View of Terror (2003) starring Shannen Doherty, Michel Francoeur, Jayne Heitmeyer, Sean Tucker, Charles Edwin Powell, Vittorio Rossi directed by Louis Bélanger Movie Review

View of Terror (2003)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Shannen Doherty in View of Terror (2003) (aka: Nightlight)

Same Old View, Same Old Terror

After deciding she needed time apart from her boyfriend Brent (Michel Francoeur), Celeste Timmerman (Shannen Doherty - Sleeping with the Devil) moves into a new apartment with the help of her boss Tasha (Jayne Heitmeyer) who secretly has a thing for Brent. But shortly after moving in Celeste starts receiving creepy calls from a stalker who it appears is watching her from the apartment block across the road. With the police seemingly useless Celeste is forced to take matters into her own hands as the stalker becomes increasingly threatening.

So here we go again with the less than original idea of an attractive woman moving into an apartment and getting stalked by a perv with a long lens. And seeing we are in TV movie mode here we go again with Montréal, Québec standing in for New York. And I could keep on saying "here we go again" because "View of Terror" which is also known as "Nightlight" is nothing more than your typical made for TV stalker movie.

Jayne Heitmeyer in View of Terror (2003) (aka: Nightlight)

Now to give "View of Terror" some credit it does one thing right which so many made for TV movies get wrong. That thing is that it keeps the identity of the stalker a secret for as long as possible. Not only does it keep us interested in a need to know basis but also allows it to throw some red herrings at us such as the man in a hoodie in the street who seems to be stalking Celeste. Having said that the clues as to who it is are pretty obvious and less you are watching this half asleep you will have a good idea of who the stalker is long before the reveal comes.

Aside from that the only other entertaining aspect of this thriller which trust me gets convoluted as it weaves its web is one character. That character is Celeste's boss Tasha Kingsley as whilst Jayne Heitmeyer delivers a made for TV type of performance her character and the fact she tries to flirt with Celeste's ex at least makes her more interesting than just the normal supportive best friend.

What this all boils down to is that "View of Terror" is both a routine TV movie and a routine stalker movie. But because it does the right thing and keep the stalker's identity a secret it is at least entertaining for those who are less observant.


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