Praying Mantis (1993 TV Movie) User Reviews

Suspicions for those in support. The viewer knows from the start.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 27 October 2023]

A campy dark thriller that had no idea that it was going to be campy has Jane Seymour cast against type playing that rarest of women, a female serial killer. The first ten minutes of the film shows Seymour happily wed and later on, the groom obviously dead. The bride is gone lickity split, having poisoned his favorite rare brandy, and while the investigators have a vague description, they have nothing else to go on because she's cleaned everything up.

Obviously not after just the men's estates, it's clear that Seymour has had mental disturbances because of childhood abuse and longs to keep love alive and kills to stop it from dying. Never read anything like this in psychology books. She sets her sights on widowed bookstore chain owner Barry Bostwick, but will she manage to get away with murder again, especially with clinging sister-in-law Frances Fisher and still grieving son Chad Allen.

The performances are satisfying, but I found so many plotholes that I couldn't believe what I was watching. Yet as poor as the script is, it's a fascinating travesty of a TV thriller, and it's hard to believe that she screws up a lot yet continues to get away with it.

Had this been played as a psychological sexual thriller like "Body Double", "Fatal Attraction" and "Basic Instinct", it could be more thrilling, but the gentility of the mood really causes the biggest collateral damage and affects the structure of what the film's focus should have been. Seymour also wears a black helmet like wig that looks like Meryl Streep's "A Cry in the Dark" that has been pounded for hours with an iron.

Unremarkable, But Not Awful

[jamiemiller-07611 · 5/10 · 30 May 2020]

Jane Seymour plays a woman who marries men and kills them on their wedding night for reasons that only become somewhat clear by the end and, even then, they're not all that well articulated.

It's fun to see Seymour go nuts even if the material itself never rises to the occasion and plays things pretty safe. The rest of the cast is good, including dependable actors such as Barry Bostwick, Frances Fisher, and Chad Allen.

Despite an FBI investigation subplot could have been deleted altogether, it's a pretty tight and mindless 90 minutes.

Jane Seymour will knock your socks off!

[Monika-5 · 10 October 2000]

I have fond memories of watching this cable TV movie with my grandma at her house several years ago. Oh my! Jane Seymour is so well known for playing "good" women, Dr. Quinn in particular. Here she shows she can play a very evil (yet vulnerable) villainess convincingly. Barry Bostwick is also good, as is Chad Allen (in a weird bit of casting, Jane Seymour's TV son from Dr. Quinn plays Barry Bostwick's son here). Anyway, one of the most entertaining and smart TV movies I've ever seen. Check it out on Lifetime!

Bad script and cheesy score overwhelms actors

[Captain Ed · 3/10 · 8 December 2002]

I got to watch this one without commercial interruption, and let me tell you, even for a TV movie it was pretty predictable. The actors did a workmanlike job with what they had, and the cast was pretty accomplished -- Barry Bostwick, Jane Seymour, Frances Fisher, etc. However, the script was not only predictable (except for the last scene), but the dialogue was treacly and sounded as if it was lifted from a third-rate romance novel. Jane Seymour's psychotic monologues were laughable. I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that anyone that creepy would arouse no suspicions whatsoever. As bad as Theresa Russell was in "Black Widow" -- and she sure stunk it up -- she at least had the sense to play her pseudo-characters somewhat straight. Seymour is a much better actress but didn't overcome the material here.

Lastly, the musical score is incredibly cheesy. It's almost a satire of its genre, like a Kenny G meltdown. A movie with such a lackluster and derivative script really should have gone for something edgier.

Kind of a poor version of Black Widow

[Billy-116 · 3/10 · 10 February 2004]

Debra Winger's 1987 "Black Widow" is MUCH better.

This is like a lame version, and Jane Seymour usually does better.

Chad Allen is pretty poor in this too. Just playing his usual role as a boring rebellious child.

Maybe the both of them being from Dr. Quinn was supposed to make us get excited.

If it's on, go grab a copy of "Black Widow".

Made-for-TV ripoff of Black Widow

[sunflowr · 2/10 · 17 October 2002]

This is so blatantly a made-for-TV ripoff of Black Widow (1987) - even the insect titles are so similar.

If you want a better "marrying for money" movie, check out Black Widow, starring Debra Winger & Theresa Russell.

These movie is cheesiness at its best..! I just had to watch it entirely to see how it ended.

An alluring mate-to-kill TV movie.

[OllieSuave-007 · 7/10 · 7 October 2014]

This is not a bad made-for-TV crime thriller in which widower Don McAndrews (Barry Bostwick) gets into a relationship with Linda Crandell (Jane Seymour), who leads a dark secret life as a serial killer that marries men and then murders them after their first night together.

The plot goes at a fairly fast-pace and it is pretty entertaining seeing the sinister Linda Crandell trigger a domino effect in the seemingly well-to-do McAndrews Family, creating chaos whenever the opportunity comes. It is especially interesting seeing Jane Seymour, known for playing the motherly and gentle Michaela Quinn in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Women, play the out-of-character role as the evil and crafty Linda Crandell. She did a pretty good job in her role, though, I've found her character to be quite annoying at times: she sighs a lot when she talks and comes across as nosy and pitiful (despite the fact she plays a serial killer).

