Erasing His Dark Past (2019 Lifetime)

Erasing His Dark Park  (2019 Lifetime)

Cast: ‎Michael Welch, Mary Badham, Al Sapienza, and Laurie Fortier

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

Karen’s (Fortier) perfect life starts to fall apart after her husband David (Welch) is presumed dead in a plane crash. As she works on getting David’s affairs in order, she begins to realize that her husband was not all he seemed, discovering he had multiple identities, massive debt and warrants out for his arrest. As Karen searches for the truth, she realizes that she never really knew the man she loved.

Thoughts

After so much Ripped from the Headlines, I was happy to jump into a Shocktober offering from Lifetime with a bottle of some nice red wine for fall.

The movie starts with a woman carrying red roses by a pool. (Is this The Bachelorette?) No, a hooded figure approaches her and smashes the flowers. 

Cut to a couple, David and Karen, drinking red wine. (Like me!) They are talking about their first date while cheesy music plays in the background. Karen’s teenage daughter, Annie, is late for curfew, and Karen reprimands her. Annie is all like, “David ‘s not my father”… which he isn’t. Karen’s husband died (while she was driving and a drunk driver hit them.), and shortly after, she started dating David.

David goes on a business trip. Leaving Karen with Neil (who is a HUNK!), he wants Karen to work for his newspaper full time and stop freelancing as a photographer. They bond over their teenage daughters and being widowed. They are supposed to have chemistry, but I’m not sure anyone can have chemistry with Karen. (Or more so the actress Laurie Foster. She is terrible.) 

Karen gets a call, and David’s plane went down, and he is dead. Karen breaks the news to Annie, and they both have a breakdown. Karen finds comfort with Neil and invites him over to her house. While Neil is over, someone is watching through the window. 

At David’s funeral, Karen sees a brown-haired woman (who kind of looks like her.) She half-heartedly calls out to the woman, but the woman runs off.

 Later, Karen gets a call from Banker Barbara, who tells her that she is behind on her mortgage. Karen meets with Banker Barbara and insists that she doesn’t have a mortgage and insists that it a forged document. Banker Barbara is making it seem like the WORST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!!! Over massive teacups, Karen fills Neil in on what is going on. He is supportive (and hot) as ever.

MORE DRAMATIC BANKING THINGS HAPPEN. Karen’s 401K, CCD’s, Annie’s College fund, are all zeroed out and closed. Also, David has a double indemnity clause in his life insurance, which could earn Karen 3 million. (Even with Banker Barbara, all this bank talk is sooo dull.)

While investigating a hotel key card she finds, Karen sees the brown-haired woman. They talk briefly and agree to meet up; however, the brown-haired woman is strangled in her car by a masked person in the back seat. The same masked person is later intruding into Karen’s home and trying to get Annie. (Who scream so pathetically, I had to rewind it three times.)

Neil comes by again, and he comforts Karen about her daughter (kind of) being scared of an intruder. They hug, and as they do, someone is watching them from the window. 

Detectives show up and rehash everything we already know in a very long and slow-moving scene. He is suspicious of Karen for everything. He thinks she killed David, the brown-haired woman, and caused all her banking problems! (What would Banker Barbera say!) 

David shows up alive, and Annie is thrilled, she runs off with him. Karen has no idea this is happening until David calls her and tells her not to involve the police. (Like, seriously… what is happening?) Karen talks to the detective and tells him that everything is fine, and whatever he does, do not come by the house!

Karen rushes home and sees David, alive. She demands to know where Annie is and what is going on. David shushes her a lot and grabs her by the throat. He tells her to see Banker Barbara and get his money, or Annie will die. Banker Barbara writes some numbers on a posted, and Karen closes her accounts taking all the money she can. She then rolls real money with fake money to trick David.

Annie finally realizes that she is being held captive and attempts to break free. David catches her and is not impressed. He yells in her face, which is scary and rude. Meanwhile, Karen types on a computer and talks to Neil. IDK or care.

Back with Banker Barbara, Karen does an account transfer on her computer while left alone in her office. The transfer goes through, and Banker Barbera calls the detective on Karen. To avoid getting caught, Karen sneaks off before the detective can take her in for questioning. 

Karen goes back to David, and he yells in her face, “ I WANT THE MONEY!” and then pulls a gun on her and tells him not to threaten his money EVER again. David drags her out to his car and shows her Annie bound and gagged in the trunk of his car. (Very reassuring, bro!) Then he holds Karen hostage inside the house while rubbing her shoulders and drinking some red wine. (Like me! Except now, I am chugging it.) They talk about David’s stupid motives for doing all this to Karen. What are they? I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that he is very jealous of Neil.  

Speaking of Neil, he is on his way to save Karen and Annie. Karen gets away from David and gets Annie free. They hold up in a bathroom, and she attacks David with a spray bottle of water??? Just as David is about to shoot them both, stupid Neil shows up shouting, “Karen? Hello! Karen? Hello!” David and Neil get into a fight, and Karen stops them by shooting David.

Karen tells David that she never really knew him, but he never really knew her. Annie, Neil, and Karen are all reunited as happy music plays. The detective is on the scene and was surprised to hear that she shot David. He is even more surprised to see that David’s body is missing! (Dun Dun Dun!)

Six months later, they are a happy family doing a photoshoot in the park as David watches on. (eye-roll.)

Side Note

Academy Award Nominee, Mary Badham, plays Banker Barbara. Mary Badham was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role as Scout Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.

Another Marvista joint! 

Michael Welch playing another bad dude. I’m not attracted to him, but for some reason… I AM?!?!

Minority Report: 

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Overall rating

🔪 (1 Knife)

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 (5 glasses of wine required)

*Photo Credit: © 2019 Lifetime