On Valentine's Eve, Claire Donahue met a charming man named Brian in the City Bistro 250 in Philadelphia. By the end of the evening, they were both each other's Valentine due to what appeared to them as "an instant connection." Then, the nightmare began for Claire.

Claire and Brian both brought some baggage into their relationship. Claire's ex-boyfriend died when during an argument, he lunged at her, and she pushed him away....right into an oncoming motor vehicle. By comparison, Brian murdered his first wife, hoping for a big payout in inheritance.

Much of the film puts on display Brian's skills at tracking Claire and setting her up to take the fall for the death of his second wife, Margaret Coleman. It is only due to Claire's tenacity in proving her innocence that she is able to survive his devious machinations.

Behind the scenes, two female police detectives are on the case. One believes that Claire is guilty and the other that Brian has framed her. There was a good ebb-and-flow to the action, and Claire looks to an unlikely source of support: her profligate father, who was a womanizer and a disgrace to the family.

Two other well-developed characters were Claire's friends, Sophia and Tiffany. One of those characters holds the key to unlocking the secrets of Brian's sordid past. Brian had a curious problem with his mother. In his twisted mind, he is looking to honor his father with payback against women in general. But he never realized that he would meet his match with the formidable Claire Donahue.

Well, as I sat down to watch this 2021 thriller titled "Galentine's Day Nightmare", I must admit that my expectations weren't except up there. I mean, the movie's title seemed rather poor. But still, as it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to give it a chance, now that I had the opportunity to do so.

And I will go ahead and say that writer Andrea Canning actually managed to compile a rather interesting storyline here, and it was a story that proved entertaining and also had some good enough twists along the way, making it for a not overly predictable movie actually.

The movie had a good ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list. I wasn't familiar with the people here, so that was good, as it is something I enjoy in movies.

While director Roxanne Boisvert definitely managed to make the script into an entertaining movie, this was hardly a movie that you will watch more than once though. Why? Well, the storyline just doesn't have the contents to support more than a single viewing. While this is not an edge-of-your-seat type of thriller, it is the type of thriller that creeps in under the skin and lingers.

My rating of the 2021 thriller "Galentine's Day Nightmare" lands on a six out of ten stars.

"Say goodnight Claire". In other words, someone wants to murder poor Claire in her sleep. Uh, psycho with grooming excellency alert!

So OK, we have a Valentine's Day Eve based on a girl's night out. A rookie director who knows how to twist and pull the audience. A Philadelphia setting where it's unseasonably warm. A Lifetime flick that's not helmed by the mainstays and barriers of David DeCoteau. Hey, it's time to take in 2021's Galentine's Day Nightmare.

Anyway, "Nightmare" is effective and labyrinth-ed in an old school sort of Lifetime way. This film harks back to the Lifetime pics I use to become addicted to in the 80s and 90s. Listen, we all know Lifetime movies have crazy, remorseless people in them that have no conscience, no couth, or even a shred of empathy. Galentine's Day Nightmare only reminds us that we crave this sort of thing as we nervously feel guilty about it all.

As something about a sly restaurant owner who tries to frame a one night stand for the murder of his working girl wife, Galentine's Day Nightmare gives invasion of privacy, manipulation, and pseudo identity theft the proper-ed treatment. Sliver's Zeke Hawkins while peeping in his own right, has nothing on "Nightmare's" nasty, alpha male villain (played by Drake lookalike and TV vet Anthony Grant).

The performances in "Nightmare" are raw and unassuming, the direction by Roxanne Boisvert is clean and tight, and the ending while a little deflating, lets us know that the bad guy really gets what's coming to him. Galentine's Day Nightmare is the reason why Lifetime vehicles will always be distance runners. They are cinematic train wrecks that not even the most snooty critic could look away from. Death, taxes, and Lifetime suck you ins are the only certainties we have. Rating: 3 stars.