Thrill of the Kill (TV Movie 2006) Poster

(2006 TV Movie)

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5/10
There is decent on screen chemistry between Shiri Appleby and Chris Potter
Ed-Shullivan25 December 2018
Kelly Holden (Shiri Appleby) is a feisty young attractive woman who wants answers as to who murdered her more flirty sister. When the police seemed to have all but closed the case, Kelly seeks out the assistance of the famed crime writer novelist Graydon Jennings (Chris Potter) to pick his brain to help get the murder investigation moving in the right direction, that being with a big "SOLVED" over the cover of her sistsers stalled murder investigation.

It does not take a lot of convincing, nor does it take a lot of time for crime novelist Graydon Jennings to agree to get invlolved and quickly embarass the local police with his investigative approach whiich leads Kelly and Graydon with a couple of prime suspects. What would a murder/mystery film be if we didn't have an influential, well known, corrupt and slimy politician leading the list of potential murder suspects?

Okay, so the film has a few holes in it and the director/writer(s) deliberately provide us with a few suspects so we have to fugure out the "whodunit", but all in all the on screen chemistry between the two lead actors Shiri Appleby and Chris Potter helped me at least want to see how the movie ends.

Did it thrill me? No But it did not disappoint me either so I give the film a passable 5 out of 10 rating. An okay time waster. Nothing more, nothing less.
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6/10
You don't have to get your hands dirty to kill someone. All you need is money.
sol12185 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS**** It's when famous crime writer Graydon Jenning, Chris Potter,came to do a book signing in Manchester Vermont Kelly Holden, Shiri Appleby, was eager to see him not to just sign his latest crime novel "The Thrill of the Kill" but to ask him questions about it. In just how he got the idea for its plot since it's so much like her sister Alison's, Dina Di Biase, unsolved murder some three years ago. Jenning is so impressed with Kelly's story that he decided to stay in Manchester and check out all the police reports on Alison's murder to do a follow up to it. This time with her murderer being caught and brought on trial. Uncovering evidence that the local police overlooked Jennings with Kelly's help soon come across a number of men that Alison had sexual relations with one of them being the US Senator of the state of Vermont the honorable Brandon Hartford, Matt Cooke.

It turns out that Sen. Hardford not only had an affair with Alison but kept her in a paid with government funds, so it couldn't be traced back to him, hotel outside Manchester city limits. In Alison's personal diary there were a number of code words describing Sen. Hartford one of them Cicero the name of a Roman Senator from the play Julius Cesar who was involved in Cesar's assassination! Was that a tip off by Alison to what the senator was planning to do to her if she got out of line by revealing their secret relationship to the press if he ever left her! As both Kelly & Jenning start putting the squeeze on Sen. Hartford's relationship with the murdered Alison Holden strange things start to happen to Kelly. Like her being forced off the road and this mysterious looking man,James Kidnie, who turned out to be Sen. Hartford's top aid always tailing her and at one point confronting Kelly and offering a $1000,000.00 pay off to back off her investigation of his boss or else!

