Lifetime Review: 'Deadly Excursion'

Samantha "Sam" McCarthy (Samaire Armstrong) is in desperate need of R&R. Having recently separated from her husband David (Corin Nemec) after discovering he was having an affair, Sam decides the best cure for her stress is a spring break vacation alone with her college bound daughter Ellie (Allie DeBerry). With her separation having put a strain on her relationship with Ellie, Sam hopes their coastal getaway will be a chance for them to bond again before Ellie leaves the nest.

No sooner has she arrived, however, before Sam is surprised to find herself having caught the eye of local Javier (Callard Harris), who quickly charms Sam and convinces her to let him take her and Ellie out for a day on his charter boat. Little do Sam and Ellie realize, however, that Javier has more than just sightseeing in mind for this boat ride—and after coming to see his true colors, Sam and Ellie will have to work together and fight for their lives as their fun in the sun turns into a nightmare.

The Lifetime Movie Network is soon to be premiering Who Stole My Daughter?, a film which will star Samaire Armstrong and Sierra McCormick as a mother-daughter duo. With that in mind, I decided it would be fun to practice what I like to call "Reviewer's Synergy" by taking a look at Deadly Excursion, another Lifetime film that stars Samaire Armstrong playing the mother of a character played by a Disney Channel alum who appeared on A.N.T. Farm.

In a nutshell, Deadly Excursion is very similar to The Wrong Cruise, a fellow Lifetime film concerning an estranged mother and daughter who go on a tropical vacation in an attempt to reconcile, only to find themselves in grave danger thanks to a charming man that begins romancing the mother. Deadly Excursion shares not only several plot points in common with Wrong Cruise, but also replicates its strong points when it comes to its story amping up the intensity and defying those who accuse Lifetime of being predictable. Midway through the film, the plot takes an abrupt turn from the standard route it appears to be going down, with the film only getting crazier from that point onward. Like Wrong Cruise, it makes for a thrilling watch, with the climax throwing so much at the audience that you might need to take a breath when it's all over.

Other elements of the film's plot, however, are where Deadly Excursion falls flat. The film doesn't start on a promising note for its lead heroine, as Samantha McCarthy is introduced harshly snapping at her fellow co-workers, casually bashing David and speaking callously about their separation in front of Ellie, and generally acting more like a spoiled teenager than her actual teenage daughter. While Sam's behavior is ultimately called out as wrong and Samaire Armstrong allows for a genuinely touching growth to take place within Sam, there's one aspect of Sam's character that can't be overlooked: her horrifically naive and occasionally outright idiotic demeanor with Javier.

While Callard Harris later transforms Javier into a nightmarishly callous villain a-la Wrong Cruise's Dante, his introductory scene to Sam suffers from Javier coming on way too strong with the artificial charm. Instead of coming across as suave and manipulatively alluring, Javier comes across as instantly creepy, resulting in Sam looking like an idiot for falling head over heels for him and his frequently disappearing Southern accent.

(Side note: a particularly idiotic and frankly disgusting moment for Sam is when, during the boat ride, she notices Javier looking at Ellie suggestively. Sam's reaction? Not to call Javier out for his perving, but to tell her daughter to cover up).

WARNING: Spoilers Below

A more recurring problem with Javier, however, is the fact that Deadly Excursion seems to be uncertain on what type of villain they want to make him. One moment, he's a repulsive and vaguely misogynistic monster, and the second, the film seems to be trying to give him a sympathetic side with the revelation that he's working for a man who threatens to kill him if he doesn't fulfill his needs. This inconsistency results in Javier becoming a wishy-washy antagonist; a problem Harris makes up for as much as he can by throwing himself into Javier's more malicious moments—which is where a character like him best thrives.

Although Javier's existence as the film's main villain brings up a major plot hole that the movie could've done without: Javier somehow surviving after being knocked out by Ellie and left floating in the ocean. Had the film stuck to its gun and let Javier die early on, it would've provided a rather surprise twist and had the film's focus be on Sam and Ellie surviving the elements while avoiding Javier's still-living cohorts that are still after them. But instead, Javier returns for the third act in one piece, leaving a strong potential plot twist unused in his wake and stretching the audience's disbelief suspension to the breaking point.

The film's surprise side antagonist, Javier's brother Ian, proves to be the more consistently developed villain of Deadly Excursion. In a neat trick of misdirection that separates the film from Wrong Cruise's shadow, Ian doesn't end up filling Rico's shoes as remorseful conspirator, instead proving to be not only just as ruthless as his brother, but far more unstable and obsessive over Ellie. Jonathan Bouvier plays Ian well through this arc, with his reveal as a wholly villainous psychopath being portrayed with a fervor by Bouvier that leaves Deadly Excursion's final twist with a distinct malice.

Spoilers Over

As for protagonists, Armstrong is (as stated before) strong throughout Sam's arc of character growth, and shares emotional scenes with both DeBerry and Nemec that sells the McCarthys as a troubled family that still love each other and wants to get back to what they once were. Nemec, in particular, brings a strong zeal to David's increased desperation to rescue his wife and daughter, sharing a particularly heartfelt scene with Armstrong that solidifies their chemistry together. DeBerry, meanwhile, is naturally sympathetic as caught-in-the-middle Ellie, selling Ellie's emotional devastation throughout the film with authenticity.

In smaller criticisms, many of Sam and Ellie's decisions throughout the beginning of the third act come across as uncharacteristically dense given their previous proactive actions—with all the poor decisions seemingly existing for plot convenience. Deadly Excursion also has a few problems with its soundtrack in the first act, as the music semi-frequently intrudes on the scene and makes the dialogue harder to understand.

Deadly Excursion has plenty of flaws when it comes to characters and a few in concern to story development, but in the end, it does what all Lifetime movies should set out to do: entertain. Once the viewer moves past the frustrating character inconsistencies and story pitfalls, Deadly Excursion proves itself to be a thrill-packed Lifetime romp that goes whole hog on the twists and turns of its narrative. Add to that a strong main cast that delivers excellent emotional depth to their characters, and you have a film that gives all the thrills Lifetime junkies crave. Just don't get too hung on the uneven bits, and Deadly Excursion will reward you for your tolerance.

Score: 7 out of 10 stomach growls that sound like bears.