Legacy of Fear (2006)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Simply Perfect

Powerful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Teri Polo is a beautiful and incredibly talented actress, and it comes out in this movie. Polo delivers a powerful performance as Detective Jeanne Joyce, a relentless career woman in the mold of TV's Olivia Benson, who pursues a copycat serial killer from a 30-year old cold case. The last death of the original killer was that of her mother, while 6-year old Jeanne is locked in a closet, bound and forced to watch. The last murder drove Jeanne's father, the lead detective on the case, to suicide, and Detective Joyce is now out to put this grisly part of her past behind her once and for all. She starts out by finding a couple murdered in the park, and it is the exact same M.O. as the original killer--the male shot once in the back of the head, the female bound and gagged, and Polaroids of both victims prominently next to the bodies, hence the moniker BPS--Bound, Photographed, Strangled. It reminds you of the BTK case out of Wichita and the RDK case from a Law and Order: SVU episode in 2004. The killer taunts Jeanne with notes, but little does she know that the man she sits across the table from on a dinner date, the medical examiner, could very well be the copycat killer. Jeanne doesn't realize this, and soon her life and that of her grandmother, her only living relative, are in danger...

I've seen worse, but I've definitely seen Lifetime do better with its movies. It seems like so many recent LMN flicks suffer from unoriginal, filler plots. Legacy of Fear is no different, and it's a shame. You have a cast of good actors and you give them crap dialog and silly scenes, and it makes it all the more boring to watch. Oh well. There are a few redeeming moments in the flick, particularly the fight scene **potential spoiler** between the detective and serial killer, it's just, well, amusing... in an otherwise try-so-hard-to-take-me-serious movie. It's what I like to call a 'nothing but a paycheck' film. But like I said, I've seen much worse. It's a step above watching Survivor.

First off, I love Lifetime movies, but this is a true stinker.First, Teri Polo's character was totally unlikeable. The writers went too for trying to show her drive to catch the killer.She fought with her boss, co-workers, and her best friend constantly. If a detective had spoken to their boss the way she did ,she would be fired! Also,to go into a wooded area in the middle of the night with no backup? That would be a fire-able offense right there. With backup they might have saved the girl. They should have shown a little bit of vulnerability in Polo's character. Secondly, the killer's character was not fleshed out enough. Yes, he was the son of the first killer, but please give us some info on his childhood and life. Thirdly, what happened to the first killer, how did die,why did he stop killing,etc.? The writers dropped the ball on this one.

may contain SPOILERS!!! I saw this movie tonight on lifetime. The script is very predictable. It's quite obvious what will happen from one moment to the next. a very 'formula' film. the trauma ridden main character must ultimately confront demons from her past to reconcile her future and save the world from a serial killer. The main character fills the role of only a slightly believable soul-searching detective. Her relationships with the other characters seem, at times, painfully forced. There is little suspense or delivery concerning the eventual plot unfolding. And the motivation is scarcely believable. The plot turns seem to be a complete after thought. The tidy package ending was evident almost immediately. Despite all this, I found that film still oddly compelling. I found the actors themselves delivered an impressive performance. I'm interested to hear what other viewers thought about this film.