punishmentpark Not the worst TV-movie, including very 'soapy' developments of a divorced mother / cop and an old, tenacious cop, looking to even a score. Biggest plus is the warped family itself (fairly well acted), getting away with murder(s), and some on-location scenes in Seattle, which are very welcome with all those boring office- and home-settings.The flashbacks make for a nice build-up in between (though the effect used in them is an eyesore), but the total of the story is disappointing. For instance: where are the lawyers at the end to help these 'poor' defendants out, and why are these defendants not smart enough to ask for them (up until then they knew exactly how to play their games)? Not very believable, much like the case itself (three identical murders lead back to the same suspects and nothing can be done... really?).

edwagreen Excellent dramatization of a serial killer who gets support for his killings from his mother, who works for the police department, and is quite an ogre in her own way, and his slum landlord uncle, afraid of his sister and terrified of his nephew.Since the mother works for the police department, she knows all the in and outs and has her son burn his victims so that identification and other tracing become virtually impossible. This goes on for a period of years.This is essentially the story of a mother who loved her son so much that she could actually justify what he was doing. To her, every girl he met up with was beneath him and just a tramp.The mother, Frances Reynolds,is portrayed in a phenomenal performance by Ms. Norry. The embodiment of evil, she claims that the police are harassing her family since she caught two of them in the act in a closet. In the old days, Bette Davis or Geraldine Page would have had a field day in this juicy role.The picture is enhanced by the fact that the female police detective, Catherine Dent, who looks like my chemistry teacher with red hair, is going through similar problems with her rebellious daughter as well. Tenacity on the part of Dent and her fellow male officer eventually crack the case.Very well-done film.

vchimpanzee At the start of the movie, Seattle detective Petrocelli is impatient as he investigates a murder. The cop who figures out when the murder took place wants him to be patient with her.Six years later, Colleen is missing. Her husband John David Finn is a suspect in what may be a murder. Over the past six years, Petrocelli has investigated several murders of women who looked like Colleen and had a similar history. Furthermore, each woman was murdered the same way--and each victim had no fingerprints or a recognizable face after the murderer finished with her. This would make her hard to identify.As we learn in flashbacks, Colleen ran away from home and ended up at the Seattle airport, where John worked as a security guard. He was charming and ended up romancing her. His overprotective mother did not approve.Detective Ronnie McAdams is investigating Colleen's disappearance, but because of the connection to John, she ends up having to work with Petrocelli, who doesn't get along well with others. Ronnie has Christy, a rebellious teenage daughter of her own, to deal with. Christy's boyfriend Trey will potentially be trouble. Over the six years, John's mother Frances, a veteran Seattle Police Department employee, has felt Petrocelli was harassing her son. If he was guilty, though, it's a good thing John had someone on the inside to cover up anything that might incriminate him. And she certainly knows her rights and takes full advantage of them. She has a disabled brother Gerry who depends on her a lot. Colleen and John also have a baby.This was interesting, partly because Ronnie and Christy had their own story line. I would watch a TV series starring those characters and Petrocelli as Ronnie's unlikely partner. But I don't think this was a pilot.There may be a logical explanation for what happened to Colleen and the other women. We're never quite sure who did it until the end. But the actors playing both John and his overprotective mother do quite a good job. John is first charming, then creepy, then overly confident.An interesting technique with the flashbacks: they look like a signal from a distant analog TV station. But here in the United States, except for low-powered TV, there is no analog signal. The perfect digital signal returns once the flashback is over. This is pretty good.

hppyjaksun I just wanted to say that I was very surprised with this movie. I didn't think it wouldn't be all that great; however, it turned out to be better that I thought. When the mother, son, and uncle got arrested at the end, the only question I had was what happened to the two children. This is a good movie to watch on a Saturday night when you don't have a whole lot to do. I enjoyed watching this movie once and would watch it again if it's on TV. The scene I found interesting was the part where the son was getting ready to kill his girlfriend. The police officer all of a sudden pops up and saves the day. I also enjoyed watching the relationship between the female police officer and her daughter. Even though the police officer didn't agree with everything her daughter did, she was still there for her.