Beautiful dark-haired Malese Jow (as Madison "Maddie" Ashland) is expecting to go to India on break from boarding school, as usual. The underage and mysteriously medicated Ms. Jow is surprised when her tightened-up blonde stepmother Olivia d'Abo (as Patricia) offers a change in plans. The previously combative Ms. d'Abo has decided she wants to get chummy with Jow. They fly to an isolated paradisiacal island. Romance and danger quickly find Jow when tourist guide Gavin Houston (as Blake) saves her from a seemingly random attack. Later, well-built childhood friend Luis Omar O'Farrill (as Andres) lends some muscle. His presence is needed, as danger mounts. The lush location photography by Andrew Strahorn and diverse cast are notable, but this TV movie is mostly predictable and occasionally sleepy.**** Presumed Dead in Paradise (7/12/14) Mary Lambert ~ Malese Jow, Olivia d'Abo, Gavin Houston, Luis Omar O'Farrill

For a Lifetime type thriller it's pretty good. An orphaned teenager is brought to an tropical paradise for vacation by her stepmother who has an ulterior motive. The fight scenes look realistic, the scenery is pretty and the sets are not cheap looking. The story isn't too ludicrous and doesn't get out of hand like some of these TV movies can. Malese Jow from Vampire Diaries and the unfortunate 100 is good and convincing as Madison. She is a good actress and has a sympathetic likable face and doesn't look too made up or vain like many of today's actresses. Olivia D'Abo as the step mother looks unrecognizable from earlier roles. Overall Worth a watch.

What made this movie so good was the diabolical plot hatched by the step-mother to kill her step-daughter so that she could take control of the ten million dollars left to the girl by her father. Interestingly, the evil step-mother enlists the aid of another girl around the intended victim's age to pass as the step-daughter. She even hires a guy to act as a tour guide for the intended victim by drowning her.It is great how the girl is not believed by local authorities when the actual drowning doesn't occur. Coincidentally, but needed in the plot, is that a young man who knew the victim when they were both children is able to come to her aid.

Thought it was a okay movie. Was original interested in the movie because the main girl played Anna in The Vampire Diaries. Movie started off making you sympathetic for the main girl who spending the holidays alone at her boarding school again and then, tricks you into wanting to trust the stepmother when she appears all nice and apologetic. But, then everything you expected to happen did, so it got boring. Stepmother was evil and The guy you think is the main guy is only pretending to like her for stepmommy. It just another story about evil, manipulative stepmother trying to kill her step child for her dead's husband's money. Kinda reminds me of Snow White. More I think about it, it is SNOW WHITE. Anyway, it had a sweet happy ending. Except, they waited intil the middle to end of movie to bring in the "real" main guy, so it felt forced. One thing I can't figure out how did the Father die and why did stepmom do it???