Lifetime Review: 'Old Flames Never Die'

Kira Young (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) had it all: a thriving career as a novelist, a beautiful home, and a handsome husband-to-be in famous actor Tyson Harris (Rich Paul). But her idyllic life falls apart the day a viral video reveals that Tyson cheated on her. Not only that, but his mistress has gone missing and the police suspect Tyson of being involved. Heartbroken and in need of space from both Tyson and the press, Kira decides to visit her hometown. There, she reunites with old friends as well as Weston "Wes" Wade (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), her high school sweetheart turned owner of the town brewery. After hanging out and reminiscing about their past relationship, Kira gives in to her vulnerability and shares a passionate night in bed with Wes.

By morning, however, Kira is already regretting her lapse in judgment. After all, she believes Tyson had nothing to do with his lover's disappearance and is hoping to patch things up with him. At first, Wes appears to take Kira's rejection in stride. But as Kira soon learns, Wes has no intention of losing her to Tyson. Turns out Wes never got over his high school love...and now that she's back in town, he's not about to let her get away again.

Ironic that Old Flames Never Die premiered so soon after The Wrong High School Sweetheart. Both are Lifetime movies that center around a woman with a troubled marriage reconnecting with her high school boyfriend, who she learns is obsessed with her after they share a brief and regrettable moment of passion. And just like the film that came before it, Old Flames Never Die knows what to do to be a fun Lifetime thriller. The pacing is just as smooth as its predecessor's, the characters and their performers are just as solid, and the villain is deliciously evil while having a motivation more complex than simply being a scorned lover. Throw in the fact that it's directed by Lifetime mainstay Jake Helgren and stars the son of a cinema icon and this movie has more than enough to make it worth checking out.

Let's first talk about Kira Young and Wes Wade. Being the lead characters of the film, it's unsurprising that they receive the most significant developments. Kira and Wes's backstories aren't thrown at the viewer right at the beginning. Instead, the script keeps those cards close to the vest for a while, leaving the audience to wonder what's hiding in Kira and Wes's pasts. Once all is revealed, you'll feel even worse for Kira and be left with no doubts as to how Wes grew up to be such a psychopath. Even before Kira's traumatic past is fully revealed, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe makes it easy to sympathize with and root for Kira. Between Tyson's infidelity and Wes going from charming to possessive, Kira is put through a lot by the men in her life. SPOILER ALERT Even her outwardly supportive old friend Randy is revealed to be a jerk. He agreed to Wes's insane plan of luring Kira back to town, encourages her ill-advised hookup with Wes, and is willing to leave his passed-out friend alone with a guy he knows is obsessed with her. Spoilers Over After all she puts up with throughout the film, it's super satisfying to see Kira fight back against Wes's cruelty.

Meanwhile, Kira's unhinged high school beau is just as well-written and well-performed as The Wrong High School Sweetheart's Danny Brooks. With his inviting smile and easygoing demeanor, Wes quickly charms the vulnerable Kira and it's not hard to see why. Lou Ferrigno Jr. does great work with Wes's unassuming exterior and is even better once the real Weston Wade starts to come out. As arrogant as he is vicious, Wes holds no punches when tormenting Kira for turning him down. When he starts throwing the tragedies of Kira's life in her face and acting like she owes him her affections, you'll want Kira to knock the guy's teeth out. Admittedly, though, there is a laughable moment during Wes's villainous spiral where Ferrigno randomly gives Wes a thick Southern accent that disappears immediately after the scene ends.

It's once Wes's backstory is revealed that his gross attitude towards women and sense of entitlement over Kira make complete sense. At times, it feels less like Wes wants Kira back and more like he just wants to destroy her as payback for her rejection. Like Danny Brooks, Weston Wade is essentially the grown-up version of those teenage boys who think being the "star athlete" makes them untouchable. SPOILER ALERT The only snag in Wes's characterization occurs during the otherwise stellar climax. While Ferrigno gives an excellent performance as he terrorizes Kira, Wes's intentions flip-flop between wanting Kira back and wanting to kill her. It would've made more sense for him to stick with the latter. By the final act, it seemed Wes had fully given up on winning Kira over and was now focused on murdering her. Speaking of the climax, it's a little weird that Tyson doesn't even try to tell the deputy that Wes is on his way to kill Kira. It would've been easy to throw in a bit where Tyson does tell the deputy, only to be dismissed because it's the word of an outsider against that of the Sheriff's golden boy son. Instead, Tyson resorts to ambushing and handcuffing the deputy before going to rescue Kira.

(PS: this leads to another cringey moment where Tyson drops a one-liner that sounds like it was pulled from a cheesy action movie trailer before leaving the police station. Though I'm half convinced the line was meant to be a cheeky allusion to the popular action film Tyson was in that gets referenced on a few occasions, so it's not as bad as Wes's corny "I'll kill you, pretty boy!" moment.) Spoilers Over

Unfortunately, the other man in Kira's life doesn't get nearly as much development as Wes. Rich Paul does a good job playing Tyson Harris, making you believe he truly regrets his dalliance and wants to make amends to Kira. But for some reason, the film decides to keep Tyson and Kira's reconciliation offscreen. From what we see, Tyson shows up in Kira's hometown, and a short while later, any tension between them is basically gone. Even with Tyson's remorse and his arrival in town coming just as Wes's true nature was starting to show, it's weird that Kira and Tyson never have a proper conversation regarding the former's affair and what it means for their future. At least Paul and Lowe are still able to work well together despite their characters' lack of relationship development.

The rest of the male cast is given a lot more to chew on, particularly Chris Gann as Wes's father Sheriff Wade. While the sheriff initially seems like he'll be nothing more than a side character, his backstory and some of his actions speak volumes of the role he played (consciously or otherwise) in making Wes the person he is. Props to Gann for subtly making Sheriff Wade just as chilling as his more overtly menacing offspring. Preston Sadleir gives a lovable performance as Kira's sassy gay high school friend while fellow Lifetime critic Patrick Serrano makes a fun cameo as Tyson's even sassier gay PR agent Jordi. The last of the noteworthy supporting cast members is Whitney Able as Avery, another high school classmate of Kira's. While Avery is established as someone Kira didn't get along with in high school, present-day Avery isn't the catty snob her reputation would suggest she'd be. Instead, she becomes a true ally and friend to Kira, even giving her an early warning about Wes due to her unsettling history with him. Able allows the viewer to empathize with Avery as much as they do with Kira once Avery reveals how she got acquainted with Wes's dark side.

While The Wrong High School Sweetheart gets a bit more subversive with obsession thriller tropes than Old Flames Never Die, this movie remains another strong entry to Jake Helgren's Lifetime catalog. By adding some specks of depths to an oft-seen storyline, Helgren gives Old Flames Never Die a little more heat than it would've had as a straightforward tale of a woman's ex-paramour transforming into a deranged stalker. In addition to the well-crafted story, the acting is of similar good quality and the slasher-esque climax ends the film with a cathartic bang. So if you love a good Lifetime thriller and/or are a fan of Patrick Serrano's content on Lifetime Uncorked, give this film a watch. You'll be entertained and get to see one of my film blogging compatriots live every Lifetime fanatic's dream.

Score: 8 out of 10 mercantile treats.