Killing For Extra Credit is a 2024 Lifetime Made-for-TV Movie Teen Drama/Thriller, directed by Paula Elle and written by Leo McGuigan.
Marybeth Morris (Matreya Scarrwener) is a senior at Lakehills High School, trying to recover from her horrible junior year, when nude photos of her leaked online and caused a scandal at the school, forcing her to withdraw from the race for senior class president. Her best friend, rich girl Sophie Arredondo (Kennedy Rowe), tries to help, as does understanding teacher Miss Mitchell (Amy Trefry). But Marybeth finds herself pushed into another scandal, when a mysterious social media account called "@extracredit" starts posting salacious gossip about people at the school, and targetting Marybeth with personal messages. She suspects Toby (Tyler Cody), the slimy senior class president, of being "@extracredit", with her ex-boyfriend Josh (Quinten James)—also her main suspect for the leaker of the nudes—as another possibility, but as she investigates along with her tech whiz friend Ray (Jake T. Austin), she learns that a wider conspiracy may be to blame, even as a shocking death shakes things up.
Killing for Extra Credit contains examples of:
- All Elections Are Serious Business: The senior class president race between Marybeth and Toby happened before the events of the film, but Toby was very ruthlessly hell-bent on winning, initiating some underhanded tactics that ultimately led to Marybeth dropping out after nude photos of her leaked online.
- Gambit Pileup: The "@extracredit" scandal was the convergence of a whole bunch of different plots by several characters with wildly different goals: Toby learns that Sophie was adopted, harming her reputation as the daughter of a rich man, and blackmails her by threatening to reveal the info, offering to back down only if she agrees to sabotage Marybeth's class president campaign. Sophie finds nudes on Marybeth's phone, but can't bring herself to leak them, and goes to Miss Mitchell to discuss her dilemma, unaware that Miss Mitchell was her birthmother. Mitchell pretended to delete the nudes, but actually copied them and leaked them "to protect my daughter." When "@extracredit" started their posting independent of all this, Mitchell told Sophie the truth, which devastated her, and led to her accidental death. "@extracredit" turns out to be Ray, who's a Yandere for Marybeth and wanted to get revenge on the school for how they treated her after the nudes leaked, but then he tries to frame Josh, his rival for Marybeth's affections.
- Ivy League for Everyone: Miss Mitchell congratulates Sophie on her "acceptance to the Ivy League school", but then oddly adds "California dreaming, hey!" (there are no Ivy schools in California).note
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Sophie is the blonde, petite, fashion-obsessed Light Feminine, while Marybeth is the brunette, curvy, somewhat Emo Teen-ish Dark Feminine (an unusual case of a Lifetime movie with this trope having the Dark one as the protagonist).
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Sophie, as the rich blonde fashionista, fits the basic Alpha Bitch parameters, but she's not mean and has Marybeth's back, up until "@extracredit" accuses her of leaking Marybeth's nudes. Which she did, more or less, but under threat of Blackmail from Toby.
- Memorial Statue: In the final scene, newly-graduated Marybeth sits on a memorial bench that was built for Sophie, and talks to her spirit about everything that's happened to her.
- Motive Rant: Two of them, both addressed to Marybeth. First Miss Mitchell talks about giving birth to Sophie and having the baby taken away and given to the Arredondos, which leads into her reasons for leaking Marybeth's nudes, then Ray confesses to being "@extracredit" and professes his love for Marybeth.
- Newhart Phone Call: Toby has a phone exchange like this as he scrambles to expose the identity of "@extracredit".Toby: Just figure it out, you're the president of the A/V Club...what do you mean you're only president because you're the only member?
- Parental Fashion Veto: Marybeth's mom Lydia twice questions the rather buxom Marybeth wearing a shirt with a plunging neckline, but Marybeth respectfully asserts her independence.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Sophie dies of an apparent suicide early in the story but it's later revealed to have been an accidental fall.
- Senior Year Struggles: Marybeth, still shaken by the leak and the death of her father, isn't certain she wants to go to college.
- Slut-Shaming: Marybeth became a pariah at the school after her nudes leaked, with only Sophie and Ray sticking with her as friends.
- Smug Snake: Toby, the class president, taunts his former opponent Marybeth and just generally thinks he's untouchable and acts like a preppy jerk.
- So Much for Stealth: A recurring motif.
- Marybeth and Ray spy on Toby as he's in Sophie's bedroom, but he overhears their whispering.
- Marybeth sneaks into the Arredondo house to find the picture that Sophie's dad threw away, but accidentally knocks Sophie's notebooks off the desk in her bedroom, which Sophie's dad hears, and he heads up to the room with a gun.
- At the climax, Marybeth sends a message to "@extracredit", and immediately hears a tone on Josh's phone, providing a possible clue as to the identity of the account holder.
- Son of a Whore: "@extracredit" 's first successful targeting of Marybeth's classmates is outing the mother of one of the school's glam girls as a High-Class Call Girl.
