Promotional Material
My Sister's Serial Killer Boyfriend
- originally titled Sister Obsession - is a Made-for-TV Movie Mystery Thriller that premiered on Lifetime Network on 8th January, 2023. The movie is directed by Danny J. Boyle (not to be confused with his more famous namesake), and written by Andrea Shawcross.
Atlanta news reporter Maddie (Brianna Cohen) is investigating the disappearances of several blonde women, but develops a personal interest after her younger sister Olivia (Revell Carpenter) is attacked in her own home.
Fearing for Olivia's safety, Maddie suggests they take self defense lessons. A good idea on the face of it, but after Olivia becomes romantically involved with her instructor Haden (Rib Hillis), Maddie becomes suspicious of his secretive nature and it seems Haden might be the very same killer she's investigating. Now Maddie must save her sister from her potentially psycho boyfriend.
A four minute showreel of assorted clips - shown out of order, with music replacing the movie audio - can be viewed on the website of Robert Vardaros, who served as Director of Photography.
My Sister's Serial Killer Boyfriend (aka Sister Obsession) contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Trained martial artist Natalie Goldwin is listed as a stunt double and the actress Brianna Cohen teased action scenes on her Instagram account, so it's no surprise there's more action than usual for a Lifetime movie. Both Maddie and Olivia put their training to good use by the end.
- Alone with the Psycho: Olivia realises she's in trouble when the villain takes her on a trip and gets aggressive. When she asks to remain alone in the vehicle while the killer goes into a gas station, he refuses and then she knows something is up.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Haden will go to any lengths for Olivia's affections, even kidnapping her. No surprise she doesn't feel the same way about him.
- Big Bad: Haden.
- Big Damn Heroes: Jack shows up at the remote house to assist the two sisters, but is actually taken down quite quickly by Haden.
- Big "NO!": Haden screams aloud after he injures Olivia in a fight. The psycho seems genuinely in love with his victim.
- Big Sister Instinct: Maddie is protective - and arguably over protective - of her younger sister, to the point of stalking Haden at times.
- Captive Date: Haden forces Olivia to have dinner with him after he abducts her. Needless to say, her meal remains untouched as she's not feeling very hungry.
- Don't Go in the Woods: Much of the climax takes place at an isolated country house into the woods.
- Flashback: Younger versions of Maddie and Olivia - played by child actresses AnaSofia Bianchi and Zoe Mackenzie Smith respectively - appear in an opening five minute flashback that ends in tragedy with the abduction of their younger sister. There's also a more happy flashback of Olivia and Maddie later.
- Evil Gloating: After Haden takes Maddie prisoner and ties her to a chair, he leans forward and taunts her.Haden: Let it out. Let it out! No-one can hear you scream.
- Evil Teacher: Olivia's martial arts instructor Haden may well be a serial killer. It's vague for the opening hour, until he finally kills someone on-screen.
- Improvised Weapon: Both the heroine and villain use what's available.
- The black-clad masked intruder takes a pair of scissors which he later uses to stab Kyle in the chest. Arguably a subversion as the scissors are later revealed to belong to Maddie, so this is actually a frame up attempt and explains why the killer didn't use their own weapon.
- After Haden goes into full psycho mode, Olivia puts some self defense training to use and later grabs a broken piece of wood, ready to defend herself.
- Maddie also uses a block of wood when she shows up at the killer's property to rescue her sister.
- He Knows Too Much: Two characters meet their ends because of this.
- Kyle has incriminating evidence against Haden, so the killer murders him late at night.
- Landlord Todd discovers Olivia's phone in the trash - which seems suspicious - but the killer has a satisfactory explanation. Then Todd also mentions Olivia told him she's due to take a trip out of town, which essentially signs his death warrant.
- In the Hood: Haden generally wears an all-black hooded outfit when sneaking around. That Lifetime fashion item all bad guys seem to wear.
- Intrepid Reporter: Maddie seems determined to investigate a serial killer, despite all the danger that entails.
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: Taking self defense classes is a natural reaction to surviving an attack, until the instructor becomes a suspect.
- Market-Based Title: Lifetime being Lifetime, the title has to be changed even though Sister Obsession seems a good fit for the network. So for release in the USA the movie is known as My Sister's Serial Killer Boyfriend.
- Nervous Wreck: Olivia is understandably terrified when she's locked in an attic during the final act, and finds a pile of bones and skulls in a duffle bag.
- Never One Murder: Multiple murders, though many are off-screen and the credited actresses only appear as images in a news report.
- Never the Obvious Suspect: Played with a bit for the first hour, until the eventual solution is obvious.
- No Full Name Given: Most characters, though there are exceptions. Maddie and Olivia's family name is spoken in dialogue, and revealed as McIntire (though this spelling obviously could be incorrect).
- Old, Dark House: An isolated property surrounded by woodland features prominently, with plenty of dark rooms for atmosphere.
- Pop-Up Texting: Used constantly whenever characters communicate by phone.
- Quiet Cry for Help: When Olivia realises she's alone with the psycho, she writes a note to call Maddie on a piece of toilet paper and passes it to store clerk Charles. Surprisingly, this actually works and the killer doesn't notice.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Bella, Nicki and Sam are all credited on IMDB with the prefix Murder Victim, and don't even get to appear in person. The missing women all disappeared before the present day segment of the movie, and are only shown as photographs.
- Sacrificial Lion: Kyle has a meeting with Maddie in a cafetria, and assists her with the investigation. That's until he's seen off in an office building half way through.
- Serial Killer: As the title implies, there's a murderer on the loose.
- Sleuth Dates Cop: Invetigative reporter Maddie dates Detective Jack Houston (though she doesn't know he's a cop at first), which leads to some awkward moments with Jack's partner.
- Stalker with a Crush: Haden takes a sinister interest in Olivia, and later holds both sisters captive. He talks about having both their children.
- Suspicious Ski Mask: The killer wears a full black face mask with only eyes and mouth visible for a while. This comes away in a fight, and a later shot reveals the murderer as Haden.
- Took a Level in Badass: Olivia goes from being a terrified victim to a fighter, and finishes off Haden with a gunshot to the back.
- Wham Line: When Olivia enters a gas station with Haden, the clerk Charles calls him by a different name.Charles: I know you. David, right?
- Wham Shot: While being interviewed by a detective, Maddie's date from an earlier evening walks in, revealing him as police officer Jack Houston.
- White Shirt of Death: Haden wears a blood-covered white outfit which alarms Maddie, but this is later revealed to be a false scare and Olivia walks in unharmed.
