A Killer Among Friends

Last updated
A Killer Among Friends
A Killer Among Friends.jpg
GenreDrama
Written by Christopher Lofton
John Miglis
Charlie Carner
Directed by Charles Robert Carner
Starring Patty Duke
Margaret Welsh
Tiffani Thiessen
Chad Todhunter
Theme music composer Richard Bellis
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers Allen S. Epstein
Jim Green
Bonnie Raskin
Producer Mark Bacino
Production location Vancouver
Cinematography Richard Leiterman
Editor David Blangsted
Running time96 minutes
Production companies Bonnie Raskin Productions
Green/Epstein Productions
Lorimar Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseDecember 8, 1992 (1992-12-08)

A Killer Among Friends is a 1992 made-for-television movie that aired on CBS on December 8, 1992. Based on a true story, the film stars Patty Duke as a mother grieving for her murdered daughter (Tiffani Thiessen) and sets out to find the killer. The film is based on the real life murder of Michele Avila.

Contents

Plot

Jennifer “Jenny” Monroe (Tiffani Thiessen) is a beautiful and popular teenager. Her friendship with her childhood best friend, Ellen Holloway (Margaret Welsh), becomes strained due to Ellen’s insecurities and increasing jealousy of Jenny’s beauty, popularity with guys, and close with relationship with her loving mother, Jean (Patty Duke). Tensions grow worse after Ellen pressures Jenny into shoplifting and erroneously accuses her of sleeping with her boyfriend. One day, Jenny leaves to hang out with her friend, Carla Lewis. When she does not return home, Jean becomes worried and alerts the police. Days later, Jenny is found in a creek, having been drowned, with a 100-pound log placed over her body. Jean is grief-stricken, and Ellen becomes her emotional support, eventually moving into her home. Jean becomes frustrated by the detectives’ lack of progress in finding Jenny’s killer. She and Ellen begin tracking their own leads, much at Ellen’s behest. Ellen’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, and her obsession with the case intensifies, causing tension among Jean and her family, who feels Ellen is an unhealthy influence on her. Jean eventually asks Ellen to move out so that she can move on with her life. Some time later, a guilt-ridden acquaintance of Jenny’s, Kathy Pearl (Janne Mortil), goes to the police and confesses to witnessing Jenny’s murder. She tells them Carla lured Jenny out of her house and drove her to a secluded wooded area in a National park, where Carla and Ellen confronted her with allegedly stealing their boyfriends. They taunted her, cut her hair, and forced her into a stream, eventually drowning her. After hearing the news, Jean is devastated but confronts Ellen at the police station, where she and Carla are arrested. After finally receiving closure, Jean attempts to move on with her family and find peace.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>The Patty Duke Show</i> American television series

The Patty Duke Show is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliot Stabler</span> Fictional character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Elliot Stabler Sr. is a fictional character, played by Christopher Meloni and one of the lead characters on the NBC police procedural series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime.

<i>Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th</i> 2000 American film

Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th is a 2000 American direct-to-video parody slasher film directed by John Blanchard. The film stars Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Tom Arnold, Coolio and Shirley Jones. Several mid- and late 1990s teen horror films are parodied, as are slasher films from the 1970s and 1980s, including the Scream films, Friday the 13th (1980), Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), as well as other films and television series outside of the horror genre. Although many different films are parodied, the film follows the plot of Scream (1996) very closely. It is often compared to Scary Movie, a commercially successful spoof from the same year, which had as a working title Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween.

One Life to Live is an American soap opera that was broadcast from 1968 to 2013, on the ABC network from 1968 to 2012. The series starts with One Life to Live storylines (1968–1979). The plot continues in One Life to Live storylines (1980–1989). The plot in the next decade is outlined in One Life to Live storylines (1990–1999) and the story concludes in One Life to Live storylines (2000—2013).

<i>The Alphabet Killer</i> 2008 film by Rob Schmidt

The Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton. The film is directed by Rob Schmidt, director of Wrong Turn, also starring Dushku, and written by Tom Malloy, who also acted in a supporting role.

Dead Tone is a 2007 American slasher film directed and written by Brian Hooks and Deon Taylor. It stars Hooks, Antwon Tanner, Cherie Johnson, Rutger Hauer, German Legarreta, Gwendoline Yeo and Aimee Garcia.

<i>Crime of Passion</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Gerd Oswald

Crime of Passion is a 1957 American film noir crime drama directed by Gerd Oswald and written by Jo Eisinger. The cast features Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden and Raymond Burr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Michele Avila</span> Murder of an American teenager

Michele Yvette "Missy" Avila was an American teenager who was murdered by her former best friends and rivals, Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, in October 1985.

<i>The Stranger Beside Me</i> (film) 1995 American TV series or program

The Stranger Beside Me is a 1995 American made-for-television drama film directed by Sandor Stern and starring Tiffani Amber Thiessen as a young newlywed who suspects her charming husband is not as charming or innocent as he seems. Though the film shares a title with a book about Ted Bundy, it is not based on that book nor inspired by the serial killer.

Frank Foster (<i>Coronation Street</i>) Soap opera character

Frank Foster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Andrew Lancel. He made his debut appearance on 20 January 2011. Frank was introduced as a business associate of Carla Connor. In December 2011, it was announced Frank would be leaving Coronation Street at the end of his storyline. Two months later, it was confirmed Frank would be murdered as part of a "whodunit" storyline. Five regular characters became suspects during the investigation, but his mother, Anne Foster eventually confessed to killing him. Frank made his last on-screen appearance on 8 March 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Crozier</span> Soap opera character

Carla Summerfield is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, who was portrayed by Elisabeth Easther from early 1995 to mid 1996. The character debuted as the sister of established character Ellen Crozier and gained notoriety as the show's first ever on screen murderer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Foster</span> Soap opera character

Anne Foster is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Gwen Taylor. Anne is the mother of Frank Foster and wife of Sam Foster. The character and casting was announced on 4 August 2011. Taylor revealed she had found her first day on set "terrifying", but she quickly settled in. A reporter for the Western Mail branded Anne a "pompous matriarch". Taylor said that after being revealed as Frank's killer, she fears that she will be hated in real life. She also admitted that she only knew the identity of Frank's killer when Lancel revealed it to her during filming and added that she loved filming her scenes as Anne. Taylor made her first appearance as Anne on 4 September 2011. She made her last appearance on 19 March 2012.

<i>Shield for Murder</i> 1954 film by Howard W. Koch, Edmond OBrien

Shield for Murder is a 1954 American film noir crime film co-directed by and starring Edmond O'Brien as a police detective who has become malevolent. It was based on the novel of the same name by William P. McGivern.

<i>Seven Blood-Stained Orchids</i> Film

Seven Blood-Stained Orchids is a 1972 giallo film directed by Umberto Lenzi, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

Spring Tide is a Swedish television drama series. It had its premiere on 6 March 2016 on SVT. It was written by Rolf and Cilla Börjlind and is based on their crime novel of the same name published in 2012.