'The Stepchild': Lifetime Movie Mystery On TV This Saturday, Starring Lauren Holly, Sarah Fisher
Traciy Reyes
The Stepchild, also known as Stepchild, is a new Lifetime thriller that is coming your way this weekend. It is a dramatic new mystery movie about a teenage girl, who suffered a mental breakdown after a deadly home invasion left her stepmother badly injured and her father dead. The Stepchild is directed by Roma Roth and written by Gemma Holdway. It stars Lauren Holly as Beth, the stepmother, Sarah Fisher as Ashley, Paul Johansson as John, the business partner, Marni Van Dyk as Ashley's biological mother, Keenan Tracey as Michael, and Rachel Pellinen as Young Ashley.
Lifetime's The Stepchild movie synopsis
Lifetime's The Stepchild is centered around Ashley, a teen girl who was left mentally broken after she was a victim of a home invasion. During the attack at the family's home, Ashley's sweet stepmother, Beth, was hurt, and her father was killed. Although she has received help from her psychiatrist, she still believes that the family might be in danger. Upon returning home, where the invasion took place, Ashley is immediately put on guard when she sees that her stepmother has a new man visiting the house. And not just any man — her dead father's business partner, John!
Immediately, Ashley becomes suspicious that John is trying move in on her father's territory. And her fears are confirmed after she finds a document that indicates John is proposing to buy Bennet and Blackwell, her father's commercial development company. However, Beth is now in charge of everything, leading Ashley to believe that John killed her father and now wants Beth dead in order to take over the company.
Digging further into John's background, Ashley finds out that his previous wife died, prompting her to take her suspicions to the police, who don't seem to take the allegations seriously. In the meantime, her psychiatrist is convinced that Ashley's feelings are all a part of her previous breakdown, and that she might be suffering from post-traumatic stress.
Even worse, John is trying to convince Ashley's stepmother, Beth, that Ashley is having hallucinations, which could put them all in danger. Soon, all sorts of emotional anguish and pain bubble to the surface, causing Ashley to doubt herself and making her wonder if she's right about John, or if she is slowly losing her mind.
Actress Lauren Holly, according to Hallmark Channel.
"Born in Bristol, Pennsylvania, the daughter of two college professors, Lauren Holly was raised in Geneva, New York. Her childhood was split between experiences of growing up in a rural town and the sophistication of her parents' academic careers. She credits her love for acting to her great-grandmother, who bred a family tradition of 'treading the boards' on the musical theater stages of Liverpool and London.
Holly's breakthrough performance in film came in the box office smash 'Dumb and Dumber.' Next, she received glowing reviews for her performance in the Edward Burns drama 'No Looking Back.' Her other film credits include 'Any Given Sunday,' 'Sabrina,' 'Turbulence,' 'Beautiful Girls,' 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,' 'A Smile Like Yours,' 'The Adventures of Ford Fairlane,' 'Down Periscope,' 'Entropy,' 'The Last Producer,' 'What Women Want,' 'Colored Eggs' and 'U-Boat.' She also lent her voice to the character of Chihiro's mother in the animated motion picture 'Spirited Away.' Holly recently appeared in 'The Pleasure Drivers,' 'Down and Derby,' 'Fatwa' and 'Raising Flagg.'
The Stepchild's plot could be based on any true case. For the past several years, there have been several true stories with similar storylines. One of the most infamous home invasion cases, in which the business partner was responsible, involved the case of the McStays, a family of four who disappeared from their California home. The case was the subject of heavy speculation for many years and was finally solved after their dead bodies were discovered in the desert. Police arrested the McStay's business partner.
Lifetime's The Stepchild is produced by Reel World Management, with Christopher E. Perry and Roma Roth as executive producers of the film. It has themes dealing with violent home invasions, marriage, and stepparent relations. Filming for this flick took place in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, according to Internet Movie Database. Tune in for this dramatic new thriller this Saturday, March 12th at 8 p.m.
[Image via The Stepchild/Facebook]