Stranger with My Face

It was one of my favorite books by Lois Duncan. The Acting and the script was terrible...though I would blame it on the Director...every actor reading lines as if the film was made in the early 80's, because they're all saying their lines the same way Heather Langencamp and Ronnie Blakely did in Elm Street.

Lois Duncan wrote a Great story. The film ruined it.

I am not a syfy fan but the film had enough "Lifetime" in it that I really didn't notice the syfy. However the script supervisor was off their game...again.

Laurie (Alexz Johnson) is haunted with the accidental death of her father. Her mother Shelley Stratton (Catherine Hicks) moves her and sister Alexis (Emily Hirst) to the family's remote country home. Alexis claims that Laurie tried to choke her in her sleep. Some of the kids at her new school seems to know her or seen her when it wasn't her.

This tries to do the it's-all-in-her-head misdirection. It's trying to be a paranoid mystery. It needs to hold back some of the school kids. It needs to slow-roll the information and maybe leave the reveal to the third act. It also needs better directing style to make this work. I can see this done in a better way. This is a Lifetime movie but the story may fit better as a psychological horror.

I didnt know it was the Lois Duncan book until later on in the movie. I read the book as a kid. It wasnt a great plot. But it was okay. The movie itself wasnt any better and such a disappointment. It was boring and sadly white washed, which is annoying because the main character is Native American, which was one rarity when the book came out. Overall, the changes were the regular Hollywood changes. It had some parts true to the book but it was largely disappointing. Oh well, its a tv movie. I would not recommend even if I didnt read the book.

I had gained a huge obsession with with the novel Stranger with My Face, written by Lois Duncan, after reading it 3 times.

Books that get made into movies always get bad feedback, for example: Twilight, The Da Vinci Code etc. So don't be surprised if you find yourself hating this film. There have been large changes to the movie compared to the novel. Laurie is originally Indian looking, unfortunately, she is casted with Alexz Johnson who is a blonde white girl. Significant characters; Neal, Meghan and her Father had been removed from the story. The existing characters are also very different however they are somewhat likable. The casting in this is film is good based on the screenplay, yet horrible compared to the novel. As much as I liked the novel I found myself connecting well with the loosely based characters; Laurie, Helen, Gordon, Shelley and Alexis.

I did enjoy the film, but I enjoyed the book better. I am a huge fan of horror films and I can adapt well with straight to DVD/TV films. If you enjoyed the book you may not enjoy the movie as huge changes have been made. Its not a great movie. But its not a horrible movie. I'd rather watch this instead of "Wrong Turn 2" or "Joy Ride 2."

Give it a chance see if you like it. Its not terrible and trust me its better than most movies that weren't released in theaters.