Pretty Little Stalker – Netflix Review (2/5)

PRETTY LITTLE STALKER is a thriller on Netflix. Also known under the title The Danger of Positive Thinking, it comes across as a classic TV movie. Perfect if you enjoy TV movies. If you don’t, I doubt you’ll enjoy this. Read more in our full Pretty Little Stalker review here!

Pretty Little Stalker is a new thriller on Netflix. Of course, the title is meant to make you think of the successful TV series Pretty Little Liars but the two are nothing alike. This thriller also has the alternative title The Danger of Positive Thinking. Honestly, one is as good as the other.

This is a TV movie, plain and simple, so it will deliver on everything you’ve come to expect from those. This includes poorly written characters, wild plot twists meant to shock you and some familiar faces. Mostly actors who starred in successful TV series and have no real career now. No, I’m not referring to Pretty Little Liars. Those girls will be just fine!

For the record, let me just state that while we haven’t given this movie a very high rating, it is actually entertaining. The story is too weak for this Netflix thriller to be good, but it’s bad in the kind of way that makes it fun to watch!

Continue reading our Pretty Little Stalker review below or simply check it out on Netflix now.

The cast of the new Netflix thriller

Okay, let’s just get to it. The actor I was referring to in the above is Heather Morris from Glee. Seeing her in Pretty Little Stalker just makes me sad. Hopefully, we’ll see her in something good soon. Pretty Little Stalker certainly isn’t it. Fortunately, she’s only in a small role, so they are literally using her as bait. Good for her!

The real star of Pretty Little Stalker is Nicky Whelan. She plays the self-help guru at the center of the story. Nicky Whelan actually seems to understand, that you just have to go a bit over-the-top for these TV movies. Don’t be too serious, just have fun so viewers can have fun with it all as well.

Nicky Whelan has also done quite a few genre productions already. She was in Tragedy Girls (2017) and Halloween II (2009). Basically, she also knows how to go all-in for a movie like Pretty Little Stalker.

Alongside her (or against her) for most of the movie is Ashley Rickards. You might recognize Ashley Rickards from the MTV series Awkward (2011-2016) since she was the star of it. Since then she’s also been in the sci-fi anthology series Dimension 404 which has some really great episodes.

The men of this story

Also, there’s Jesse Hutch and Parker Mack in key roles as the husband and son of Nicky Whelan’s character. Still, we all know TV movies are really about the women. And about the guys walking around without a shirt on. I think every male character in this movie take their shirts off at least once.

I should also mention that Jesse Hutch actually does a really good job as the loving husband. For once, the husband is actually a truly good guy. And not in any stereotypical over-the-top way. Also, Jesse Hutch is topless a lot during this movie, but he owns it.

Anyway, you might recognize Jesse Hutch from the Netflix series Wu Assassins (2019). Also, he started his career with movies like Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and the awesome sci-fi thriller The Butterfly Effect (2004). Parker Mack also has horror movie experience since he was in Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016).

Is Pretty Little Stalker based on a true story?

One of the big questions is whether Pretty Little Stalker is based on a true story or not? After all, many TV movies are. In the case of Pretty Little Stalker, we’ve seen it referred to as a “true story” a few places, but haven’t been able to verify this. However, we do know of many creepy real-life stalker tales, so it could certainly be inspired by those.

For this TV movie, the huge issue in telling this story is the casting. The age of the starring actors is simply off. And I’m talking both their actual age and appeared age.

I mean, an actor like Bianca Lawson has been able to (believably) play a teenager for more than a decade. In fact, she played a teenager in Pretty Little Liars when she was in her 30s. She has literally played a 17-year-old for over 17 years. However, Bianca Lawson is an extremely rare exception.

Maybe they should have tried to cast her for Pretty Little Stalker if they wanted us to believe anyone in this movie was a teenager.

Watch Pretty Little Stalker on Netflix now!

Pretty Little Stalker was directed by Sam Irvin. The thriller is actually from 2018 and originally premiered in limited release in Canada in December 2018. That was under the title The Danger of Positive Thinking. As of writing this review, The Danger of Positive Thinking is still the primary default title being used on IMDb.

The screenplay for Pretty Little Stalker is by Patrick Robert Young, based on a story by Kelly Goodner and Dave Hickey. Patrick Robert Young previously wrote and co-directed a horror movie titled Bastard from 2015, but overall, I don’t think I’m familiar with any of his previous work.

Director Sam Irvin has directed a lot of TV movies. Including a lot of Christmas TV movies, which might explain a lot.

However, he did also direct the 2001 movie Elvira’s Haunted Hills and that actually earns him quite a few points in my book. I love horror-comedy and remember growing up watching Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988). In fact, whether you watch Pretty Little Stalker on Netflix or not, you should check out something with Elvira.

Pretty Little Stalker is out on Netflix in the US from March 31, 2020. It’s already been released in several other countries, including Canada and Australia.

Details

Director: Sam Irvin
Writers: Patrick Robert Young, Kelly Goodner, Dave Hickey
Stars: Nicky Whelan, Heather Morris, Ashley Rickards, Sierra McCormick, Jesse Hutch, Jason Cermak, Jane Harber, Parker Mack, Kim DeJesus, Cory Hart, Kourtney Hansen