‘Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For’ Review: Murders mimic book in intriguing slow burn
Lifetime's ‘Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For’ is a murder mystery based on the book 'Fallen Angels Book Club' by R Franklin James. The film is written, executive produced, and directed by Rhonda Baraka.
The movie depicts a book club in which members of the "Fallen Angels Murder Club" must have two traits - a love of books and a criminal record. At the beginning of the film, we see six friends discussing murder mysteries over drinks like they usually do every night; but that night, after everyone leaves for home, one of them gets murdered in the same manner a character is killed in the book 'World At Midnight'. The surprise is that this was the last book they had all read together.
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The rest of the crew finds out about it the next day while waiting for their friend Rory Sharma (Raoul Bhaneja) to arrive. However, the door opens, and two detectives enter the room to convey the bad news to the squad.
Everyone is stunned, and the first thought that comes to everyone's mind is that Rory was murdered in the same way as the character in the book, and they would be the next victims. As the cops begin their murder investigation, one of the book club members, Hollis Morgan (Toni Braxton), is named as a suspect as she was the last to leave Rory's house that day.
Hollis' life becomes a little more complex when another member of the book club, Abby Caldwell (Lisa Berry), disappears in the same way a second character from the book disappears. Everyone assumed Abby was dead, but spoiler alert: Hollis surprised Abby and confronted her about why she faked her death.
The movie starts off a little slow and you'll need some time to figure out who all the characters are and how they're connected. The movie is divided into ACTS since it is based on a novel. Every ACT has its own touch. The movie moves at a sluggish pace, yet there is a sense of suspense and curiosity throughout. Also, this film has a lot of various angles and shows the backstory of each person, which might be confusing to the viewer. 'Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For' in my opinion is a great murder mystery film to watch. While the film may initially bore you, it has a compelling storyline that will have you glued to your screens. Toni Braxton's acting is fantastic, and it is fascinating to watch her embrace the role of a strong woman.
As the movie inches towards the end, you’ll be shocked to see who actually is the murderer in the movie. Not only that, but you'll feel that the book club members should be detectives themselves since it appears like they were all trying to solve the mystery of Rory's murders while the detectives just stood there.
Also, the film closes with the anticipation of another murder, so we'll have to wait until the next weekend to discover what happens next.
The second film of the Fallen Angels Murder Club film series, 'Fallen Angels Murder Club: Heroes and Felons,' will premiere on Lifetime on Saturday, April 9 at 8 pm/7 pm.