I've seen this movie half a dozen times on Lifetime--I can't help it. The acting is really superb. Matt McGrath, whom I don't believe I've seen elsewhere (but whose IMDb listing is substantial) gives a chilling performance of a messed up kid who aspires to be nothing more. Blythe Danner is fantastic as mother and victim Bonnie von Stein. And she elevates any project she's in. Terrific performance. Daughter Gwyneth Paltrow was good, too, I thought, although others may not agree (see earlier post). I also enjoy seeing Dennis Farina--he's awesome and perfectly cast as a tough FBI trained investigator turned PI. Other great performances by Miguel Ferrer and Ed Asner. I think this movie is terrific and I'll watch anything and everything with a body count. I'd have to give it somewhere between 8 or 9 stars out of 10.
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sheezhank2-126 September 2004
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JediToreador1 February 2003Like everyone has said, this is yet another attempt to blame something tragic on something other than the human being that committed it. After Colombine, the great evil was on black trench coats. This movie blames it all on D&D. PLEASE! A coat is a coat as much as a game is a game.
I have another issue here. In this movie it was very clearly implied that only quiet alienated creepy loser-type men played these games. Perhaps this is a (subtle) wink at the idea that only men could be influenced by a work of pure fiction, but I have to think it's further proof that the makers of this movie, and the author of the book it's based on, did not bother to research the game itself or the players of it. Did they talk to players of RPGs that have not killed anyone? I think there are MILLIONS of them out there, both men and women, yet they must focus on the one young man that may have had something to do with a murder. I know, I know, before you say it, I know that a story of a perfectly socialized person who also happens to play role playing games would not be a very interesting movie and could not have been nominated for an Oscar, but it would have been closer to the truth than this *thing*.
All I request is that people THINK before they imply something that alienates a large group of harmless, friendly, NON-angsty people. Is that too much to ask? -
guitarz-314 September 2000Is this supposed to be a parody of truth? That's the biggest problem with docudramas, you don't know when you're supposed to laugh/cry or whether the producers are taking major liberties with the facts. Did the writers and producers of this do any real research about the topic at hand? This is a one sided show that does nothing but fuel the current paranoia about roleplaying games. Resist your urge to follow the herd and take what this movie is selling only with a grain of salt, perhaps a large salt lick like the kind I remember my Grandpa provided for his horses.
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hellkelly7726 February 2005I thought this movie was HILARIOUS. no one here in Washington EVEN talks like that. the accents are horrible. the acting is horrible. the scenery is nothing like Washington. we live in the same neighborhood, it looks NOTHING like the one in the movie (and no its not all trailer parks). i wish the director would do a little research, maybe shoot the film on location. Michael Moore could even do better with the truth! i feel as though this movie adds to the stereotype southerners would like to break free of. it grossly portrays several inaccuracies and adds to the assumptions that southerners are ignorant and all of our police officers break tons of laws everyday. i half expected to see them discussing the case over some beers at porky's...
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Sylviastel13 August 2006Don't listen or pay any attention to the negative reviews. I remember watching this mini-series. Blythe Danner is memorable as the mother who comes to terms with her son's horrible crime. Gwyneth Paltrow who is her daughter is memorable playing her daughter. Ed Asner plays one of the lawyers and Kathy Kinney has a small role before she hit it big on the Drew Carey Show as Mimi. I won't say it's my favorite mini-series but I do watch it when it comes on because of Blythe Danner's performance. If you are a fan of her daughter, then you will understand how Blythe Danner has become one of the finest Ameican actresses around whether stage, film or television. She does her job magnificently. I wasn't happy about the ending of the story but it's true so you can't change anything there but if you want to see Gwyneth Paltrow make an impression than you should watch this mini-series. Even as a minor role as Angela, she makes an impression.
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This movie is a big steaming pile of horse-hockey. Can we say "slanted"? This is a movie that thousands of parents will use (borrowed from the fundamentalist's library, of course) to indoctrinate their children as to why alot of shy, introverted kids who like to game are evil... all while beating them for thinking impure thoughts. Seriously, this kind of misrepresentation and trash is best discouraged by libel lawsuits. If you take any part of this film as fact, let me sell you Florida real-estate. This film had an agenda,a big one... and set to target alot of innocent people and label them as threats to society. No, not a movie presenting "gangstas" as misrepresented youth with a few problems that putting them in time out will cure... but a movie that paints intelligent, caring and imaginative kids who are fond of literary pursuits as borderline psychotics with a thin grip on reality. When did logic get a haircut here? As far as it's quality as a movie... this thing was brutal. Perhaps I'm a bit slanted, but the plot was as transparent as a baggie. The acting was on that level as well. I've seen corporate films on steel-plant production with more drama. My recommendation, if you have a choice between contracting typhoid and watching this movie, it may be a hard one. Don't waste money or time on it. Life is far too short.