***SPOILERS**** It's later that Kelly soon gets wind of who not only had murdered her sister Alison but is also planning to murder her as well. With Jennings back in New York and Kelly all alone in her house the killer suddenly makes his move on her. But what he never expected was Kelly's sister's old boyfriend Hank, Paul Hopkins, showing up unexpectedly when he was just about to off her! What he also didn't expect was that Kelly would be no pushover like her sister Alison was for him to take care of. With unexpected resistance by Kelly and and unscheduled visit by Hank it exposed the murderer to not just who he is but also disrupted his carefully planned timetable to commit his next murder! And most of all caused him to lose his cool that in his desperate and wild attempt to murder Kelly he ended up tripping himself up, or upside down, and thus killing himself!
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6/10
entertaining TV movie as good as some of the Hollywood drivel which passes as entertainment
disdressed1225 January 2007
as made for TV movies go,this one is not bad.not great,but not bad.to be honest,i don't mind most TV movies.true,they are very predictable,and most so called plot twists can be figured out by a 3 year old.having said,they can be entertaining.that pretty much describes "Thrill of the Kill".here's the basic plot outline.Kelly Holden(Shiri Appleby-Swim Fan,The TV series Roswel)can not let go of her sister's murder,which happened a year ago.She believes she can find out who the killer is.She enlists the help of murder mystery novelist Graydon Jennings(Chris Pottter-Kung Fu:the Legend Continues,Silk Stalkings(10 episodes)who happens to be in her town for a book signing.Because all of his novels are written from the point of view of the killer,she believes he may have some valuable insight.Naturally,there are more than a few suspects,but it is pretty easy to figure out the killer,way before the movie ends.Both Appleby and Potter are decent actors who do well with what they have.the movie is an entertaining 88 min diversion,which is probably all it sets out to be.Many people are critical of TV movies,sometimes referred to as the "movie of the weak".they are criticized for having basically the same plot,just different actors.this is true,but it is also true of much of the crap that is churned out for the big screen by Hollywood.there is certainly very little creativity there.the only difference may be bigger budget,big name actors and sometimes special effects,all designed to woo the viewer into thinking they're seeing something new.in other words,disguising the fact that they are watching the same old thing each time(yes,there are exceptions).add to that the fact that these big screen movies are actually trying to be creative or at least think they are.now,with the so called movies of the week,the filmmakers and actors know what their product is and don't try to make it anything more than it is.so,the above criticisms of TV movies are not valid.generally a movie of this sort deserves a 6/10 unless it is woefully worse than any other movie. since Thrill of the Kill is no worse than other TV movie and as good as some of the drivel that the big Machine spews out,this one also gets a 6/10
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It was okay
vchimpanzee28 January 2010
Warning to those with epilepsy: don't watch the first five minutes.

Crime author Graydon Jennings narrates the first scenes of this movie, which take place in a dance club with strobe lighting. I say crime author because his books are like "Columbo" movies. You know who did it, but the idea is to watch the investigation.

A year after the murder of her sister Alison, bartender Kelly of Manchester, Vermont, sees Jennings being interviewed and buys one of his books. Amazed by the similarities to her sister's case, Kelly goes to a book signing in Burlington and persuades Jennings to investigate the murder. He agrees.

Weird things start happening. Hank, a frequent customer at Clyde's Bar where Kelly works, liked Alison a lot and continues stalker-like behavior. The prime suspect in Alison's murder, though, seems to be Senator Hartford, one of many men she spent time with. At least he is believed to be "Cicero" from Alison's diary.

Kelly confronts Hartford, but there's no real evidence, and Hartford wants Kelly silenced.

Despite this being a TV-movie, certain words to describe Alison's promiscuous behavior are used. In flashbacks, we see Alison behaving badly. But the most sexy scene is the one where Kelly's friend Linda stays over (because Kelly is afraid) and takes a shower after running.

During the second half, there are some scary moments, but this is an ordinary thriller at best.

There's nothing that special here. Matt Cooke is pretty good as the senator. Chris Potter's narration at the beginning raises expectations, and he has some good moments later, but this is nothing more than a Lifetime-type movie, and not one of the better ones. But it is entertaining enough, and not too violent.
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5/10
almost an OK TV movie
SnoopyStyle2 March 2014
Kelly Holden (Shiri Appleby) is still haunted by her sister Alison's murder a year ago. She reads Graydon Jennings (Chris Potter)'s latest murder mystery and is shock to see so many similarities with her sister's murder. When she talks to Graydon, he reveals that the murder is based on another murder. They go off together to investigate Alison's murder. Kelly discovers Alison's diary with the name Cicero. The code name alluding to the Roman senator leading them to the modern day Senator Darren Hartford (Matt Cooke). Also there is Alison's former boyfriend Hank (Paul Hopkins) who could be a suspect.

This is a Lifetime TV movie in every ways especially the production value. Shiri Appleby does really well as the damsel in distress. However there is just a few nagging plot points that is never addressed. When Graydon mentions the other girl, there is an obvious serial killer angle that is missed. Also Graydon as a suspect is dismissed almost immediately. These need to be explained much better. The plot has some possibilities as a standard murder mystery, but it's not quite good enough to recommend.
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1/10
Two hour sample of how to make a really bad movie
oldwilli24 December 2006
'Twas the night before Christmas and all that was on TV was … dreck. There was the usual complement of the usual Christmas movies that I've seen dozens of times before. We had a few rented DVDs to watch but I needed something to amuse me that didn't require my full attention while I prepared Christmas Eve dinner for the wife and me.

