Recently Her Campus Winona was offered another partnership deal with Amazon for a free movie pre-screening. This time, I got to pick from four scary movies instead of a documentary. I was stuck between Nocturne and The Lie, so the intern I was in contact with gave me a special deal: I got to simultaneously watch The Lie, write an article about the film and can send premiere links to the Nocturne screening for anyone who enters the giveaway.
While Nocturne seems to be more of a possessive horror theme, The Lie is realistic because it portrays the horrors of being caught in criminal activity. One of the biggest reasons I liked The Lie was its portrayal of criminals and their own fears. Watching the two parents panic throughout the movie gave me anxiety.
The trailer is the very beginning of the movie. The main character, Kayla, is driven to a winter getaway for ballet students by her dad. As they are driving, Kayla sees her friend, Britney at a road-side bus stop. Kayla asked, “What are you doing here?” When Britney accepts Kayla’s offer to get a ride from them to the ballet conference, she asks to stop at a nearby site next to a waterfall and bridge. There is a bruise on Britney’s face that is dismissed by her when brought up by Kayla. The dad in this movie is dumb, so he stays by the car while the girls run off into the woods. A scream is heard, and the dad panics to find the two of them. He finds Kayla on the bridge’s edge, like she was about to jump off. Kayla’s dad shakes her and asks, “Where’s Britney?”
Kayla explained that she and Britney were only messing around and that it was an accident. Kayla pushed Britney from the bridge, and Britney died. However, it’s seen as a mystery because the body was yet to be found. My first question: was Britney somehow still alive?
For the movie’s big twist, it’s important to note that Kayla’s parents are divorced. While the distance between the mom and dad doesn’t seem like a big thing at first, the audience soon learns the two already have significant others already. It is obvious Kayla is not fond of that. As the movie goes on, the lie kept between Kayla and her parents brings the ex-couple closer. Rebecca, Kayla’s mom, repeatedly asks her ex-husband Jay to not leave the house again because the pair are traumatized by Kayla’s behavior.
Tension builds, however, when Britney’s dad repeatedly visits the house in search of his daughter, specifically interested in questioning Kayla. The clearest answer Kayla ever gave him was “I’m sorry, we never meant for this to go too far.”
This becomes clearer at the very end, and it was definitely not what I expected.
Kayla’s parents, Jay and Rebecca, end up doing unspeakable actions, which allows the audience to see how the secret has tolled all involved.
Because of the bruise on Britney’s face, a rumor begins that Britney’s dad actually abused her. The parents realize they can try framing him as the true murderer.
Personally, I don’t think I can discuss any further what happens in the movie without giving away spoilers. The last ten minutes take a very unexpected turn. Readers realize why the establishment of the parents’ relationship was important to the plot: families are happy when they are together and supporting one another.
You have to watch this movie for yourself to find the truth.
Joey King, once again, does a phenomenal job acting. King played a child in a Hulu show called The Act, which portrayed a true story of a mom who pretended her daughter had multiple illnesses and needed constant care. It was all fake; as the little girl grew, she began to figure out how far the fake illnesses lie had shaped her life. Hence, the girl became a little psycho. King portrayed the role fabulously, and does this again on The Lie, playing a character who committed murder but showed no signs of remorse. I love seeing her in these roles because it shows her range when compared to popular roles of hers like Elle in The Kissing Booth.
Until the last ten minutes, The Lie seems to be a regular Hallmark murder story. If you end up watching this thriller, you need to stick around until the very end… and I’m not lying.
The Lie will be out on Amazon starting October 6.