Pluskylang Great Film overall

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

moonspinner55 Feisty waitress attracts a handsome businessman, who is swept away by her good nature and marries her; however, soon after the ceremony, the young woman begins exhibiting hyper-emotional, schizophrenic behavior that seems to be rooted in her childhood. Valerie Bertinelli stars in this TV-made fictionalization of events in the life of Laurie Dann (called Laurie Wade here), who eventually bought a gun and went into a grade school in 1988, with tragic consequences. It's too bad Hollywood producers see horrific headlines and immediately think big ratings, or that popular television actresses such as Bertinelli see in a disturbing project like this an opportunity to show off their range--much more responsibility should be shown to the actual persons depicted and to the audience. The crummy feeling one gets from this movie comes directly from the handling (with its opening shots of officers surrounding a home and loading their guns framing the narrative in that age-old TV device The Flashback). Strictly a fill-in-the-blanks job, offering nothing but a build-up to the moment Laurie finally snapped.

cambrige_girl First, I love the performance given by the beautiful and talented Valerie Bertinelli as the mentally unstable Laurie Wade. I watched this movie twice and yet still cannot figure out what went wrong or why she acted the way she did. The things that puzzled me the most was the fact that she seemed obsessed with the number seven. Was she obsessed because she had a hard time in the seventh grade? Was the real Laurie (who's last name was Dann) obsessed with it as well? We don't know what went on in Laurie's head but it's obvious that she had a hard time, if only she had been cured. And of course, her poor husband who was ignored despite all his worries and concerns about his wife. I mean, I would be worried. Imagine walking into your wife's bedroom and finding the words "pain" and "suffer" written in red all over the walls. Also, the continuous pictures of little Laurie on the slide and "LLL 777" written on the walls. The scene with her apartment really scared me, especially with the rotting meat and watching her opening and slamming the door over and over again. Also, seeing her watch nothing but a fuzzy haze on the television with her eyes wide open like a zombie right next to her door was very eerie. I felt like I was in this different dimension, witnessing this poor girl's life. Whatever happened to the real Laurie while she lived, no one knows. All we know is that she lived a frightening and dark life and if we ever do find out what illness caused her to do what she had done, we can understand her story. Laurie left everyone out there wandering and know, as I'm writing this review I'm thinking about what kind of life she would have led if she was cured but whatever it was, it would have been easier on her and the people around her....

krazygirl1_98 Valerie Bertinelli does a fantastic acting job in this movie. She is extremely convincing and scary as Laurie Wade !! The movie is very sad of course, because of it being based on the true story of Laurie Wade and her journey to mental illness. I saw this film quite awhile ago on television and although sad, enjoyed Valerie's acting and the movie itself. I've been looking for this film for awhile now and so far, have only seen it available on Ebay, to Great Britain. Hoping to find it on Region one DVD. I would highly recommend it for not only Valerie Bertinelli fans but anyone who is into true crime or can handle the topics that this film deals with. This film is definitely NOT for children so parents please be warned.

aqx99 This movie is an amazing true account of the rampage that Laurie Dann (her last name is different in the movie) went on during the last hours of her life. Her madness was never explained, and the reason for her actions will never be known. Surprisingly, only one child died that day, while hundreds could have if her plans had all worked out. This is an incredibly well acted movie. One of Valerie Bertinelli's best movies.