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Entwashian7 December 2005Seeing that Dungeons & Dragons was involved with this case, I was really curious about how they were going to portray it in the film. Frankly, I thought they did a very good job of representing its role in the case. They made it very clear that by the time of the murder, the boys were no longer playing Dungeons & Dragons -- they had their own game with their own set of rules. Chris even states at his sentencing that drugs, alcohol, and D&D were not to blame for his participation in the scheme; that ultimately he himself was responsible for what he did (a surprisingly healthy attitude from a suicidal man who has tried to kill his parents).
The acting in the movie was decent; it's kinda cool to see as-of-then unknowns when they were younger (Adam Baldwin was why I watched the miniseries, Neal McDonough was really good, & I was happy to see David Arquette show up). I think what should be emphasized in this movie is not that it featured D&D (it also depicted drugs & alcohol as factors in the murder), but that it really shows the relationship between the mother & her son, and how the victim of a crime would actually feel. When Bonnie Von Stein feels frustrated at not being able to know what's going on in the case, it was frustrating for me, as the viewer, as well. If that sort of thing interests you, then you should see this movie. If not, then you might be bored. -
rockycows24 March 2002This movie is not that bad, not that good. It is the typical murder of the week, made for TV movie.
However, to all reviewers who are making comments about the Dungeons and Dragons aspect of the movie, I say "Read The Book".
The writers of the movie didn't pick this theme out of thin air. It was an important part of the actual crime. No one picked role playing games as a scapegoat.
Except maybe the actual perpetrator... -
hx195016 January 2005Regardless of the "quality" of this TV flick, it's "true." This movie's story is based on a real case. The events happened in South Carolina in 1988. The name of the town is Washington, North Carolina. There was a murder and an attempted murder. The victims were a man and his wife. The actual names of the victims are used in the movie. Suspects were captured. There was a trial. A lot of "stuff" happened between the time of the crime and its resolution. I wasn't aware of the 10 line minimum. I was taught to be succinct. If you want, see this made-for-TV movie. Then, if you have the desire, judge it yourself. It will probably air again. This movie might air again in 2005. Perhaps on Lifetime or USA "networks."
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This is one mini series that follows the book very closely. The problem is that they are both full of stuff and nonsense. In his book "Cruel Doubt" Joe Mcginnis invents a connection between the D&D training scenario "Your First Game" and the murder of Leith Von Stein. The training game was, according to Mcginnis, used a blueprint for murder. He even uses a synopsis of the training game and compares it item by item to the crime. The problem is that it is all made up. The training game has only one point in common with his description of it, the name of a single character. The mini series takes this even further by fabricating photographic evidence. The mini series displays a photograph that is supposed to resemble the murderer in the act and represents it as being a page from the AD&D PLAYERS HANDBOOK. The picture does not exist in that book at all. Mcginnis says in a foreward that he took up the commission to write the book in part to help Bonnie Von Stein get some answers to the troubling events surrounding the attack on her and Leith that left her husband dead and her seriously wounded. Any careful study of the D&D materials and the claims made in this book and movie will demonstrate that the "connection" between D&D and this crime was limited to the simple fact that the conspirators met at college because they had a common interest in the AD&D game and nothing more. Simple greed was the motive for this horrendous crime. Whatever doubts Bonnie Von Stein has cruel or otherwise must remain. This movie could have told a better story if it had told the truth. As pure fiction "Cruel Doubt" has some merit. It can be moderately entertaining if taken with a generous helping of salt.
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Tekla-too29 May 2007First of all, I am not a Christian fundamentalist and in fact I am not religious. However, I am amazed to see how many people have put comments on here putting down the movie just because they want to defend Dungeons and Dragons.
I had a friend that became very involved in Dungeons and Dragons and got VERY crazy from it. It was truly distressing to see the changes it brought about in him. I am not saying that everyone who plays the game gets this way, but I can definitely tell you that it happens and I have seen it happen. I think it's the creepiest game I have ever seen. One time I picked up a D&D book at the store and opened it to a random page just to see what was there, and what I saw was instructions on how to possess another person's soul. I'm sorry, but I don't find this entertaining or fun; I find this sick and psychologically and psychically dangerous.
There is no way for me to know what really happened in this murder case, but it does not surprise me that Dungeons and Dragons could be involved with something like this.
The acting was superb in this film. Even if you watch it as if it were a fiction and not based on a true story it is a good flick. -
Chrissie26 September 2004Two hours worth of movie in a six-hour package. The screenwriter must have just typed the book verbatim into script. It takes a real effort to make such a riveting true story into such a bland and unprovocative flic. About three quarters of this belonged on the cutting room floor.
Gamers might want to watch it just for the fun of seeing how ineptly the script and prop folks handled Dungeons & Dragons. But other than that, there's not much point.
Another major source of annoyance -- or, in this case, gross-out -- was the way the male lead's nose ran whenever he was distraught. Who wants to watch snot run out this guy's nose?
