'Don't Scream, It's Me' Reviews: "a serviceable thriller, even in all of its ridiculousness"

         On October 27, 2024, 'Don't Scream, It's Me' was released on Lifetime, receiving predominantly psoitive reviews from critics. In the film, "Fifteen years ago, Liz's ex-boyfriend, Drew, was caught robbing a bank. Now, he's in her backyard, asking her to hide him after a prison escape." The ensemble cast includes Kaylah Zander, Nathanael Vass, Juliette Hawk, and Matt Hamilton. But what did the critics say?

        HOTCKA says, "Lifetime dips into the prison break genre with its latest ‘Inspired by true events’ thriller with the unintentionally comical title Don’t Scream, It’s Me!. The story begins with a lone man walking down the road at night, coming upon a diner with apparently one employee, Mallory (Kennedy Rowe), on duty. The poor girl has just broken up with her boyfriend over the phone because he’s more interested in videogames, and when she attends to the lone customer, they both see a report on TV about a prison break… and the man in the booth is one of the two men on the screen. This is not going to end well for Mallory. Cut to the lavish home of police officer Jay (Matt Hamilton) and nurse Liz (Kaylah Zander), a couple whose marriage is on the verge of collapse as Liz has asked for Jay to give her some space, including the kitchen. She still seems really irritated with him about going to Mexico for their honeymoon instead of Paris — and we don’t know how long they’ve been married (or how they could afford that amazing house in the middle of nowhere) — but no matter how hard Jay tries to get back into Liz’s good graces, she’s not having it. She’s also pissed that he hasn’t fixed the dryer yet so now she has to walk up and down the stairs to the ‘back yard’ to hang the laundry out to dry (and it’s not a short walk), getting a surprise visitor while she’s there — her ex-boyfriend Drew, the second of the two men who broke out of prison. Flashbacks reveal that when the two met as teenagers, Liz told him it was her dream to live in Paris, and he attempted to rob a bank to make that happen. What he doesn’t know until later is that it was Liz who turned him in. Now he’s back and has unwittingly made her an accomplice for aiding and abetting him in his escape, offering him some of Jay’s clothing (he won’t miss anything as long as it doesn’t have a sports team logo on it … or it’s orange)." Adding, "Don’t Scream, It’s Me! is a serviceable thriller, even in all of its ridiculousness. This is one of those ‘smart people do stupid things’ stories that are more contrived than plausible. The whole story centers on Liz’s unhappiness with her marriage and her once fond feelings for Drew. Will she do what’s right, or does she think she can run away with Drew to Paris, becoming international fugitives? Is she smart enough to realize she’ll face legal consequences for harboring a fugitive? Will she come to the conclusion that, darn it, she can make it on her own after all? And will either of the escapees survive the day? Because you know Jay is going to show up again and have his world rocked by seeing Liz’s ex at the house. There is a lot here that requires a suspension of disbelief (such as how both Liz and Frost easily unlock police-issued handcuffs). Luckily the movie does have some strong performances to keep it all from getting too silly. Kaylah Zander is fine as Liz. She never gets flustered by anything, almost giving a one-note performance, but this is explained away by Liz’s nursing career, a profession in which she always has to keep a cool head. Matt Hamilton is also fine as Jay, but he’s written in a way that makes him oblivious to his surroundings, especially when he comes home for no reason and doesn’t seem to think Liz is acting weird when she clearly is (and he doesn’t see the handcuff dangling from the handle). He does get a very shocking moment near the end when he finds Drew is at the house, becoming a bit more ferocious. It’s clear though from their performances that Liz and Jay do not belong together, so that’s either some great acting or Zander and Hamilton just had no chemistry. We’ll be generous and say it was great acting. The real stars of the show are Nathanael Vass and Roark Critchlow as Drew and Frost, respectively. Vass portrays Drew as a lovesick puppy dog because he has been pining for Liz all these years in prison (how he found her is a question that is never answered)."

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