The Lie Movie Review

The Lie (2018) [Between Earth and Sky]

Rent The Lie on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Veena Sud (written for the screen by), Marcus Seibert and Sebastian Ko (based on the film "Wir Monster" written by)
Directed by: Veena Sud
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Mireille Enos, Joey King, Cas Anvar, Nicholas Lea
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A father and daughter are on their way to dance camp when they spot the girl's best friend on the side of the road. When they stop to offer the friend a ride, their good intentions soon result in terrible consequences.

Verdict
There's nothing to the movie. The story isn't new, which isn't a problem, but we never get into the emotional state of the characters. The biggest problem is that all of the characters are idiots. The big twist ending isn't bad by itself, but the preceding movie is so boring that the movie seems to be reveling in how clever it is when in reality it isn't. The ending is an insult to viewers.
Skip it.

Review
Blumhouse Productions are distributing eight movies through Amazon Video in October. Blumhouse is known for making budget thriller-horror movies that do well at the box office like Ma and Upgrade.

Peter Saarsgaard and Mireille Enos play parents Jay and Rebecca.

With a crime story like this that's been done a few times before, the way into it is through the emotional reactions of the characters. The mom is a lawyer and former prosecutor and she seems to have zero knowledge of the criminal justice system. That doesn't give me any faith in this movie's story. This movie hinges on everyone being stupid. I get this is an extreme situation, but the movie never tries to excuse dumb behavior due to emotional distress.

Joey King plays Kayla.

The ending is a cop out, but part of that is the lack of foundation. That could have been a nice twist if the rest of the movie wasn't so bad. Instead we get an ending that feel like the writers bragging about how smart they are despite the fact this type of ending has been done before.

This should have been parents simultaneously trying to protect their daughter Kayla while wondering if they are in danger themselves from her. It could have taken a deeper dive into Kayla and her reactions. While the ending kind of explains some of her discrepancies away, it still felt cheap. There are clues in the movie that contradict the ending.

The movie never asks the viewer what would you do. There is no connection. You could easily make this movie less stupid. There's a story in this movie that doesn't short the viewer to set up a twist. This movie has no thrills, no chills. It's just a waste. That's probably the reason the release was delayed for two years.