I came across this movie on the Lifetime Movie Network this past Saturday while scrolling the channels. I probably should have flipped back to "Quatermass and The Pit" on TCM or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" on AMC.Anyway, this movie, which is an "in name only" sequel to the less-than-stellar "Glass House," concerns Eve (Angie Harmon) and Raymond Goode (Joel Gretsch), who have just lost their son David. They become foster parents to Abby (Jordan Hinson) and Ethan (Bobby Coleman).Right off the bat, Eve, who suffers from Munchausen's Syndrome, goes overboard in being a good mother, to the point of being psychotic. She ultimately terrorizes the children by stitching up wounds with no anesthesia, "curing" rashes with oven cleaner, etc.You can read other reviews for the gist of the story. Harmon is an amazing actress. However, she is hampered by her goody-two shoes image. It's hard to imagine her as a villain, especially when she almost comically snarls, rears back and gives Abby a Steffi Graf-level backhand.Hinson is adequate as Abby. Gretsch is completely useless as the spineless hubby Ray and the actor annoys by being up and down in his performance, as if he's following the director's cue every moment.The worst part of the movie is the entire premise. The Goodes are wealthy yet we never see them at work, though Eve is supposed to be a nurse. We don't know what Ray does but the pair have a huge Gothic-style mansion and a large estate. Yet, we see no groundskeepers, no maids, no gardeners.We learn the Goodes took in another kid before David but he simply disappeared. But, no one from Child Services bothers to ask what happened to him before giving the Goodes more kids to destroy.The kids don't go to school, yet no one comes around to ask. Even worse, Abby never leaves the grounds. She doesn't do anything a normal teen girl does -- call friends, make friends, head to the mall, hang out, text. She doesn't even make phone calls to the police to alert them to what's happening to her.The movie is low-budget which hampers the director's ability to have the police come out in force. However, that doesn't excuse the director from doing common sense things to give his film credibility.Finally, the ending is totally contrived and uses just about every cliché in the Hollywood suburban thriller handbook. Abby can't do anything to get out of the house. The lone cop (Jason London) never calls for backup even after discovering a body. Eve is kicked down a flight of stairs and cracks her head -- twice. Yet, is up and brandishing a cleaver with no ill effects. Even Ray, the spineless hubby, finally grows one and saves the day with a gun out of nowhere.The whole movie would fit neatly into the Lifetime network's brand of tear-jerker, damsel in improbably danger kind of plot. For the rest of us, it's just lazy, clichéd and imperfect.

All in all, Glass House: The Good Mother was a rather dull film, in spite of the coolest looking house outside of Haunted Hill. Don't get me wrong, it had potential, but week writing and some rather silly acting kept it from getting off of the starter block.== Here there be spoilers == The plot is straight forward. A demented mother and her husband (who acted more like a vampire's thrall) like to adopt children. The problem lies in the fact that the mother (played by Angie Harmon) also likes to make them sick in order to score mommy brownie points. The film picks up between adopted child 4 and the new batch (Abby and Evan). Things go down hill fast, for both the kids and the viewers. There were some truly creepy parts, mostly focusing on Angie Harmon talking to her new pet projects in a simpering tone, or showing up at random behind Abby (something that probably terrified Jack McCoy on Law and Order).

this movie has nothing to do with the first one.the actors and the characters are different.it starts out promising but quickly sputters.i could only watch it for about 35 minutes.i just found it way too slow and boring.Angie Harmon make for a compelling villain,except we are only given glimpses into her character.i know i hadn't watched it very long,but i just expected something more.i felt no tension or suspense and to be honest,i really didn't care about what happened.to me,it was just that uninteresting and not compelling.maybe sometime in the future i will attempt to watch the whole movie.in which case this review may or may not change,but as it stands,i give Glass House:The Good Mother a 2/10,based on Angie Harmon.

Labelled as sequel, 'The Good Mother' stands by itself as one of the surprisingly solid horror movies of the season. Two orphaned kids are taken in care by a pair who lost their boy one year before. The setting - 'Psycho'-like shaped lonely house by a lake - should already make you feel that the parents are not what they are and that the kids will end fighting for their lives. So it is.Although the story has some obvious flaws (should a woman be trusted with yet another child custody after three sons dies before one after the other?) the film has quality in its cinema and acting. Angie Harmon and Jordan Hinson are very good in the main female roles. The story has a good pace, and despite its rather expected ending makes it certainly for a good rental.