Lifetime Review: 'Killer Twin'

Ever since she was adopted as a child, life for Kendra Walker (Lindsay Hartley) has been pretty idyllic. A fulfilling career as a teacher, a gorgeous home, a supportive and doting husband in Dane (Jason Cermak), and now with a baby on the way, Kendra couldn't feel more blessed. But unbeknownst to her, someone from her past has come back with an ax to grind: her twin sister Amber (also played by Hartley in a dual role), with the siblings being separated when they were young girls.

Having finally tracked down her long-lost sister, Amber finds herself intensely jealous and resentful over her sister's perfect life and decides she wants it for herself. As Amber goes about sabotaging Kendra's life, she ultimately has a goal in mind—taking over her sister's life and eliminating anyone standing in the way of her demented goal.....

After headlining Deadly Exchange and The Wrong Nanny last year, Lindsay Hartley proved herself to be a rising Lifetime star, and Killer Twin (which was originally under the title A Sister's Obsession) further proves her acting chops—especially given her taking on the role of twins. While her idyllic life gives Kendra the risk of coming off as a Mary Sue-esque character, Hartley is able to given Kendra enough genuine charm and compassion to make her character avoid becoming a bland protagonist. On the opposite side of things, Hartley truly shines as the psychotic and violently jealous Amber, tackling the role with ferocity as Amber goes to every length possible to take her long-lost sibling's life for herself. Jason Cermak also does good work with Dane, who has moments of being the typical "Clueless Lifetime Husband", but is ultimately a loving and compassionate man (his reaction to Kendra's pregnancy announcement couldn't be more adorable). He even has a moment towards the end of the movie where he shows regret over not being able to protect Kendra from Amber's wrath, serving as a big step up from most Lifetime husbands.

Action-wise, Killer Twin knows how to build suspense, with the build-up being effective without becoming unbearably slow or padded out. As soon as Amber begins her plot to find Kendra and sabotage her life, the tension begins to build, with the fact that Kendra is (for much of the film's first act) completely unaware of Amber's existence and her actions making it all the more intense. While the plot might not wind up being too surprising to any regular Lifetime viewer (especially anyone who has seen their past movies about evil twins), Killer Twin manages to craft its plot in a way to keep even the most well versed Lifetime fan immersed.

As was the case of Deadly Exchange and The Wrong Nanny, Killer Twin also has an underlying depth about its plot. The film's opening shows that, in their youth, Kendra and Amber appeared to have a bond together. But upon being separated, the two are put on separate paths of life, with Amber's being one that left her to grow up feeling unloved and unwanted, and seemingly believing that Kendra willfully abandoned her. Upon learning about the existence of her twin sister, Kendra (in spite of everything Amber had done to her at that point) still felt a sort of joyful surprise at the revelation that she had a sister. Even during the film's climax, when Amber's actions reach their peak, Kendra still feels sad regarding how her chance to bond with her sister was robbed from both of them as children. While Amber's actions are certainly inexcusable and her plot was motivated by petty jealousy, one can't help but feel that things might've gone differently if the sisters hadn't had their chance to bond ripped away from them.

Overall, Killer Twin is another great Lifetime thriller headlined by Lindsay Hartley, with her acting skills being officially proven to be warranting of her status as a Lifetime regular. The rest of the cast and the plot's perfect blend of heart and drama also makes this one Lifetime film that can't be missed. The evil twin plot may be well worn, but Killer Twin is certainly one of the best of the bunch.

Score: 10 out of 10 poppy seeds.