Twisted Desire

{{short description|1996 American thriller television film by Craig R. Baxley}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Twisted Desire 1996.jpg

| caption = Promotional advertisement

| genre = Crime thriller

| director = Craig R. Baxley

| writer = {{Plainlist|

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Gary Chang

| country = United States

| language = English

| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|

Judith A. Polone
Harry Winer

}}

| producer = Judy Cairo

| cinematography = João Fernandes

| editor = Sonny Baskin

| company = Polone/Winer Productions

| network = NBC

| released = {{start date|1996|05|13}}

| runtime = 96 minutes

| budget =

}}

Twisted Desire is a 1996 American crime thriller television film directed by Craig R. Baxley and written by twin brothers Carey and Chad Hayes. It stars Melissa Joan Hart, with real-life domestic partners Daniel Baldwin and Isabella Hoffman. The movie also stars Meadow Sisto, David Lascher, and R&B/pop star Jeremy Jordan. It aired on May 13, 1996, on NBC.{{Cite web |title=Hart Is No Clarissa In 'Twisted Desire' {{!}} The Spokesman-Review |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/may/13/hart-is-no-clarissa-in-twisted-desire/ |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=www.spokesman.com|date=May 13, 1996 }}

The film is presented as based on real events:{{Cite web |title=Twisted Desire |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/twisted-desire/review/2030012014/ |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Marill |first=Alvin H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CUMOAQAAMAAJ&q=Twisted+Desire+-wikipedia%C2%A0y+Craig+R.+Baxley |title=Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004: 1990-1999 |date=2005 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5174-0 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4woIAQAAMAAJ&q=Twisted+Desire+-wikipedia%C2%A0y+Craig+R.+Baxley |title=Film-Dienst |date=2000 |publisher=Katholisches Institut für Medieninformationen, Katholische Filmkommission für Deutschland |language=de}} the 1990 murders of the parents of 14-year-old Jessica Wiseman. Jessica had her 17-year-old boyfriend, Douglas Christopher Thomas, shoot and kill her parents. Thomas was executed in 2000, when the death penalty for juveniles was still a legal punishment.{{Cite journal |last=Duncan |first=Martha Grace |date=2002 |title="So Young and so Untender": Remorseless Children and the Expectations of the Law |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1123791 |journal=Columbia Law Review |volume=102 |issue=6 |pages=1469–1526 |doi=10.2307/1123791 |jstor=1123791 |issn=0010-1958|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite news |title=Killing Points Up Uneven Penalties |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/06/16/killing-points-up-uneven-penalties/b249e3d6-6005-4472-af46-9ed45010f812/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Plot

Jennifer Stanton is a rebellious teenager whose father William is overprotective and strict, while her mother Susan barely takes her side. William visibly hates Jennifers friends, the way she dresses, and even caused her boyfriend Brad to break up with her due to him feeling intimidated by her father. When William embarrasses her by showing up unannounced at a party she snuck off too, Jennifer snaps wishing that she could have the freedom her friends have.

The day after the party, Jennifer meets Nick Ryan at a gas station and soon forms a close relationship with him, which she keeps secret from her parents. Nick has a reputation for having spent time in jail on an assault charge. When Jennifer's parents catch them in bed together after coming home early from their date night, William chase's Nick out of the house. Afterwords, he grounds Jennifer for the rest of the school year, forbids her from using the car, hanging out with her friends, and announces that her mother will take her to and from school from now on, while Susan announces that she will no longer take her side. Which only makes Jennifer resent her parents more and more.

Despite the punishments given, Jennifer continues to secretly see Nick. He visits Jennifer's house in an attempt to apologize for the night before and proclaims his love for her, but William doesn’t accept his apology and tells him to leave. Furious, Brad states how harsh William is towards her , especially after finding Jennifer’s eye swollen the other night ( in reality, she put make up on her face to make it seem like William hit her) . William, having had enough of his accusations, threatens to turn Nick in for statutory rape, and to "kick his ass" if he doesn't get lost. The next morning, William finds his car vandalized and contacts the police. Nick is questioned, but denies knowledge of the incident.

