Lifetime Review: 'Sinister Stepsister'

Apart from some work frustrations, life was normal for architect Jeff Mitchell (Matthew Pohlkamp), his doting wife Lisa (Jhey Castles), and their children Ella and Noah (Tu Morrow and Dayne Jarrah). But all of that changed with a simple trip to the bar to take his mind off things. It's there that Jeff runs into Carlee Byrne (Annika Foster), who gives him some shocking news: Jeff's her father! As it turns out, Jeff's high school girlfriend was pregnant when she moved away and they drifted apart, with Carlee only learning about her paternity after her mother's passing. After a DNA test definitively proves Carlee's his daughter, Jeff happily introduces her to his family and everyone is quickly charmed by the young woman.

Everyone, that is, except Ella. Despite Carlee's sweet smile and friendly demeanor, Ella can't help but feel there's something off about her. While her parents believe she's just not adjusting well to having a new sibling, Ella begins to realize her intuition about Carlee is right. But can she convince her family of that before it's too late?

In my last review, I covered A Deadly Grudge, which saw Annika Foster star as a young woman finding out she has a psychotic half-sister. Sinister Stepsister follows a similar premise, only Foster gets to play the psychotic half-sister this time around. While the previously released Lifetime drama was dully paced and stalely written, this newer feature has much more spring in its step and characters you're more likely to get invested in. Plus, when it comes down to their conclusions, Sinister Stepsister leaves its 2021 counterpart choking on its dust. Before that, the film also outdoes A Deadly Grudge when it comes to having a good protagonist. As opposed to the woefully bland Lindsey Peterson, Ella Mitchell starts and ends the movie as a fiery-spirited teen. She's a little rough around the edges, largely because of how she starts throwing attitude at Carlee the moment she meets her--before her half-sister starts acting suspicious. While I appreciate a Lifetime protagonist with Genre Savvy, it almost comes across that Ella is acting on insight about Carlee we didn't see her receive.

At the same time, Ella's sass is what makes her so fun to watch. Her unapologetic feistiness makes her oddly endearing and Tu Morrow gives the ideal performance for such a character. She makes Ella bold without letting her get annoying and is at her best when Ella goes from petulant snarker to moderately competent investigator. Amidst all her sarcastic jabs and shrill rants to her parents, Ella never lets you forget that she genuinely loves her family and wants to protect them from the madwoman who's manipulating them. Ella's right-out-of-the-gates disregard for Carlee also keeps Jeff and Lisa from coming across as grossly naïve or dismissive. With Ella being so transparent about her disdain for Carlee, it makes sense for her parents to assume her claims against her stepsister are just a product of her lashing out. It's especially understandable in Jeff's case, considering how he feels guilty for having not been there for Carlee when she was growing up.

In a departure from her somewhat strained performance in A Deadly Grudge, Annika Foster is well within her element as Carlee Byrne. Unlike the villainess of Foster's previous "Evil Half-Sibling" movie, Carlee effectively keeps her lunacy hidden away when she needs to. Foster sells both sides of Carlee's personality, but is at her best when Carlee lets her real self show. Whether she's using seduction to solve her father's work troubles or threatening those who pose a risk to her place in the Mitchell household, Carlee is made into an ideal Lifetime villain because of Foster's efforts. You love seeing her work her wicked magic, wince during her crueler moments, and you might even feel a little bad for her when all is revealed at the end. Speaking of, the climax for Sinister Stepsister is an intense affair where Foster and Morrow bounce well off each other. SPOILER ALERT And after an intense standoff and scuffle, Ella ends the film on a badass note by kicking Carlee to her demise. It's an awesome way to cap off the scene, even if the poor special effects detract from it a little.

(PS: for someone so determined to cover her tracks, Carlee sure made an incredibly avoidable mistake holding onto Blake's wallet and the accurate DNA test results. She could've easily disposed of both pieces of incriminating evidence somewhere the Mitchells wouldn't find them.) Spoilers Over

The rest of the Mitchell family have equally capable actors behind them, even if Jhey Castles doesn't get much opportunity to show it. She gives a decent performance, but is stuck playing the least interesting character of the movie. The fact that Lisa easily believes one of Carlee's more egregious lies (in stark contrast to her more apprehensive husband) only makes matters worse. Matthew Pohlkamp fares better as Jeff, a likable and easygoing family man dealing with work problems on top of the Carlee revelation. In small ways, Pohlkamp allows Jeff's stress to become visible to the viewer, even as he puts on a brave face for his loved ones. Finally, there's the Lifetime newbie of the Mitchell cast members, Dayne Jarrah. In his first few scenes, it seems like Noah's just going to be an inconsequential Annoying Little Brother character. But as Sinister Stepsister goes on, Noah takes on a bigger role in the story and Jarrah's adorable portrayal makes it easy to feel sorry for the kid. First, he's tormented by bullies, and then he unknowingly befriends a psychopath.

In noteworthy non-Mitchell men, we have Johan Gran as Ella's boyfriend Ryan and Jacob Taylor as Jeff's co-worker Blake. Like Jarrah, Gran is new to the Lifetime circuit--something his occasionally shaky performance speaks to. But outside of those instances, Gran makes a fine debut as Ella's lovable beau. Being the definition of adorkable, you'll be as in love with Ryan as Ella is and grimace when he ends up getting pulled into Carlee's ruthless web. Blake, meanwhile, joins Noah in being a character who initially acts like an oft-seen Lifetime archetype before turning out to be more than that. From his first scene, you'd think he was your average smug workplace rival. But later on, Blake proves to be a relatively chill dude who seems to consider Jeff a friend and respects his architectural skill (at worst, Blake and Jeff could be considered frenemies.) Taylor does a stellar job giving Blake laid-back charm with just a hint of douchebaggery. So just like with Ryan, you'll feel bad for Blake when he ends up on Carlee's bad side.

In my review of A Deadly Grudge, I compared it to a stale cookie. Sinister Stepsister, however, is more akin to a freshly baked pizza. Taking a well-worn formula and injecting it with some new energy, the movie becomes a fun watch that doesn't end up running low on steam like A Deadly Grudge does. Most of the characters have strong personalities to them, which correlates with their actors giving strong performances. Annika Foster especially benefits from being given a role to play that has more range than her characters from A Deadly Grudge and Deadly Infidelity combined. So if Foster's last film about a deranged long-lost sister left you disappointed, Sinister Stepsister is just what you need to replenish your spirits.

Score: 8 out of 10 overnight envelopes.