Lifetime Review: 'Black Hearted Killer'

After they opted to donate their daughter Madison's organs following her death in a tragic car accident, Juley and Dennis Cummings (Julie McNiven and Jon Abrahams) never imagined they might one day meet one of the recipients. But the day comes when a letter arrives telling them the recipient of their daughter's heart wants to meet them. Juley and Dennis are unsure on how to feel about it, as both are still struggling to cope with their loss. But after meeting Vera (Kelley Jakle), Juley feels a connection with the young woman who has her daughter's heart and begins to bond with her.

Dennis, however, isn't so keen on letting Vera into their lives, and his ambivalence is proven to be warranted once Vera begins crossing boundaries. Now seeing Vera for what she is, Juley and Dennis order her never to contact them again, with Vera promising the Cummings that they will regret it. As Juley and Dennis soon learn, there's a lot about Vera they don't know--and their problems with her are only just beginning.

When I first read about Black Hearted Killer on MarVista Entertainment's website, the premise behind it intrigued me due to it taking a standard Lifetime setup (a stranger entering a couple's life and turning out to have sinister intentions) and bringing something new into the mix with the organ donor angle. With Lifetime movies having turned everything from bachelorette parties to high school proms into an avenue for mayhem, I'm surprised this is only the first time (to my knowledge) that Lifetime has given organ donation a drama infusion.

While the organ donor angle doesn't change much about Black Hearted Killer on a plot-beat level, it certainly gives way to more emotional range for its cast to work with. On top of the drama they face regarding Vera, Juley and Dennis have to cope with the fresh pain of their daughter's death (a tragedy made much more heartbreaking once all the details of the accident are revealed) and the strain that the loss has put on their marriage. This emotional dynamic not only makes Juley and Dennis sympathetic protagonists, but also gives the audience something to stay invested with when the film enters its more slow-boiling moments.

These slow-boiling moments are handled well by Black Hearted Killer's consistent script, which keeps the story moving at a steady rate without becoming boring. The film notably has Vera quickly revealing her true nature to the Cummings, with Juley and Dennis being equally quick to realize it and try to get her out of their lives. That leaves much of the film's runtime to be dedicated to Vera terrorizing the Cummings while they search for the reason why Vera is coming after them. While some (myself included) might have the reveal spoiled for them thanks to MarVista's overly detailed synopsis, Black Hearted Killer doesn't leave too many overt hints to the reason, which allowed even me to be lulled into a sense of believing that the synopsis might prove inaccurate and the reveal be something completely different. Even though that wasn't the case, it doesn't detract much from Black Hearted Killer's entertainment value.

Having last seen her in Lifetime's A Date by Christmas Eve as a supporting character, Julie McNiven surprised me with just how effective she was in the main spotlight. McNiven brings authentic emotion to her portrayal of Juley as a grief-stricken mother struggling to deal with her loss, especially when the third act reveals the full truth about Madison's accident. As such, you understand why she's so quick to welcome Vera into her life with open arms and becomes so defensive when Dennis voices his suspicions about her. But the second Vera's true nature becomes too obvious to ignore, Juley doesn't hesitate to join Dennis in his attempts to eject her.

Jon Abrahams, meanwhile, does similarly well as the more quietly grieving Dennis, as well as the more genre savvy of the Cummings marriage. As soon as Vera begins integrating herself into his and Juley's lives, Dennis senses something amiss about her and chides his wife for so quickly trusting someone who (recipient of their daughter's heart or not) is a complete stranger. While there are moments when Dennis goes too far and becomes unnecessarily harsh towards Juley and Vera, Abrahams mostly keeps Dennis's rougher moments restrained and he and McNiven share great chemistry as a couple that still love each other, in spite of the problems that their grief has caused.

Finishing off the film's main trio is Kelley Jakle as Vera, who plays her villainous character with psychotic zeal. With Black Hearted Killer wasting little time showing Vera's true colors, Jakle plays Vera's over-the-top nuttiness with a sense of arrogance. By this point, she's already wormed her way into Juley and Dennis's lives and has her agenda set, so for Vera, there's no point in even trying to hide her true form. The climax of the film has Vera at her most vicious and callous, with Jakle's performance and the action-packed finale ending the film on a high note.

(SPOILER ALERT Black Hearted Killer is also another Lifetime movie that refreshingly averts the "Flash Forward to Happily Ever After" ending, which works well given the film's deeply emotional subject matter. After seeing Juley and Dennis deal with having old wounds ripped open by a deceitful psychopath who later tried to kill them both, with Juley being forced to kill the woman she briefly considered family in self-defense, it would've felt odd to suddenly flash forward to them being happy as can be. While the ending does come off as a trifle abrupt, Black Hearted Killer deserves credit for ending on a realistic note. Spoilers Over)

Memorable side performances include Brock Kelly as Dennis's charming and supportive friend Gary, as well as Lynn Chen's surprisingly emotional scene as transplant agency employee Bethany. SPOILER ALERT Another standout scene of Black Hearted Killer is when Juley and Dennis meet the true recipient of Madison's heart and her family Spoilers Over, which is a sweet scene that serves as a little breather before the chaos of the third act begins to kick in.

Black Hearted Killer may appear generic on paper, with the organ donor aspect only serving as a fresh coat of paint for the standard "I Invited a Psycho Into My Life" Lifetime plot beats. But thanks to a script that knows how to utilize this new plot addition and a main cast that plays well of each other and brings out the best in their characters, the film avoids falling into the same pitfall as Mommy is a Murderer and becoming oppressively bland. For a Lifetime movie that provides equal doses of heart and drama, give Black Hearted Killer a look-see.

Score: 7.5 out of 10 glasses of fruit wine.