Secret Obsession (2/5) – Netflix Movie Review

SECRET OBSESSION is a new Netflix thriller that might as well have been a Lifetime movie. The production quality is impressive and the acting is pretty much without fault. However, if you watch the trailer, the plot of the Netflix movie is spoiled. Check out our Secret Obsession review here!

Secret Obsession is a new Netflix thriller that will definitely find its audience. It’s one of those thrillers where you’ll be able to guess most of the plot in advance. Also, if you watch the trailer, then you’ll realize it is full of spoilers.

Not that you wouldn’t have guessed most of it anyway, but it’s still pretty stupid to give away that many spoilers in the trailer. You see, Secret Obsession evolves like pretty much any TV movie (such as the classic Lifetime movie). In other words, don’t expect surprises.

Then again, with a pretty impressive production quality and an interesting cast, this Netflix thriller is not as bad as you might fear.

Read more in our Secret Obsession review here or simply check it out on Netflix now!

The very interesting cast of Secret Obsession

As it’s rather typical for this kind of TV movie production (and very unlike a true Netflix production), the cast is rather small. That means the same nurse is always working. And the same goes for the traffic cop, for that matter.

However, the actors cast in the main roles are pretty damn solid.

We have the always magnificent Dennis Haysbert as Detective Frank Page. Sure, he has to make some dumb decisions and say some rather corny lines, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Dennis Haysbert.

In case the name isn’t familiar, he’s the tall black man with an impressively deep voice – matched only by the great James Earl Jones. Also, Dennis Haysbert played President David Palmer in the TV series 24 and was in the kitch action horror movie Dead Rising (2015).

The lead role as Jennifer is portrayed by Brenda Song while the other main character is portrayed by Mike Vogel. Now, there is a name and face most horror face should recognize. Mike Vogel was in the 2003 reboot of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and in the very first Cloverfield movie from 2008. Also, he was in the young Norman Bates focused horror series Batel Motel.

Don’t watch the Secret Obsession trailer!

Unless you want the entire plot of Secret Obsession spoiled in advance, then really do not watch the trailer. If you’ve already watched the trailer, then just be ready for the fact that this movie has no surprises.

When this movie first began, I expected the plot I’d seen in the trailer to play out rather quickly. It doesn’t really though. Instead, it’s supposed to be a twist that should surprise us.

Then again, I’m not the big TV movie fan unless we’re talking HBO, Netflix or Amazon Prime. That’s not to say channels like Lifetime doesn’t get it right sometimes. They absolutely do! But when that’s the case, it tends to be a bigger production with something important to tell. 

Secret Obsession is not one of those stories. It’s a classic (a nice way of saying stereotypical) story that plays out exactly like you’d expect. 

Watch Secret Obsession on Netflix now

Peter Sullivan directed and co-wrote the script for Secret Obsession. The other writer is Kraig Wenman and the two have both worked on a lot of TV movies in the past. In fact, it seems that Peter Sullivan is very busy directing TV movies since he’s directing 2-4 each year and writing even more.

For me, Secret Obsession isn’t a bad movie but the plot is very easy to guess. Even this is something many people enjoy and so it’s bound to be a success on Netflix. We’ve already reviewed quite a few movies that originally aired on Lifetime and later found a larger platform on Netflix. They seem to be rather popular (and some of them are even quite interesting), so we can probably expect more to come.

Whether Secret Obsession is your cup of tea is probably something you already know from reading the plot. If you like TV movies and can enjoy relaxing with a movie that does not challenge or surprise you in any way, then go ahead and enjoy this one.

Secret Obsession is out on Netflix in most countries from July 18, 2019.

Details

Director: Peter Sullivan
Writers: Peter Sullivan, Kraig Wenman
Stars: Brenda Song, Mike Vogel, Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Scott, Paul Sloan, Daniel Booko

Plot

When Jennifer wakes up with amnesia after a traumatic attack, her doting husband cares for her. But she soon realizes the danger is far from over.