Deadly Sorority (2017) Reviews

• It's not the sorority that's deadly

  mgconlan-12017-05-15

  On May 6 Lifetime presented the "premiere" of something called "Deadly Sorority," an intriguing tale of skullduggery and murder centered around the student body and faculty at — no, not Whittendale this time, but Barclay University. It begins with Samantha Blake (Greer Grammar, Kelsey Grammar's daughter) and Kristina Roberts (Emilija Baranac), best friends from high school, attending Barclay together — only their friendship ends almost as soon as they reach Barclay because Kristina has her heart set on pledging the school's most exclusive sorority, Delta Nu, while Samantha shows up at the sorority house but its principal student leader, Jubilee Swan (Chloe Babcock), takes an instant dislike to Samantha because she's not from a rich family and she shows up with a sarcastic attitude that indicates how little Samantha thinks of sorority culture and all the snobbery and bullying that goes along with it. So Samantha suffers the loss of her best friend when Jubilee orders Kristina not to have anything to do with Samantha any more on pain of expulsion from Delta Nu. Kristina starts dating the Big Man on Campus, Paul Riveria (Ross Linton), whose huge, hunky, athletic body is matched only by his male ego and total disinterest in tying himself down to just one girl — only within weeks Kristina has broken up with Paul, telling him she's landed someone better. We only find out later who the "someone better" is. Meanwhile, writer Rolfe Kanefsky and director Shawn Tolleson actually show us some of the "education" in higher education for a change — all too many college movies make universities look like elaborate summer camps — including a media class taught by Amy Thomas (Moira Kelly), who for some reason we don't at first understand takes a dislike to Kristina almost instantly; and an English class taught by Justin Miller (Steve Bacic), who is actually married to Amy but doesn't let that stop him from seducing and having brief affairs with just about every female student at Barclay who will hold still for him. The film begins with the mysterious disappearance of Tanya Brown (Rachelle Gillis) towards the end of the previous semester; Tanya was a Delta Nu member and also one of Miller's previous student girlfriends. Then Lifetime flashes one of their usual "time" titles — "Four Months Later" (a bit of a surprise since I had assumed that we would flash back rather than forward) — and we see Samantha and Kristina arrive at Barclay together, Kristina get accepted by Delta Nu while Samantha gets blackballed, and then a few weeks later Kristina is mysteriously killed in a car crash. The police at first write it off as an accident but later become convinced that Kristina was murdered — and they're convinced Samantha did it out of jealousy over losing her friendship to Jubilee Swan and the Delta Nu crowd. I've commented on at least two previous movies with "sorority" in their titles — "Sorority House," a 1939 RKO "B" written by Dalton Trumbo and directed by John Farrow (Mia's dad), which didn't include out-and-out murder but had some nice little bits of social comment about the snobbery and cliquishness at the heart of the sorority system; and "Sorority Murder," a previous Lifetime production that if anything painted an even grimmer portrait of the sorority system than this one did — indeed, "Deadly Sorority" is something of a misnomer as a title because the peril Samantha is in has very little to do with the sorority as an institution.

• Moderately diverting who dunnit.

  phd_travel2017-07-28

  2 best friends go to college one pledges the other doesn't. The one who pledges ends up dead. There are lots of suspects - the casual boyfriend, the evil sorority sisters, the lecherous professor or his jealous wife (Moira Kelly). It's moderately diverting to the suspicion point to one then the other suspect. The heroine is played by Greer Grammar and she is is quite pretty and sweet. The daughter of Kelsey but don't confuse her with her sister Spencer - they are quite different looking. At least it's not one of those slasher type shows. More of a who dunnit.

• Interesting Despite A Not-So-Original Screenplay

  Desertman842017-05-09

  Well,after watching a sorority Lifetime TV movie entitled "Dead On Campus",I got treated once again with another released this year entitled "Deadly Sorority".It stars Greer Grammar, Chloe Babcook, Steve Bacic together with my favorite actress in the 90's Miss Moira Kelly who is playing a major supporting role in it. The story focuses on two best of friends Samantha and Kristina who are in their first days of college at university known as Barclay University.Things between the two new College students were great until Kristina joins a sorority and goes on a relationship with someone named Paul which turned their friendship into sour as Kristina started to have less time with Samantha.Then their story of friendship turn into a murder case when Kristina was killed.When Samantha turned into becoming a suspect and with the evidence started to turn against her,she decided to solve the case herself to clear her name. No question that anyone who have seen a lot of Lifetime TV movie have been familiar with type of screenplay wherein the main protagonist starts solving the case for themselves after the detectives have turned against them and so are the evidences that are mounted against them.So one would not be surprised with this story-telling technique.Other TV movies such as Danica McKellar's "The Wrong Woman" have used it.Another is the dead person that involves a sorority which apparently does not figure so much in the story. "Dead On Campus" used such.Added to that,the suspects that have figured out early turned out a surprise in the end as the one least suspected was indeed the guilty one and having a mentally disturbed criminal which is often used which have been used a in numerous Lifetime TV movies.Finally,what about the Moira Kelly Professor Amy Miller's husband's sex addiction? Wasn't that too in another TV movie about a teacher who has a sexual addiction starring Harry Hamlin entitled "Sex, Lies & Obsession"? Despite of the not-so-original screenplay,I would like credit good performances.First of course is to Greer Grammar as Samantha.She really made it interesting especially when she was trying to pursue the murderers.And Moira Kelly as well who did extremely well as terror professor Professor Amy Miller.The viewer would really hate her a lot.Overall,it was nice to see both actresses provide interest into this TV movie.

• Unbelievably embarrassing

  nitro722019-04-20

  Unbelievably embarrassing "movie" from a director who can't direct, a writer who can't write, and actors who can't act; filled with eye-rolling conveniences, an overly predictable "mystery", & extras laughably trying to act.

• I'll never get that time back

  charlottebetteridge-934812019-03-02

  The most awful film and terrible acting. Don't bother