Savage Lane

Mark and Deb Berman lead the perfect suburban life—two kids, a good income, and a nice house. Too bad their marriage is crumbling. Mark has an intense crush on his neighbor, divorcée Karen, and Deb is having an affair with 18-year-old Owen. To complicate matters further, Karen's daughter, Elana, has a crush on Owen and has hooked up with him several times. Everyone in their New York suburban town has secrets to hide, from alcoholism to adultery to homosexual affairs to STDs. Several of these shocking secrets will be revealed when there is a murder. Starr (Cold Caller; The Pack) treads the familiar territory of the suburbs not being what they seem but adds nothing new to this standard trope. Clichéd characters such as the bored suburban housewife and the clueless father make it hard to care about what will happen to any of them. The murder occurs on-screen, so the killer is never in doubt. The thrills that come from whether the perpetrator will get caught are muted by excursions into the lead detective's unraveling romantic relationship.