I checked out our cable on-demand station and found more dreck. When I saw "Thrill Of The Kill" starred Shiri Appleby I figured that it might prove interesting and, if nothing else, provide a little eye candy. I haven't noticed Ms Appleby in anything since Roswell where I thought she did a very capable job of portraying Liz. And, here in TOTK, she does an admirable job of playing Kelly Helms whose sister, Allison, was brutally murdered several months ago. The police have no leads and the murder is a cold case.

Kelly reads the titular book written by crime fiction novelist Graydon Jennings (Chris Potter) which describes a murder with striking similarities to that of Allison's. Kelly contacts Jennings and asks for his help in solving Allison's murder. Reading Allison's diary makes it apparent she would crawl into bed with nearly any guy but was actually in love with someone she referred to as "Cicero". With some more sleuthing, the pair determines that Cicero was a US senator. After confronting the senator, the usual sort of bad stuff starts to happen around Kelly.

Plot starting to sound familiar ? It should – this things pulls up almost every stupid heroine cliché. Kelly doesn't call the cops when she should, several times. There is a jealous admirer whom everyone ignores. Who, in their right mind in the 21st century, confronts a politician about an affair and possible murder without wearing some kind of recording device ? I guessed the ending about ten minutes into it. My wife paid attention for about ten minutes in the middle of it and knew the ending. Potter's acting was no great shakes ( I kept expecting Zoe Busiek to pop up) and, apart from the sisters, the characters could have been played by mannequins – I think some of then actually were ! ;-) If you want to turn your brain off for a couple of hours, this is your movie. Otherwise, bypass it widely.
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4/10
The first 3/4 were tolerable
tomfsloan31 May 2019
Thrill of the Kill began ok, and most of the movie was adequate. It seemed puzzling that it looked like her and him practically moved in together. It went downhill when the senator spilled his guts to the girl. Why would he do that? Do what senators always do....lie! It was nice and convenient he was even there too. But biggest shark jump came with about 10 minutes to go. That was when the real murderer made his confession, pointlessly. The gun shot heard from the kitchen was a really stupid scene. Then, run to the barn, climb the ladder. Good idea since there's no way out then. Or is there??? This is not my spoiler but my cliffhanger!!!
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8/10
A Good Saturday Movie
lucasarts-8894727 December 2021
It's not your high budget movie but it's a good paced and good movie which has some interesting twists and turns. Worth a watch. And definitely beats some high end Hollywood flops.
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10/10
Help please.
gemd-4097815 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Really exciting movie. Got me interested at all time. Please someone tell me how did Kelly know Graydon was the killer, I missed that part
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8/10
Nicely twisted plot
graceoverpressuretheoneANDonly5 July 2022
If you like mystery/thrillers, this is a good one & keeps you guessing almost to the end. The acting was very good by all and each had a clear identity that gave one pause to wonder, "was it him?" Very enjoyable and held my interest from beginning to end and a good job of a movie made for television by all. Definitely entertaining which is WHY some of us STILL DO watch such movies that give us a thrill and chill at the same time.
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By far one of the
CranberriAppl21 May 2021
Dumbest female protags I've ever seen in a movie. Unbelievably so. Cheesy horror movie dumb. I didn't realize this movie was so old as I'd caught it during first weekend of lockdown on either NF or AMZPrime. I only watched it bc of Shiri and Chris Potter. Two faces I recognized. This chick is DUMB and it just got worse as the movie progressed. I found myself getting mad at her throughout the film and wanted to turn it off, but past a certain minute mark, I felt compelled to finish.

I won't spoil anything because the movie is not worth rehashing in that way. What would have been a surprise is if the villain turned out to not be the villain, but Kelly was such an idiot that it had to be on purpose and would have made no sense for her to not be playing right into the villain's hands. The parts with the politician were cringe and it was like she was in denial over not knowing what her sister was involved in. But as I said, she does a lot of things that irked me. There were so many signs practically hitting her over head that the only thing more obvious would be a cartoon DANGER sign flashing in her face.

This was a disappointing movie, and I think I napped afterwards. That's how bored I was. I will give the movie kudos for some of the creep factor. No matter how bad the movie, a person home alone and unknowingly at the mercy of the villain always gets to me. But Kelly was hard to root for because she lacked all common sense.
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