Alistair Abell Movies
- 2005
This US-Canadian cable thriller stars Jamie Luner as Sara Hansen, who in an effort to escape from an abusive marriage fakes her own death, assumes a new identity, and starts life anew in a faraway town. But the effort proves futile when her brutish husband Ryan (Chris Kramer) catches up with her, terrorizing her with the standard "If I can't have you, no one can". But Sara is determined to stop being a victim--even if it means killing her husband before he can kill her. In America, Stranger in My Bed was first telecast on cable's Lifetime channel, premiering August 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cashing in on the real-life influx of pesky "snake-head" fish in Midwestern lakes, this inexpensive sci-fi epic is set in a small Maryland fishing community called Cultus Lake. A dangerous strain of mutated snakeheads has decimated the lake's fish population, whereupon Doc Jenkins (played by X-Files' William B. Davis, aka "Cigarette-Smoking Man"), the shady owner of a nearby chemical plant, fills the water with pollutants to kill off the invaders. At the same time, the local leaders, desperate to pull Cultus Lake out of a severe financial slump, has dumped human growth hormones in the lake to improve the stock. You guessed it: Both the chemicals and hormones succeed only in making the snakeheads even larger and more ferocious--and worse still, they are now leaving the lake and crawling around on dry land, in search of human blood! Caught in the middle of the crisis is Sheriff Patrick James (Bruce Boxleitner) and the standard-issue beautiful female biologist Lori Dale (Carol Alt). An amalgam of every cheesy CGI effect ever seen on the many Jaws ripoffs that have proliferated as made-for-cable and direct-to-video thrillers, Snakehead Terror received its biggest audience when it was telecast by the Sci-Fi network on March 13, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The scene is San Francisco, where a diabolically crafty serial killer is preying on newlywed couples, killing the groom before the bride and then removing both wedding rings. Assigned to track down this maniac is homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer (Tracy Pollan), who, despite the usual quota of false clues and red herrings, seems more than prepared for the biggest challenge of her career. But Lindsay is not prepared for facing her own mortality: She has been diagnosed with a blood disease that nearly always proves fatal and may not live long enough to bring the honeymoon killer to justice. Based on a novel by James Patterson (as indicated by the film's "official" title), First to Die debuted February 23, 2003, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracy Pollan, Gil Bellows, (more)
