The Stranger Within (TV)

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Price: $88.99   

Product Description

Fifteen years after having been kidnapped, Mare Blackburn's (Kate Jackson) son miraculously appears at her door. Shock and disbelief soon turn to joy as Mare realizes her deam has finally true. But something is not right. Danny, her fiance, is a suspicious of Mark and his contradictory stories. An atmosphere of distrust permeates the household as Mark begins to exhibit strange and sinister behavior toward Danny, nearly killing him twice in "accidents". Can this ruthless young man be Mare's son? In the chilling climax, Mare is confronted with the unimaginable: a fight to the death between her and her own flesh and blood... if Mark is indeed the child she lost so long ago!

The Stranger Within (TV) Review

I first saw this movie years ago when it was first on TV and it's one of those rare TV movies that will haunt you because it's so violent and overpowering in some sections. The other day when it came on LMN I didn't miss the chance to watch "The Stranger Within." I especially enjoyed this movie because it wasn't predictable at all. I couldn't tell what was going to happen from scene to scene to the next.

This is the main cast:
Ricky Schroder / Luke/Mark
Kate Jackson / Mare
Chris Sarandon / Dan
Clark Sandford / Police Captain

Ricky Schroder looked so adorable in this movie. OK forget that he played such a crazy kook. Those glasses and the dark hair made him look so much more attractive. He was so cute, and he had the most adorable puppy-dog eyes.

Many times I forgot that I was watching Ricky because he played such an incredibly pathological person who was severely disturbed. He played such a diverse role which really allowed a totally different persona to take over the entire movie. If I didn't know it was him I would never have recognized him. He was so creepy!

So what's the basic plot?

Mare's toddler was kidnapped from a neighborhood store that she frequented. Kate Jackson played the scared and harried mother with finesse and pure fear because it was written all over her face without saying a word. Fast forward sixteen years...

Mare is now living happily with her semi-steady boyfriend Dan. One day they get an unexpected knock at the door. A young man claims to be Mare's son Luke who was kidnapped years earlier. At first Mare thought it was a sick joke but finally she reluctantly invites the man into her home.

Luke claims that he had a happy childhood and found some old newspaper clippings about the kidnapping. He doesn't want to cause any trouble, he just wants to meet his mother. Mare believes his stories, but Dan is pretty reluctant.

Now here's where the movie gets kinda weird. Even if Mare did believe that this young man was her son, why would she allow him to move right in? There was no proof that he was her son and if in fact he truly was her son he wouldn't have cared if she had verified this information prior to welcoming him in her home and her life. But Mare wanted her son back. And as she told Dan (when he asked her what she would do if she found out that Luke was a liar,) "I don't care."

Pretty soon Luke latches onto Mare and is barely ever out of her sight, but like I said she welcomes it so it doesn't seem to be a big deal for her. Although she was kinda freaked out when Luke went psycho on her and screamed that she should call him Mark. (Perhaps that should've been a tip off that this wasn't her son?) So from now on Luke is known as Mark.

There was also a really odd scene in the bathroom with Mark and Dan. Dan was apparently nude, sitting inside the bathtub (taking a bath I suppose but there wasn't any running water?) All of a sudden Mark comes strolling in like this was normal (I don't know about you but if someone comes walking in during the middle of my bubble bath they will be thrown out) and Dan acts like this is normalcy. WTF?? Mark then goes on to explain that he really is Luke and proceeds to lift up his shirt and pull down his pants to expose a birthmark on his body. (OK I did think that was kinda hot.) Then Mark plays a tape of some instrumental music (I'm assuming they all listen to music when they bathe because it was already in there) and accidentally (or on purpose?) nearly drops the tape recorder inside the tub. But that's not the weirdest part. Wait, it gets better. Then Mark precedes to kiss Dan. Again I gotta say WTF?? I thought it was so bizarre, but it certainly did not look like the typical Lifetime Women's Movie, at all (which is probably good.)

After the little bathroom bonding session between Mark and Dan it seems that things are now starting get back to normal. That is until Mark and Dan go ice-fishing. Dan catches Mark in one too many lies and calls him on it. All of a sudden Mark apologizes to Dan and throws a mug of hot joe on him and then tosses him in the freezing lake!

The rest of the movie was very fast-movie and like I said earlier, very violent. For a TV movie I was surprised at how violent it all was. Let's just say it involved guns, a hammer and burying people alive!

As a longtime fan who grew up watching him on "Silver Spoons" I can honestly say that Ricky Schroeder really gave one of his very best performances ever. It's a shame he isn't regarded like some of the other "big names" in Hollywood because in my opinion he has just as much talent (if not more) than anyone who commands millions of dollar per picture. BTW, he was in a similar disturbing movie playing another odd-ducky with my idol, Judith Light, "Too Close to Home."

Kate Jackson was excellent as well. It was nice to see her in a movie for once when she didn't play the nut. She came across as sincere, likeable and very motherly. And I think that's a good thing because that explained some of Mare's poor decisions in taking in this whack-job.

This movie taught me that you have to accept the hands of cards that you're dealt without dwelling on the past. Perhaps if Mare had stopped for a moment and really thought about things her reality and everyone else's reality around her may have been very different. ...Remember sometimes it's better to let sleeping dogs lie!

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