Barry Bostwick, Francis Fisher and Chad Allen also portrayed their roles well. The two clueless FBI agents played by Colby Chester and Michael MacRae were the cheesiest part of the movie, showing no urgency or emotion during the course of the events; they just roam around, hoping some clues that would lead to Crandell's whereabouts drop in their laps. In addition, this movie could have used some more action or edge-of-your-seat suspense to make it an more captivating feature.

But overall, it's a pretty good TV thriller that one might find alluring and exciting.

Grade B-

Peeeuuuww! How bad can it be?

[smatysia · 1/10 · 6 March 2007]

I couldn't believe how bad this film was, and trust me, I was not expecting a masterpiece from a made-for-cable film. I taped it just because I liked Jane Seymour. I've seen her enough to know that she is certainly an accomplished actress, so I just don't know what happened here. The characters were shallow, the dialog stilted, the acting bad, and yes that includes Seymour. It was nice seeing her play against type, but not in something this bad. I noticed that she carried a credit for executive producer, so she cannot escape blame for the sheer badness of this film. And oh, yeah, they had Barry Bostwick playing the male lead. 'Nuff said.

Brilliant tv movie

[nightroses · 8/10 · 26 May 2022]

This is such an underrated film made for TV. A villain bride prays on men with the purpose to marry them and kills them. Okay without going into too much spoilers, the dresses and jewels are beautiful, the food looks appetising and the rest is classy. Jane Seymour plays the killer and she does it really well.

"It's Easier If You Just Relax And Go With It!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 29 June 2021]

PRAYING MANTIS stars Jane Seymour in the role of Linda Crandell, who follows up her very lovely wedding with a very short honeymoon, poisoning her new groom, and leaving him dead on the hotel room floor!

Linda's been at this sort of thing for a while.

Enter handsome, eligible widower, Don McAndrews (Barry Bostwick). Don's a great guy, the perfect type for Linda's plans.

Oh No!

He's got company, with his son and sister in-law, Betty (Frances Fisher) living with him! Of course, we know from early on that Linda's a ball of seething rage, out to ensnare and terminate every rich. Male boob she can dupe! She's not going to let a couple of pests stop her.

Ms. Seymour is fantastic in her lethally looney role, devouring the scenery only when necessary. Much of this movie's enjoyment is derived from watching her play such a blatantly wicked role. Linda is sort of the anti-Dr. Quinn!

One of the better films in its sub-genre...

A Very Entertaining & Highly Underrated Character Study

[JasonDanielBaker · 2 March 2014]

Mysterious poisoning deaths of five successful, newly married men occur over a number of years in such a manner that the FBI is sure they must be connected.

The prime suspect is a beautiful woman (Seymour) who is adept at dramatically altering superficial aspects of her appearance. She goes by so many aliases ('Linda' for most of the duration of this) that she probably can't even remember how many people she has been and has her eye on her sixth victim (Bostwick).

Her men are so driven in their careers that access to them beyond the confines of offices and work-related travel is limited. A gold-digger might view them as prime targets but never put in the work to find out where these guys can be approached, what they like, what they lack etc.

She actually adores her victims. It isn't work for her to find out about them. But she isn't really a gold-digger. Her motive is more complex.

The right questions aren't asked by the lonely, overworked GQ coverboys she captivates. She pushes all the right buttons when she meets them. Good things are just assumed and they feel loved by her after whirlwind courtships.

She has serious game when it comes to guys. Prettier or younger rivals will not only never be able to compete, they won't even know where to begin. Many won't want to because she just seems so nice. They can find another man and would hate to lose her as a friend. Those not dissuaded by that tend to have fatal accidents.

In any alias she is extremely camera shy - good thinking for a serial murderer but it goes deeper than that for her. She genuinely dreads her own image no matter how many times she changes her hair, make-up, wardrobe etc.

Far from taking pride in and feeling confident about her ability to beguile men this individual has an intense self-loathing. Looking at her reflection in a mirror she rants aloud (the voice inside her head is seemingly not quite loud enough or harsh enough) about how stupid and ugly and desperate she thinks she is or appears.

This is her true perceived self image and that cruel voice she subjects herself to speaks with a disdain she dreads hearing from men enough to murder them at precisely the high point of the relationships - the honeymoons, before things even get a chance to deteriorate.

This particular monster in the guise of a human being has neither a proper understanding of death nor a full connection with real life. Her childhood with extremely abusive parents remains the defining issue of her psyche though it is comprised of bad memories made decades earlier.

Killing or even dying if it comes to that are preferable to feeling unworthy of love. Her psychosis is that severe and Jane Seymour is very convincing in portraying it.

Jane seymour a villian

[natalia44706 · 26 February 2002]

I could not believe when I saw this movie, that Jane Seymour was the bad in this movie. She was really good in this role. I like when some actresses who play the goody too shoes in movies play the bad . You would never suspect that jane can pull this one off.