Reviewing VC Andrews' Dawn (Part 4: "Midnight Whispers")

What a ride this has been, huh? I have really enjoyed the Dawn series, I have loved all three parts and was very excited for the conclusion of this saga, Midnight Whispers, which begins with Christie Longchamp (now a teenager) playing the piano, while Dawn sings and also shows pride in her and Jimmy's daughter. We also see Gavin, Jimmy's half-brother, as well as Christie's boyfriend, but on the flip side of the moral pendulum, we see Fern, Jimmy's troublemaking sister, and she's still quite catty--even more so than she was in Twilight's Child.

Worst of all, there's Philip, and he's still making plays for Dawn. It's like he's more turned on by Dawn after finding out that she's his biological sister! Even though he's married and has kids now, Dawn remains his obsession; he even forced his wife, Betty Ann, to become a blonde to fulfill his obsession, but entering this film, Betty Ann had no idea about her husband's insanely sick obsession.

Until she saw the photos.

It was Philip's mini-shrine to Dawn, but it was more than enough for Betty Ann to finally realize that her husband had been obsessively fawning over his sister. Betty Ann tears down the photos, and later overhears Philip's argument with Jimmy over Dawn, which ended with Philip bludgeoning Jimmy with a wrench. The gas is also activated, and we see Dawn rushes to Jimmy's aid. And then...

BOOM!

Jimmy and Dawn are both gone, leaving Christie to deal with the loss of her parents, as well as helping her younger brother, Jefferson, cope with the loss as well. There's another adjustment that Christie has to make: Philip and Betty Ann are now moving in to Cutler Cove, as they are Christie and Jefferson's legal guardians. Christie's request to live with Bronson Alcott (the lover of Laura Sue, who is only mentioned as being immensely ill; the novel confirmed that she did pass, so that's another one for the Devil to handle) is flatly turned down by Betty Ann, who wastes no time throwing her weight around by actually wearing some of Dawn's things and tossing Dawn and Jefferson's things aside. I'm a wrestling fan. I know a heel turn when I see one.

Betty Ann wastes no time antagonizing her niece and nephew, which included her son, Richard, revealing that she referred to Dawn as "white trash." Philip's defense of Christie angers Betty Ann, who forces a curfew on Christie, and slaps her when she stands up to her. Of course, we later see Philip force his way into Christie's room and attempt to sexually assault her, as he sees Christie as another Dawn. As for Betty Ann, she hears everything, and lays in her bed weeping. Yeah, I'm preparing my proverbial shovel to bury this witch with, but first, the rest of this review.

Christie knows that neither she nor Jefferson can stay in that house under their insane and deranged uncle, as well as their Lady Tremaine-esque aunt. She does know that Michael Sutton is her birth father, so she and Jefferson set off to find him, but he's clearly not in the fatherly shape. After Jefferson and Christie leave the house, they are encountered by Gavin, and they all went to the new and improved Meadows, where they officially meet Charlotte and Luther. The former half tells Christie about the Meadows' history, as well as the dark and twisted secrets that befell the Cutler family, leading to Christie being born at that very place. Someone is watching Christie as she, Jefferson, and Gavin become accustomed to living at the Meadows, and that someone is revealed to be Homer, who is uncovered as Luther and Charlotte's actual son. Very glad to see that out in the open.

However, what we were not glad to see was Fern, who managed to find Christie and inform her that Philip had been looking for her. She actually resorts to blackmailing Christie into allowing her and her boyfriend, Morton, into staying at the Meadows, even continuing to do so after learning why Christie ran off. Fern's terror comes to a halt when Jefferson suddenly falls ill, but once he is taken to the hospital, Philip appears, as Fern was actually disgruntled over people actually saving Jefferson's life, so she called Philip. Christie ends up back at the house, and receives a verbal lashing from Betty Ann, who gets slapped hard in response. Loved that slap! However, Christie ends up locked in her room by her insane aunt, and later on, Philip approached Christie with a promise to allow her to visit Jefferson in the hospital. As we would quickly see, it had strings attached, as Philip set up a "date" with Christie, who he kept calling "Dawn," and refused to let Christie see her brother unless their date progressed.

