lila (Mary Tyler Moore); and to Baltimore, where philandering husband Warren (Jason Priestley), who has prepared the "perfect alibi" with which to hoodwink his loving wife, is helplessly snowbound with his current mistress. By film's end, the good have been rewarded, the bad have been punished, and something special develops between Billy and Joey...suggesting that this is no ordinary "random" snowstorm. Based on Connie Willis' short story Just Like the Ones We Used to Know, Snow Wonder made its CBS debut on November 20, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The new girl in town is 16-year-old Jacey Jeffries (Danielle Panabaker), who lives with her divorced mother, Terry (Mercedes Ruehl), and her two siblings. A popular and highly intelligent student, not to mention a talented athlete, Jacey nonetheless seems to be harboring a private, profound sadness -- or at least that's the perception of her high-school guidance counselor, Donna Cooper (Jane Krakowski). Ultimately Donna figures out the truth behind Jacey's melancholia: her baby "brother" Charlie is actually her own son, born out of wedlock and raised by Jacey's overbearing mother in a misguided effort to shield her daughter from disgrace. Upon discovering Jacey's secret, Donna takes a special interest in the girl's welfare -- an interest undoubtedly fueled by the fact that Donna herself is unable to have children. The scenes taking place in the sex-education class have an air of reality often lacking in made-for-TV films, due to the fact that the young actors playing the students were encouraged to improvise their dialogue. Produced for the Lifetime cable network, Mom at Sixteen first aired on March 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a true story, this made-for-cable crime drama stars Jean Smart as veteran FBI agent and divorced mother Candace Long. Burned out by years of tracking down this most vicious criminals in America, Long is about to take a well-deserved retirement and devote her energies to her family and her current lover (A. Martinez), a married man. But she changes her mind and goes back to work with a vengeance when a serial rapist-killer preys upon one of her best friends. First telecast on the Lifetime network, Killer Instinct: From the Files of Agent Candace Long debuted October 6, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This cable TV series respectively starred Lea Thompson and Debbi Morgan as dedicated L.A. prosecuting attorneys Camille Paris and Lori Gibson. Most of the stories dealt with the diametrically opposite political viewpoints of the two women, and how they would begrudgingly work together in the interests of justice for all. Contrary to expectations, it was Camille, the white Chief Deputy DA, who was the heart-on-sleeve liberal, while her DA boss Lora, a black woman, was the staunch conservative. Other regulars included Camille's recovering alcoholic sister, Erica (Wendy Gazelle); nephew Zach (Matthew Richards); ex-husband Michael Olivas (A. Martinez), with whom Camille enjoyed a better relationship as a single than she ever had as his wife; and assistant Anita Lopez (Cecilia Suarez). The weekly, 60-minute For the People made its first Lifetime Network appearance on July 21, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When their young daughter is killed in a tragic car accident, a devastated couple goes to extreme measures to bring love back into their lives in a heart-rending family drama starring Adam LeFevre, Valerie Mahaffey, Mary Beth Hurt, and Bridget Fonda. Chris (LeFevre) and Virginia Hytner (Mahaffey)'s once idyllic world has been shattered by the untimely death of their beloved daughter, and now, in order to let go of the past and find happiness once again, they choose to put their future in the hands of Dr. Amanda Gordon (Hurt) of the Center for Reproductive Medicine. Since Virginia is now over forty and the couple's chances of an uncomplicated pregnancy are slim, they have opted to attempt the unprecedented feat of cloning their deceased daughter. When a minor league reporter looking for a major league story (Fonda) transforms the Hytner's desperation into a sensationalistic headline, the firestorm of controversy that follows forces the couple and their doctor into the underground as it compromises the safety of their unborn child. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Seduced by the pastoral existence of a vacation, a doctor decides to remain and savor the slow pace of life in another dimension. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that even his newfound paradise is not totally devoid of chaos. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A trio of monsters are on the loose in this updated reinterpretation of one of the great horror films of Universal's "Golden Age." A police detective, Vernon Coyle (Adrian Pasdar), is trying to track down an infamous serial killer known as the Midnight Raptor, a killer whose victims are almost completely drained of blood. Coyle, short on clues, seeks the assistance of Doctor Shauna Kendall (C.C.H. Pounder), an anthropologist who tells the surprised detective that she believes a vampire is responsible for the killings. Meanwhile, Grace Dawkins (Teri Polo), a woman working at the Griffith Park Observatory, sees a friend being attacked by what she thinks is a wild dog; while trying to help, she's bitten by the creature, and Grace soon makes the horrible discovery that she's become a werewolf. Jaded sophisticate Crispian Grimes (Greg Wise) runs a hot L.A. nightclub called the House of Frankenstein; to attract new customers to his club, Grimes purchases a body frozen in ice that is believed to be Dr. Frankenstein's famous creature. What Grimes' customers and colleagues don't know is he's the vampire who's has been committing the Midnight Raptor murders; once Frankenstein's monster is accidentally revived, and Grimes falls in love with Grace, an unholy alliance of monsters begins preying on the people of Los Angeles. Produced for the NBC television network, House of Frankenstein 1997 was first aired on October 28, 1997. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When Maggie Yearwood (Ann-Margret) threw her cheating husband out of the house, her son Peter (Corbin Allred) became so distraught that he attempted to kill himself--and after emerging from a coma, Peter had totally lost his hearing. Now enrolled in the Riverwall School for the Deaf in Arizona, Peter is a surly, resentful loner, as angry at his mother as he is at his current lot in life. Hoping to mend fences with Peter, Maggie pulls up stakes and moves to the town of Blue Dog, some 25 miles from Riverwall. Here she meets an enigmatic rodeo cowboy who calls himself Owen Wister (Kris Kristofferson)--and who has more than his own share of emotional baggage. How the fates of Maggie, Peter and Owen are interwined provides the dramatic substance of the made-for-TV Blue Rodeo, which was based on a novel by Jo-Ann Mapson and which originally aired October 20, 1996 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Made for television, The Unspoken Truth is the factual story of Brianne Hawkins (Lea Thompson), who after enduring a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her family marries the even more abusive Clay Hawkins (James Marshall). Given to beating his wife at the slightest provocation, Clay finally goes completely over the edge when he shoots and kills a man who had the temerity to speak to Brianne without Clay's permission. Thinking quickly for a change, Clay persuades Brianne to take the rap for the killing, whereupon she complicity (if not willingly) concocts an elaborate story as to how she shot the man accidentally. Not only do the authorities refuse to swallow this fabrication, but they end up sending both Clay and Brianne to prison for life! Only when the future of her daughter, Lily (Karis Paige Bryant), is jeopardized does the long-suffering Brianne finally work up the courage to fight for her freedom and her long-denied fundamental rights as a human being. A shocking mid-film revelation elevates this story from the usual battered-wife TV-movie syndrome. Filmed on location in Austin, TX, The Unspoken Truth originally aired September 24, 1995, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in the 19th century on the eve of his execution, the title swashbuckler decides to tell the truth about his life and his professions as both upholder of the law and criminal. As he speaks, his adventures unfurl upon the screen. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi