First off, the cover is a bit misleading and may attract the wrong audience for this film while scaring away the right one. At first glance, I thought PLAYDATE would be one of them zombie horror flicks, but it's actually a Lifetime film which, though truly suspenseful and disturbing in places with some good jump scenes, has very little in the way of schlocky gore and nothing in the way of supernatural elements.Anyway, the Valentines, a nice, patently normal L.A. family, get some new neighbors, single mom Tamara Moor and her two sons, Titus and Billy. The Valentines try to be neighborly, Tamara does the same, and young Olive Valentine finds a much-needed friend in Billy. The Moors, however, are trying to hide some very dark family secrets. . .I wasn't expecting much from PLAYDATE, but it proved to be something of a pleasant surprise. It has the usual stilted Lifetime directions with melodramatic instrumentals constantly playing in the background. Still, it also has better acting and MUCH livelier, loaded dialogue than most made-for-TV affairs. {Wow, is Lifetime actually maturing?!} With a few nice new flourishes, the plot-line pretty much follows the formula. There aren't many really big surprises, but there are several good smaller ones. If you want to place bets on how PLAYDATE ends up, the chances are that none of you will be absolutely right on the money even if some of you come fairly close. Despite the various oversimplifications, blank spots, and unlikelihoods, suspense thriller fans who aren't too picky should enjoy and may even really love PLAYDATE.

I only watched this because I like Richard Ruccolo, who plays the dad. The dude is capable of much more than the suburban husband role he's stuck in here (and in Rita Rocks, although that was enjoyable). At least he showed physical courage when it was called for; that was nice to see.I can't tell whether my response to the drawn out slow plot was, as likely intended, anxiety or, more likely, annoyance.The "nice" family's reactions to the new neighbors, once things start to get odder and odder, are completely non-credible. Bad script. People, even nice white people in the suburbs, don't let their niceness overcome their sense of danger when their only child is involved. Twas nice to see Mr Ruccolo, even here, but if he were not in the flick, I'd have turned it off after ten minutes.

This review is full of spoilers, so if you don't want to read spoilers, stop now.Not all "Lifetime movies" are bad, but this one is a "perfect" example of why movies of this genre are often frustrating and annoying.Our heroine (Marguerite Moreau) holds a doctorate, but wanders alone into places she doesn't belong and into obviously dangerous situations, without backup.Her husband (Richard Ruccolo) remains in a precarious spot he could have easily escaped, even after the movie's whacko starts talking crazy.Even the detective goes looking for the perp unprotected. Doesn't he own a gun? The only mystery here is whether the killer is the mother (Abby Brammell) or the son. The mystery is gone in time for us to see the killer's final attempt.Good actors do their best, but are wasted on a script demanding illogical behavior.

It's the performances that make or break these movies. And the role of Titus was perfectly cast as a quiet haunting type. Whoever the female villain was left me guessing up until the end and both kids did a decent job. And the lead actress was consistent and kept the craziness of the situation at bay with a very believable performance. The husband wasn't your typical Lifetime soapstar, but thoughtful and sincere, as often the testosterone driven husbands in these movies turn on their wives immediately. Could of used a little more resolve at the end ie what happened to the mother and child and even the former father who had lost his child. But that's just me, I need all loose ends wrapped up. Or were they setting it up for a sequel? Either way, great popcorn movie, but don't watch it alone at night (as was my mistake).