The Obsession

This movie needs to serve crackers for as cheesy as it is! The entire plot is predictable and b-o-r-i-n-g.

Daphne needs some serious acting lessons - does she play the same character in everything she does? Always a surprised victim, duh! Actually ALL of the performers need to learn to act. I think the local elementary school would have done a more convincing job!

The dancing is good, but it can't save this made for TV movie.

Save yourself the time and trouble, sit down and watch the dust settle on the mantle for more entertainment! Because this will bore you to death! Y U C K!

I've seen a lot of Lifetime movies in the past and have a pretty good idea of what's good and what's not. This one does not even live up to the most basic Lifetime movie, which is disappointing because the story could have been good.

Deborah Matthews is recently divorced mother of 16-year old daughter, Erika. Erika is an aspiring ballet dancer who is eligible to audition for a prestigious dance company and tries to spend every spare moment rehearsing for the big day. The ballet instructor, Mr. Kappas, leaves town without warning, forcing the dance school to hire Reed Halton. Of course, as in all Lifetime movies, he is not who he says he is, but before any of the other characters can figure it out, he's already insinuated himself into their lives.

I figured out every upcoming plot twist within 20 minutes of watching this movie. I was looking forward to it being a fan of Daphne Zuniga, but I was quickly bored with the story, with the acting, and with the direction of the film. We were subjected to dozens of slow montages of Erika dancing in various outfits in the ballet studio. I grew tired of the accompanying music very quickly. I won't pretend to know much about ballet, but I do know ballerinas are supposed to be graceful and light on their feet. In this film, Erika didn't appear to be the magnificent ballerina everyone around her said she was. The transitions from one step to another seemed clumsy and her entire routine seemed simplistic and unimpressive. I believe the filmmakers were trying to drive home that she's so beautiful a dancer, who wouldn't be mesmerized and become obsessed with her? They overdid it and failed.

Reed's character was not well-written. At first, he seems fairly normal and gets along with everybody well. Halfway through the movie he turns into a creep. His motives are weak and undeveloped. We're given one explanation about why he's so crazy, but it doesn't hold up well. There are many unrealistic things in this movie, like a website you can just click around and find someone's criminal record from another state. The way the cops act throughout the movie are very unrealistic as well.

Overall, this movie is just poorly executed. The subplots are predictable and the acting is sub-par. I can think of plenty of other Lifetime movies which are better than this one in every way. Avoid it if you can. 4/10

I usually like to leave positive comments but I just have to react to this horrible movie. Like everyone else said, the teenage victim is one of the worst actresses I have ever seen. She was especially bad in the beginning when she is yelling at her mother for getting a divorce. She showed no emotion whatsoever. In fact, she barely showed any emotion throughout the whole movie. She had nothing to offer in looks, either. Her dancing was barely any better. Daphne Zuniga, who is usually a decent actress, fails to rise above the pathetic storyline. Sebastian Spence is the only actor in the whole movie who is worth watching. His character is very interesting but how can he fall for an unattractive, untalented teenage girl?! The red haired lady who was doing the teaching was very unattractive and was such a weird actress, whoever she is. The ending is very predictable and the movie never goes anywhere.

I'm only giving this movie three stars for Sebastian Spence of "First Wave" fame. Let's see more of him!

This film had promise with its story. I sadly have to agree with the other comments. The result of the film was terrible. The main reason being the acting of the actress who played Erika. She forced every line and was very poor. I too was wondering why she got the role.The other problem would have to be the MANY montages we have of Erika dancing. Half the film is Reed thinking of her dance and it gets boring (Although, a creep like Reed may ALWAYS think of the obsession.)The positive thing would be the actress who played the mother as well as the actor who played Reed were good. But overall, the films two problems out shined the positive.

I saw this about two years later for Canadian Thanksgiving, probably because our 'W' television network needed to serve up a turkey. Those who saw it when it was released got it right. This is borderline awful. The evidence is that the production company hasn't done a movie since putting out this turkey.

I would also like to add my voice to those who saw Elise Gatien as miscast as an aspiring ballerina. I'm not an aficionado of classical ballet by any means but Elise Gatien doesn't have the body of a ballet dancer. She's far too busty and heavy - look at her fanny for example.

The other thing is that the cops in this town must be the dumbest on earth, staking out one home but not another. Aren't there more than two cops to do all the police work? If it shows up again on your cable late at night, give it a pass.