The title Lady Terror strongly suggests chills, frights, eerieness, and scares are the order of the day. However, that is hardly the case with this Nathan Hill-directed and starring film. Written by Nick Levy and Simon Salamon, this is a femme fatale thriller, a la Jade or Derailed, with a few crucial twists thrown in to keep things fresh.
Jake (Hill) is a successful lawyer who can charm the pants off of just about any lady without much effort. This puts his fiance, Celine (Tritia DeViSha), on constant edge, as she doesn’t fully trust him. One day, Jake is leaving his favorite bar and stops a robbery in progress. The lady he helps is named Candice (Phillyda Murphy) and is in severe pain, so he takes her to a nearby hospital and learns she had a miscarriage. Despite this horrible tragedy, Candice is grateful to Jake and invites him out to say thank you. The lawyer accepts and meets her at what turns out to be a strip joint.
“…she’s hoping Jake will be the one to enact the murder.”
After Candice’s private routine, the two go at it. Jake hasn’t felt this kind of lust and passion in years, as he and Celine have grown apart for one reason or another. Considering the two are engaged, breaking up shouldn’t be that hard. No, it is Celine’s stepfather (Anton Kormoczi) who is really in their way. He wants to control every aspect of her life and use her for money despite the fact that she’s a full-grown woman. In fact, Candice knows her life would be better if he were to be slain, and she’s hoping Jake will be the one to enact the murder. Can she convince him to go along with her scheme to kill her stepdad? What will the repercussions be if Jake murders on Candice’s behalf?
Outside of being poorly titled, Lady Terror does have a handful of other flaws. There are a number of walking from the car to a door, or vice versa, shots that feel like padding. Celine and Jake’s relationship makes little sense as they are volatile toward each other from the start, and the actors’ chemistry isn’t strong enough to suggest love gone sour. Then there’s the CGI explosion. It’s one scene and only one explosion, but it looks very cheap. It takes one out of what should be a high-stakes, engaging moment.
"…a fun throwback to a style of filmmaking largely not seen in some 20 years."