After overhearing her parents discussing how to deal with her, with her mother suggesting they send her away to live with a relative, while William considers using his police contacts to keep Nick away from her. Jennifer convinces Nick to get his grandfather's pistol and kill her parents in order for her to finally have freedom. While he plans out the murder, Jennifer tells her friends at school that she and Nick have broken up. She also presents herself to William and Susan as their idea of a model teenager. William and Susan let their daughter go for once to a slumber party. Later that night, Jennifer sneaks away from the slumber party and meets up with Nick to execute the plan.

Once they reach the house, Nick is having second thoughts . But after Jennifer convinces him it’s the only way for them to be together, he proceeds to shoot and kill the couple in their sleep. The day after the killings, Jennifer moves into her grandmother's house and rekindles her relationship with Brad. She calls the police anonymously with information that leads to their discovery of the gun. With Nick in custody, the case seems to be closed. However, Detective Daniels suspects that Jennifer knows more regarding this case than she let on during police interrogation. When confronted, Jennifer claims that Nick was angry at her parents for not letting him see her, thereby explaining Nick's motive. Meanwhile, Jennifer's best friend Karen Winkler finds her diary; it reveals how Jennifer used Nick to do away with her parents so that she could have Brad.

Karen visits Nick in jail, and tells him how he's been set up by Jennifer. When he confronts Jennifer about it, she blames Nick entirely for the murders. Upset, he admits to the police that he killed William and Susan, but that it was Jennifer's idea. Karen tries and fails to find evidence of Jennifer's involvement. When Jennifer finds out about Karen's investigation, she threatens to implicate Karen in the murders.

At Nick's murder trial, Jennifer falsely testifies that Nick harassed her. Eventually, a wired Brad manipulates Jennifer into admitting responsibility for her parents' deaths and the police arrest her.

An epilogue reveals that Jennifer Stanton was tried as a juvenile, while Nick Ryan is still in prison.

Cast

Melissa Joan Hart as Jennifer Stanton
Daniel Baldwin as William Stanton
Jeremy Jordan as Nick Ryan
Meadow Sisto as Karen Winkler
Kurt Fuller as Detective Becker
David Lascher as Brad
Eric Laneuville as Detective Daniels
Collin Wilcox Paxton as Rose Stanton
Isabella Hofmann as Susan Stanton

Reception

Variety found that "Production is handsome and homey, and designer Phillip M. Leonard has infused a comfortable atmosphere with L.A. locales to back the telepic's edgy story. Joao R. Fernandes' lensing, Sonny Baskin's surefire editing are pluses; Gary Chang's bizarre title music jars — probably intentionally. Telefilm's a good romp for kids mulling doing away with their parents — or at least it's a good warning."{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Tony |author-link=A. O. Scott|date=1996-05-13 |title=Nbc Monday Night at the Movies: Twisted Desire |url=https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/nbc-monday-night-at-the-movies-twisted-desire-1200445863/ |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Variety|language=en-US}}

A review at The Movie Scene stated it was a "pleasant surprise as for a mid 90s TV movie based on a true story it is far more entertaining than the norm."{{Cite web |title=Twisted Desire (1996) Melissa Joan Hart, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Jordan, Meadow Sisto, Kurt Fuller, David Lascher Movie Review |url=https://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/twisted-desire-1996/twisted-desire-1996.html#google_vignette |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=www.themoviescene.co.uk}}

Hart's performance was noted by various reviewers.{{Cite web |last=FELDMAN |first=LEN |date=1996-05-13 |title=MELISSA JOAN HART TURNS TEEN SEDUCTRESS IN 'TWISTED DESIRE' |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/melissa-joan-hart-turns-teen-seductress-in-twisted-desire/article_5d1b332d-0a85-5c6b-89e6-10a7673a7461.html |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Buffalo News |language=en}}