Lifetime Review: 'The Twin'

If anyone who works in Lifetime is reading this, I'd like to take a moment to ask you for a favor: once, just once, I'd like you to make a movie about identical twins where one of the twins isn't a homicidal manic. It would be so cool to maybe use twins for another cinematic purpose—like maybe a movie about twins working to solve their mother's unsolved murder or teaming up to take down a violent stalker. Something beside a non-scientific take on Jekyll and Hyde would be a much appreciated surprise.

In the case of this 2017 MarVista Entertaiment feature, the titular twins are Tyler and Derek (both played by Timothy Granaderos, who you might recognize as obnoxious bully Montgomery from Netflix's 13 Reasons Why). Tyler is the good twin, while Derek is the evil twin. Years prior, Derek killed his girlfriend, along with his and Tyler's parents, in a car accident that occurred while they were in the midst of a heated argument. Now, Derek is confined to a psychiatric hospital, where Tyler visits him often.

Outside of his troubling past, Tyler has adjusted well, as he's now attending college and has developed a serious relationship with Jocelyn (Jess Gabor), to the point where she's ready for him to meet her mother Ashley (Brigid Brannagh). But in the midst of his stay at Jocelyn's, Tyler visits Derek and winds up being knocked out by his brother, who steals his clothes and escapes the hospital under the claim of being Tyler. As we later learn, Derek has been faking delusions that he was Tyler, leading the hospital staff to believe Tyler is really Derek and respond to his pleas for help with medicine. As Tyler struggles to prove his identity, Ashley begins to notice something is amiss with "Tyler" and works to prove the truth—and save her daughter from the clutches of a psychopath.

Plot wise, The Twin doesn't offer much to delve in to. The plot goes the exact direction you'd expect it to, with nothing present that hasn't already been done in countless other Lifetime features. Even the "good/evil twin swap out" plot and side plot of Tyler trying to prove his identity hearken back to older films, of Lifetime descent and otherwise. But despite the recycled plot threads that compromise the film, The Twin is somewhat watchable. The protagonists rise above the potential stagnancy the film's uninspired nature could inspire and can (hopefully) prevent viewers from switching the channel on The Twin.

Speaking of protagonists, The Twin's acting talents are where this movie put all its' chips. Brigid Brannagh is a highly proactive and likable heroine, while Jess Gabor manages to strike a perfect balance of naïveté in her portrayal of Jocelyn. She may fall for the charms of her boyfriend's doppelgänger, but she shows in the film's climax that she's not as brainless as some Lifetime heroines (cough cough, 16 and Missing, cough cough). Louis Mandylor also appears as Ashley's boyfriend, and his authentic sense of charm and chemistry with Brannagh allows him to jump of the screen in a surprising way.

The most praise of The Twin, though, should have to go to Timothy Granaderos and his dual performance as good Tyler and evil Derek. As Tyler, Granaderos gives a heartbreaking portrayal of a young man desperate to reconnect with his troubled sibling, seemingly willingly blind to the fact that he's beyond help and holds nothing but hate for his brother. After Derek pulls his swap-out and Tyler's pleads of the truth are disregarded as delusions, Tyler is left a drugged and desperate mess, with his scene where he confronts Ashley as she arrives at the hospital to find answers being one of pure heartache. Meanwhile, as Derek, Grandaderos is a force of diabolical nature, being able to portray both a manipulative charmer as well as a deliciously vicious raging psychopath.

While The Twin has issues of originality and plotting, the acting more than makes this worth a few watches. Brigid Brannagh and Louis Mandylor are likely not unfamiliar names to the Lifetime community, so if for nothing else, watch to see them give excellent performances alongside Jess Gabor and Timothy Granaderos.

Score: 6.5 out of 10 plot convenient flash card study sessions.