Christie runs off to Bronson, who tells him everything, and that ends with Bronson bringing the police with him to the house to confront Philip with everything Christie had revealed. Betty Ann, the demented simp that she is, tries to cover for her husband by claiming that he was home with her, while condemning both Christie and Dawn as liars. However, after Philip continues his own delusional simping towards his niece, Betty Ann snaps and informed police that Philip was responsible for killing Jimmy and Dawn, and that leads to Philip being arrested, though he still rants about her and Christie being together. A year passes, and with her ordeal now behind her, Christie has been accepted in to Julliard. The film, and the series, ends with Christie playing the piano, with her loved ones at her side, and the memories of her parents carrying her.

Midnight Whispers, the conclusion of the Dawn series, aired on Lifetime on July 29, 2023, and the film featured Megan Best as Christie Longchamp, who took over the lead protagonist role after Brec Bassinger's titular character was killed off early in the film. It was an easy transition for Christie, even though I had never read the novels, I knew that Christie would be the central focus, because she is such an amazing character to pull for. Born in the Meadows, separated from Dawn by Lillian out of spite, and now back in the loving home with Dawn and Jimmy, only to take charge of her life once tragedy hits. I loved Best in this film, she really showed out as Christie Longchamp. I would love to see Megan Best play more lead protagonist in Lifetime (or Tubi) films in the near future; this film proved that she can play those roles.

This actually isn't my first time watching Megan Best on screen. She was actually in Bring it On: Cheer or Die, which came out last fall. Best also appeared in the Hulu series, The Watchful Eye, which also featured fellow Dawn cast member Elyse Maloway (Clara Jean Cutler).

Time to talk about Betty Ann Cutler. We first saw Betty Ann in Twilight's Child, where she was introduced as Philip's wife, and in Part 3, she was very friendly to Dawn, and was also unaware of Philip's insane obsession with Dawn. The awareness came in the conclusion, and it led to the confrontation that came right before Philip killed Jimmy and Dawn. To play off John Cena's words from his ESPYs monologue, when all of the other villainesses are gone, what do you do? Make a new one, of course. Granted, Fern was still around, but the series' three most evil women were Lillian, Miss Emily, and Clara Jean.

So with those three gone, Betty Ann turned heel and took on that top villainess mantle in the series' conclusion, and boy, did she lay it on. Here's where my proverbial shovel comes in. Instead of letting her depraved pervert husband have it for his incestuous cravings, Betty Ann decided to torment, bully, and even shame Christie, even allow Philip to actually assault Christie. I recognized Betty Ann's portrayer when I watched Part 3, and then I saw the name: Chelsey Reist. We Lifetime film fans know that name and face; Chelsey Reist played psychotic villainess Lisa Moore in 2021's My Husband's Killer Girlfriend. As for Betty Ann, as amazing as she was in Part 3, and as phenomenal as her heel turn was in this conclusion, the character was so deranged and depraved. Here's her villainous scorecard.

Once Betty Ann finds out about Philip's obsession with Dawn, she takes her anger out on the deceased Dawn, Christie, and Jefferson. She bullies Christie, insults Dawn's memory, and the kicker, she KNOWS that Philip's in Christie's room trying to assault her, and what does she do? Just lie there and weep. She does nothing to stop it. Even as the police confront Philip in the final moments, Betty Ann tries to cover for her perverted husband while continuing to denigrate Christie and Dawn. It's only because of Philip's continued fawning over Christie that Betty Ann turns him in as Dawn and Jimmy's killer. Not out of any sense of righteousness or duty: flat out bitterness. How Betty Ann avoided any comeuppance is beyond me.

Chelsey Reist was amazing as the sweet-natured-turned-evil Betty Ann Cutler. She was amazing in Part 3, but once Betty Ann underwent her heel turn, we saw Reist take a gracious swan dive into Betty Ann's insane scorn and viciousness, and I definitely give that performance a 10! Reist's other film appearances include 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded and Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls, and regarding TV roles, she recurred on The 100 as Harper McIntyre.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed the Dawn miniseries, it was every bit as good as the Ruby series from a few years ago. I hope Lifetime releases the films on DVD, I'll definitely get my own set if that happens. I did learn that the four novels are not all from the Dawn series; a prequel titled, Darkest Hour focused on Lillian Cutler's early years. If I know Lifetime, they'll release their rendition of Darkest Hour in due time, most likely in 2024. Even so, it was a pleasure to watch these films, and a bigger pleasure to review all of them!

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