Lifetime Review: 'Stalked by a Prince'

Alyssa Banks (Natalie Hall) is a publicist living an ordinary life in the city. But that all changes when she meets someone special at a work party: Prince Jack (Jonathan Keltz), the Earl of Northshire. At the urging of her best friend, Alyssa chats with Jack and is quickly swept up by his charming allure. Having just gone through a bad breakup, someone like Jack is just who Alyssa is looking for. A whirlwind romance ensues, with Jack even inviting Alyssa to accompany him back to his home for a visit. While hesitant at first, Alyssa eventually agrees and is soon on a private plane headed for Northshire.

But what Alyssa doesn't realize is that her fairy tale is actually a horror story. Beneath her Prince Charming's handsome face and velvety accent is an unstable man with a violent past. And now that she's arrived at Jack's castle estate, she's one step away from meeting the same fate as other women who have been romanced by the psychotic prince. Will Alyssa learn the truth about her royal Romeo in time? Or will a beautiful British palace become this American woman's gravesite?

Last year, Natalie Hall and Jonathan Keltz starred together in the Hallmark feature Fit for a Prince. In it, Hall plays a woman whose job leads her to meet and fall in love with a prince played by Keltz. This year, the pair reunite on Lifetime in Stalked by a Prince, a movie where Hall...plays a woman whose job leads her to meet and fall in love with a prince played by Keltz. Seeing as how there's a little overlap when it comes to the movies' behind-the-scenes crew, I'd say the intention was for Stalked by a Prince to act as a Lifetime pseudo-remake of Fit for a Prince. If that's the case, the result is an overall success. While the film has some noticeable flaws, Stalked by a Prince remains a fairly enjoyable thriller most memorable for its deliciously twisted villain.

Starting with the malicious soon-to-be monarch himself, Prince Jack is the epitome of a royal brat. Unhinged, arrogant, and prone to throwing fits whenever someone tries to tell him what to do, Jack is quick to let his true colors show once Alyssa isn't around to see them. Jonathan Keltz excels at playing a psychotic man-child, even when Jack's dialogue takes a turn for the laughable. As for Jack's dashing prince façade, his wooing of Alyssa initially does feel overtly pretentious. But eventually, it levels out and Jack's seduction of Alyssa is (for the most part) believable. Natalie Hall, however, is left to play a much less dynamic character. When compared to the mad-as-a-hatter Prince Jack, Alyssa Banks is rather drab. Hall's performance isn't bad per se, but at times, it appears even she struggles to find anything interesting in the nondescript PR agent. She's at her best towards the end of the film once Alyssa has learned the truth about Jack. After that, Hall beautifully captures Alyssa's fear as well as her determination to escape Jack's clutches with her life. As good as they are before, Keltz and Hall blend best in the climax, making it a riveting conclusion thanks to their fiery cat-and-mouse chemistry.

SPOILER ALERT My only major complaint about Stalked by a Prince's climax is how I wish Jack's family were more involved than they were. It would've been interesting if when Timothy's wife told him to "handle" his brother, he joined Jack in trying to kill Alyssa, revealing the couple is aware of Jack's murderous deeds and are willing to cover for him to protect their family's reputation. It's also a bit funny how, in addition to fleeing into the woods rather than making a break for town, Alyssa isn't able to outrun Jack despite him being delayed by both Taffer and Timothy. The epilogue, meanwhile, is truly baffling. It's more than a little strange to end the movie with Rachel and Alyssa talking about their plans to start their own firm. Keep in mind that Alyssa is fresh off a nightmarish ordeal and Rachel has presumably just been reunited with her best friend who was nearly murdered. The fact that this is the first we hear about such business plans (previously, Alyssa and Rachel spent more of their work time gossiping than actually getting anything done) only adds to the weirdness. Spoilers Over

While the actors behind the supporting characters are generally solid, Konstantina Mantelos is the dented crown of the bunch. Her character, Alyssa's friend/co-worker Rachel, is as generic as they come. She's a somewhat annoying "goofy best friend of the more reserved heroine" character, with her dialogue being roughly 30% snarky quips, 30% gushing about men, and 40% spectating her bestie's dating life. Mantelos' bland performance doesn't do Rachel any favors in the likability department. As for Jack's associates, we have his bodyguard Taffer and his brother Timothy. Michael Swatton is appropriately stern as the morally conflicted guard while Alexander Crowther makes Timothy a character you might loathe as much as Jack. While clearly the saner of the two men, Timothy can get just as nasty with his words as Jack can and never appears genuinely concerned for his sibling's mental health. Instead, it would seem he and his wife Susan (Mélanie St-Pierre) care more about stopping Jack from besmirching the family name than about keeping him from hurting himself or others. For all his Jack-related faults, Taffer is the only person in the prince's circle who actually cares about his welfare.

While I can't say how it compares to its Hallmark counterpart, Stalked by a Prince makes for an entertaining thriller about a royal romance gone awry. Even though it takes until the second act for Alyssa to reach the palace, the early reveal of Jack's true nature and Jonathan Keltz's stellar performance make up for it. Natalie Hall is an emotional powerhouse once she's given something other than "average, everyday woman" to work with and the slow-boiling action comes to an explosive finale complete with guns, knives, and dramatic confrontations. It's not quite throne-worthy, but Stalked by a Prince still does enough to make its Johnson Production Group ancestors proud.

Score: 7 out of 10 slightly overpriced chauffeurs.