Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.

Chantel Contreras It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

punishmentpark A movie in the vein of 'The hand that rocks the cradle', though with plenty of differences. What stands out the most is that a good guy who you'd expect to live through the whole film, gets killed within a good half hour, but we all remember such a twist from 'Psycho' (1960).I can't say the movie is áll bad, but the story deserved a lot more attention than it got. It remains unclear how things really are with a couple of the main characters; is Brandon really the asshole his 'friend'(?) Howie makes him out to be? If so, you can't help but sympathize with Shane a little. Is Shane's father right about Shane having lied to get a scholarship? If so, how did Shane get the scholarship? All he has to be is a good wrestler, which he clearly is. Then there's the relationship between Caren and Phil, or whatever is left of it. The biggest questions surround the death of Brandon, though. Why don't his friends speak up about Shane's setting up a spy cam and such? It is all so unclear and unbelievable that anything else positive hardly changes anything.Sure, Kelly Lynch is fine to look at, as I'm sure is Robuck for some, and the film is even atmospheric at times, but altogether this is just a doozie. Bad acting all around, except for some okay moments here and there. It's hard to believe 6 out of 7 reviews are so very positive up until now...A very small 2 out of 10.

alannasser We all know about Lifetime movies -or should I say Lifetime movie? These are variations on the same movie, which can admittedly take a (small) number of forms. Perhaps the most typical of these is the apparently ordinary but actually deranged individual who insinuates him- or herself into a family of innocents. Frequently the sicko will exploit an existing tension within the family for his/her own dastardly ends. Well, this is indeed what happens in this movie. But the similarity to a typical Lifetime movie pretty much ends there. This is no Anne Carlucci or Pierre David production. Nor is it directed by the ubiquitous, unimaginative, lifeless Douglas Jackson. Nor is the narrative punctuated with the characters' wholesome, sentimental, heartwarming chuckles. The film is directed with a sense of style, the actors are far above the level of mediocrity afflicting virtually all Lifetime actors, the camera work is relatively polished, the pacing and tempo never drag and the film is cut professionally. Armand Mastroianni is no star director, but he's way better than any of Lifetime's stable of inert "talents". What prevents Lifetime from turning out something like this more than every 3 or 4 years? A restricted budget? An obsession with low-budget Canadian dreck? Probably something along those lines. Lifetime would surely broaden its audience were it to look to put together more movies of this calibre. Make no mistake, Dark Desire is not a first-rate film. But it's got a polish and professionalism entirely lacking in just about every other of the network's products. It starkly underscores the low-rent, shallow and amateurish quality of most everything else Lifetime has tossed our way. It's time to put Carlucci and David out to pasture.

bastianb7097 This aired on the Lifetime Movie Network in late November, and wow! If I blinked, I might have missed it. So glad I recorded it to my DVR, as this was a FANTASTIC thriller! I'm rating it a 10 based on Television/Cable movie standards, but now that I think about it, this is a great movie even by theatrical standards! The acting was solid, the plot was fast paced and engrossing, while the tension was realistic. And there was also quite a bit of man candy, enough to satisfy those on BOTH sides of the fence. I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers (the 3 dated before mine) and highly recommend this as a great romantic suspense thriller. Look for it in your local TV listings as I believe it will rerun soon (as of December 2012). Lifetime has been cranking out some excellent movies over the past several years, and while some are turkeys, there are more than a few that are above average. This one is at the top of my list for 2012!

doulosmedia I came across this movie today and didn't know what to expect other than I thought it would be predictable...it was not! The depth of the Shane character was great as was the confused mourning mother, Karen. I honestly thought she had gone off the deep end at the end by plotting with Shane. It was nice to see Kelly Lynch do such an interesting role. I mean how to you prep for something like that? I haven't ever seen Nic Robuck before, but he played the kid longing for acceptance so well. I look forward to seeing him again. Just maybe a nicer role next time. The role of the jerk, Howie, was spot on. Great acting. I think if I met him in real life I would want to hit him. Finally, the pace was great. The director kept things moving along quite well. He obviously knew how to get the reactions he wanted from the cast and the great (creepy) story by Julie Lynch. Great cast. Great story. Great directing. Keep it up!