‘Sorority Secrets’: Lifetime thriller offers a perfect mix of suspense and drama with a sprinkle of realism
Spoilers for 'Sorority Secrets'
Cassie Thompson (Brytnee Ratledge) is a straight-A student, who ends up in the college of her dreams with sheer determination. She even gets accepted into the sorority in the university, which she believes would reduce the burden on her single working mother Debra Thompson (Elisabetta Fantone). However, it doesn’t take too long for Cassie and Debra to realize that the lifestyle sorority demands is way out of their league. When Cassie struggles to find a place for herself among the uppity girls, the head of the sorority Wendy Klein (Marie Debrey) convinces Cassie to attend a social event called “White Party”, which hosts university alums and influential people from various fields of works, who are believed to help students find their way into the industry by offering internships.
While Cassie agrees to attend the party in order to build her network, the queen sister of the sorority, Monica (Tommi Rose) starts to throw shade at the new girl, mostly driven by her own insecurities of losing the top position, should Cassie become popular or Wendy’s favorite. However, Monica is the least of Cassie’s concerns as she more distracted by the back-to-back deaths of two sisters.
The second death that occurs in a matter of days leaves the girls further troubled, while Cassie tries to get to the bottom of it. She realizes that the “business meetings” set by Wendy were a part of a secret sex trafficking ring, where young girls are asked to sleep with older men in exchange for certain privileges in the sorority. Just when Cassie enlists her mother’s help to catch Debra red-handed with her illicit activity, she’s further bogged down by the speculations suggesting a “pusher killer” had been the source for all the killings that took place in the university. Cassie works a brilliant plan to get Wendy caught but isn’t aware of the fact that she was next on line to be targeted by the serial killer.
The climax of the movie shows Cassie casually conversing with her boyfriend Charlie (Nikolai Soroko) when he gets stabbed in the neck by the pusher killer before they reveal themselves to Cassie. As viewers, you would be as shocked as Cassie on witnessing the murderer who was roaming about freely for a long time without raising the slightest of suspicion despite committing heinous crimes.
The Lifetime thriller is simple yet impactful. The suspense unfolds skillfully throughout the movie, not giving away or retaining too much, offering just the right amount of mystery to keep you going from the start till the end. Cassie’s role is inspiring as she navigates the harsh reality of life as a woman who is fighting for her rights and that of her fellow female students. Unlike other thrillers that go over the top to create a sense of fear in the audience, ‘Sorority Secrets’ rather sticks to realism and uses the same to build terror by highlighting the real danger of the real world. The evolving plotline makes the movie an enthralling watch and the feature of multiple characters saves you from relapsing into boredom.
‘Sorority Secrets’ premieres on August 22 at 8 pm ET on Lifetime.