NIGHTSCREAM
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, Teri Garr, Denis Arndt
Original Airdate: Spring, 1997
Type: Drama/Thriller
I love Candace Cameron like crazy, but what was WITH all these TV-movies she made? I think I have seven of them on tape... yeow, girl. But anyway, this one is probably my favorite. It's the story of a young woman (Drew) who happens to look exactly like another girl (Laura) who died a year ago. Drew comes to the little town of Steveston, Oregon, where the citizens are having a memorial dedication thingie for Laura. Drew proceeds to go into a weird trance, talking to Laura's mother as if she (Drew) IS Laura. The townsfolk are all WTF!? because hey, Drew does look a lot like Laura... poor, poor Laura who was apparently murdered by her supposedly loving boyfriend, Teddy.
At first, we (the audience) are led to believe that Drew is somehow possessed by the spirit of Laura. I mean, dang -- this girl is convincing. But then we come to find out that Drew is part of a hoax put on by a young man who has told her he's Teddy; he tells her he's trying to clear his name (meanwhile, all the town citizens think that Teddy fell off a cliff the same night Laura was murdered... and yes, Teddy REALLY IS DEAD, but he was murdered, too, as we will discover later). Anyway, this Teddy imposter isn't really Teddy at all, but RAY JUNIOR, Laura's stepbrother. He's hired Drew (after going WHOA HEY SHE LOOKS LIKE MY DEAD STEPSISTER) to participate in this hoax, but he's got nefarious purposes. He's in league with his father, Ray Senior, to snatch Laura's diaries (that Laura's mother hid after Laura died) because the diaries have evidence in them that will be incriminating to widdle Ray. The Rays know that the only way they can get the diaries is if Drew shmoozes up to Laura's mother and weasles them away from her. I mean, it's this whole big thing.
However, things REALLY get interesting when Drew starts to actually become possessed by Laura! The ghost of Laura talks to Drew, and Drew starts to get totally freaked out, but in the end, Drew manages to help solve the murder and clear Teddy's name, not that it matters much to Teddy, since he was murdered, too. But Teddy's mama sure will be grateful. Hurray for justice!


8/28/2005
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