If you want to learn about the case, read the book. -
yelfri1 May 2016Cruel Doubt is one of my favorite TV movies. When I first saw it I expected to be disappointed but was actually surprised how true John Gay's teleplay was to the Joe McGinniss book. That was not an easy accomplishment (for writer or actor) because much of the latter part of the true story deals with a psychological pendulum slowly swinging between a son who enabled a violent murder plot (for inheritance and ultimate D & D game points) that killed his step-father and left his mother clinging to life—and a mother who understandably could not accept her own son's hand in such a deed no matter how much police evidence pointed to him.
This builds into an unbearable psychological pressure for both the son who must admit his role or go insane and the mother who can't bear to even consider the truth—until a breaking point is reached
This was a well done TV movie both visually and script-wise amid an ominous backdrop of campus clique druggie obsession with the pro-active mythological Dungeons & Dragons game.
Some good acting in both larger and lesser roles by Blythe Danner, Adam Baldwin, John C McGinley, Travis Fine, William Forsythe, David Arquette, Neal McDonagh, Miguel Ferrer, G.D. Spradlin, Ed Asner, R.D. Call etc. -
Enrique-Sanchez-5625 March 2001Dungeons and Dragons is not a game to be taken lightly. Apparently some would feel that this movie is a joke. The mind is not a simple thing. Anyone who decries the possibility that this story is fact is fooling themselves.
Witness: fellow reviewers seem to believe that games that men concoct can never go too far. What they do or do not believe does not influence the truth.
Drugs certainly had a significant influence on the events. But the game certainly made it a little more feasible to those involved.
There are many more things out there than we will ever find out.
The acting was all very well done. McGrath and Danner helped to bring the emotions in this story to life. Asner and Ferrer also contributed interesting dimensions to the characters. -
RISENABOVEIT14 July 2006Having worked in medical facilities, including psychiatric hospitals, I found the dialog exchange between psychiatrist Dr. Royal and defense attorney Osteen, questionable. "Chris Pritchard" had been released from the psychiatric hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, without Attorney Osteen's knowledge. When he hears of this, he angrily confronts Dr. Royal, whom he has retained on Pritchard's behalf, and demands to know why Pritchard was sent home. Dr. Royal states that, "...the hospital did it, and hospital authorities can do anything they want to do!" NEVER in my experience, is a hospital patient discharged WITHOUT the review and signature of that patient's attending-physician. There are instances where a patient can demand to be released, whereupon the doctor is informed. If the doctor determines that the patient is fully aware of the ramifications of being released prior to the conclusion of treatment, and the patient's medical condition is stable, the doctor can sign-off on the patient. "Nursing-notes" are inserted into the patient's chart listing the patient's premature discharge, along with "AMA"..."against medical advice". Perhaps it is a jurisdictional distinction, and the medical facilities of North Carolina are different from those here in New Mexico, but I am not acquainted with a hospital's being able to override the professional opinion of a physician, and discharge a patient, based upon their own interests. The hospital's insurance liabilities for malpractice litigation would be one consideration for never allowing a patient, especially one with Pritchard's mental health issues and suspected violence-prone tendencies, to be released without his psychiatrist's full approval.
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i've seen this movie just the other day on cable tv (in israel it has different connotations) and i was shocked to find out that
1) gwyneth paltrow (20 years old then) appeared there
2) "Dungeons and Dragons" was depicted as a monstrous twisted game, as opposed to the after school yawn social activity i use to attend. i'll get to that later.
the basic plot: the serene life of a wealthy suburban family interrupted when the father's body is discovered. the clues lead the local police to believe that it was a family member who's responsible, and the immediate suspect is his frigid doughter who seems greedy, vendictive and worst of all: blonde.
the plot thickens a bit later on and without elaborating too much I'll note that Dungeons and Dragons, a harmless game in which its participants adopt a bogous character and use its powers to overcome some dragons that are conviniently located inside you guessed it: Dungeons is depicted as a cult demonic ritual. I can compare this film to a film about a killer who goes out for its prey after watching the re-run of "who's the boss" the second thing that i noticed was that gwuneth is not much more that the movies she plays in, which means she can't save a bad film (i do believe that the film title related to her acting aspirations) let's sum up: the movie was standard when it was made back in 1992 and its certainly havan't gone better with age. if you get to see it, mock gwyneth for a while (it's fun, believe me) than move on Grade: 6, on my FilmOmeter. -
lateforthesky17 February 2003ddwriter from Texas said: This movie could have told a better story if it had told the truth....
And he's so right. I live in the town where the murders took place, not two miles from my house. Friends lived across the street from the VonStein's and my husband worked with Leith. The story was intriguing, sad and would have made a REALLY good movie if they'd just followed along with what actually happened.
Too bad it was embellished to the point of ridiculousness. -
ekaye-29 November 1998I should have just rented the long version of "Dune".