PSYCHO MOTHER-IN-LAW

Romy Rosemont as the psycho mother-in-law

PSYCHO MOTHER-IN-LAW (aka Mad Mom/2019 telefilm). Director: Jean-Francois Rivard. 

Sharon Vickers (Romy Rosemont) works as a nurse for hospice care and thinks nothing of helping her patients along on their journey to the other side. When her daughter, Amber (Victoria Diamond), gets engaged to Luke (Matthew Raudsepp), Sharon travels from Cleveland to Boston to meet Luke and his mother, Jill (Kari Matchett), staying in Jill's stylish and beautiful home. Sharon doesn't mind that the engagement party will take place at Jill's, but is distressed to learn that so will the wedding ceremony and reception, and that Jill has talked Amber out of wearing her mother's old-fashioned wedding dress. Fearing that she is being pushed out of the plans as well as her daughter's life, the paranoid sociopath embarks on a campaign to correct these perceived injustices. Before it all comes to a boil, things will definitely get out of hand ... 

Diamond, Raudsepp, Matchett

Psycho Mother-in-Law is essentially a fun, easy to take, Lifetime movie that is all too reminiscent of similar pictures. The two lead actors are more than competent, but let's face it, this kind of movie really cooks if you've got two very strong presences in the film, but obviously Bette Davis and Joan Crawford weren't available. The other cast members are all okay, with Salvatore Antonio making the best impression as Jill's gallery partner, Evan. When Sharon nurses Jill after an "accident," Jill seems to take forever to finally ask the unpleasant woman to leave, and while this may not be a slasher film, it's ridiculous that a sequence in which someone gets their throat cut displays virtually no blood. The musical score gives the film the energy that the direction lacks, but the closing theme is a little too Psycho-like to suit me. 

Verdict: At least the ending is neat! **1/2.