A Killer Among Friends (TV Movie 1992) Poster

(1992 TV Movie)

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7/10
better than average TV flick
apfortony27 April 2002
Another made-for-TV movie inspired by true events, this movie is rerun on lifetime quite often. It's scary to contemplate a person treating another human being like the girls in this film. This movie is better than most "women in jeopardy, inspired by the story of" television flicks of the late 80s/early 90s. Patty Duke is excellent as bereaved mother and Loretta Swit (Hot Lips from M*A*S*H) lends solid support as the investigating detective who tries to keep Duke's character from jeopardizing the case. A very sad disturbing film.
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8/10
shocking but - true to life
abcda141 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
As i only started watching the movie half way through because there was nothing better on, what struck me was how compelling the story was, as it was a a B-Movie with hammy acting, it spotlighted the issues that occur amongst teenage girls-its scary how powerful envy can be & how it can drive someone to such a horrible act- but i found it hard to believe ( as manipulative as Ellen was) how Patty Duke's character could not see through her -although i have to say that Patty Duke did a great service to the movie And Ellens character being so 2 faced and Clingy makes you detest her.

Not a bad effort for a TV flick from the early nineties
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6/10
Better than actual t.v. dramatic movies.
insomniac_rod25 August 2005
A TV movie to watch! "A Killer Among Friends" is very dramatic and moving. It aired on t.v. as a "thriller" so I decided to give it a try and I got caught by it since the beginning.

Tiffany Thiessen leads the young cast and let me say that she looks super hot and teases the audience with her beautiful legs and tight clothes; that's why her not so pretty friends were jealous about her.

The rest of the cast is very good specially Patty Duke that gives a powerful performance as a mother living the worst nightmare.

The killer (s) is someone you don't expect at the beginning but later in the movie it's a prime suspect.

A good movie not to be missed.
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10/10
Terribly Tragic
BettieTeese11 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Tiffani Amber Thiessen never fails to make an excellent TV movie and A Killer Amongst Friends is proof that the pretty blue eyed brunette can act superbly as Jenny Monroe,the attractive,and adored teenage girl who is envied by her friends,particularly Ellen Holloway played by Margaret Welsh who nailed the performance as a conniving and deceitful teenager whose jealousy leads her to brutally murder her best friend.Holloway only becomes more hated throughout the plot when she fools Jenny's heartbroken mother Jean (Patty Duke) into believing that someone else killed her daughter,leading her on a wild goose chase for a killer who doesn't exist.Patty Duke's performance was so captivating that you can feel her pain and her grief from the time she was told her daughter had been murdered,to when she discovers the horrible truth about the killer. A gripping,emotional,and brilliant movie that doesn't leave you disappointed.
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People can really go too far
elizabethbennett30 November 2002
I remember this story when it happened back in the 1980's as the real Jenny and I were born the same year. This story was one of passion yet jealousy was a strong motive. What those two girls did to Jenny was inhumane as far as I was concerned yet it is a good example of how evil human beings can actually be. I always try to see the good in others, however, people can also be evil. Ellen was definately a diabolical psychopath and Karla was more or less a follower or a wimp. To kill the girl, move into her home afterwards....that really sent chills up my spine! Definate wolves in sheeps clothing and a lesson to all that you cannot be too careful when it comes to trusting others.
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5/10
Not bad, if....
MarieGabrielle7 November 2006
you can get past Loretta Swit trying to act as an intelligent police detective, with a brunette wig.

Tiffani Amber-Thiessen is the victim and Patty Duke is her over-protective mother. This film is similar to "Bully" in that it shows the inhuman treatment some students project one each other, sometimes for no reason at all, other than jealousy. This film was loosely based on a true story.

The problem with some TV movies like this is they use someone with a too high TV Q/persona (Swit) and it takes away from the substance of the story. 5/10
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10/10
Death of Jennifer Anne Monroe
wilsonandrewc8 May 2019
Ellen Holloway and Carla Lewis killed Jennifer Anne Monroe because they were extremely jealous. Jenny was popular with the boys and Ellen and Carla were not and that was the whole motive for murdering her. They didn't want her around anymore. So they hatched a sophisticated plan to eliminate their competition forever. On the day of the murder, Carla made arrangements to pick up Jenny on Saturday on the pretense of hanging out at the park. Jenny had no idea she was in danger. She and Carla drove into the woods where they met up with Ellen and Kathy. That's when Ellen triggered the rest of the plan staging a fake fight with Carla to throw Jenny off-guard. So Jenny got out of the car to break up the fight but then, Ellen and Carla dropped the charade and turned on Jenny. They harbored a lot of rage for her. So made her go into the trail area leading to the creek. They beat her up. Ellen and Carla were hitting and torturing and cutting Jenny's hair. Kathy Pearl who was brought along for the murder did nothing except run back to the car because she wanted none of the violence. Ellen and Carla intensified their assault. They pushed her down underwater. Ellen held Jenny's feet and Carla held her down until the bubbles stopped and then both of them placed a log on Jenny's head to finish the job. Ellen rushed off to a family gathering inwardly celebrating the elimination of her thinner and prettier rival and Carla went home to call Jenny's mother, Jean pretending to be worried concocting the phony story about the guys in the red monte carlo. Kathy was sworn to secrecy or suffer the consequences.
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5/10
what a tradegy
emilie860516 December 2003
Warning: Spoilers
the acting in the movie was kind of unbearable. i like tiffani theissen's performance as the pretty popular girl that befriends this loser that couldve been a better actress. (**spoiler**) if i was jenny's mother, i wouldve caught on to ellen so fast, it wouldnt have been funny. ellen is the crazy girl that comes up with an idea to get the friends against her and eventually lead up to her murder. one point of this that i dont really understand was the ending, when they (**SPOILER**) say what happened to ellen and the other girl that helped her. it never really mentioned what happened to the 3rd girl that was there, didnt she ever get convicted? i also had no idea that this was a true story. it's very eerie to me how someone's best friends could lead them to believe that they are truly her best friends and then turn on her and kill her? unbelievable. but the acting could use some polishing up, since i found the acting of the mother to be over the top. she didnt have me fooled for a second with that corny acting. ellen could have used some work as well, perhaps more than the others, since her act was too obvious, even for a tv movie. (D+ D)
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10/10
So disturbing, I thought it was a good movie, but the fact that it's true is unreal
heather122819856 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I watched this movie when it first came out. I remember seeing previews for it and I think i was 10 or 11 not sure but I remember waiting so anxiously to see it because I loved Tiffani Amber-Theissen. When I started watching it right from the beginning I was hooked. I never knew that this was a true story. Now I know and now I cringe even more thinking about the poor girl that this was done too. And her poor mother/family. The "People" that did that to her In my opinion should have gotten more then a slap in the face by the mother who took the one girlfriend, Ellen into her home. The girl that was there and didn't do anything about it, I was shocked I couldn't have A.) Let that happen to someone and B.)Not tell for that long she had a shot anytime she wanted Ellen was automatically locked up as soon as they got word of the killers. Anyways I loved the movie, it was directed great and the cast was great but I'm so sorry for the Monroe's families loss.
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2/10
A disturbing story made more so by overacting
SJBNYC29 July 2000
It is no surprise who the killer is in this movie of the disturbing murder of a sweet teenage girl raised by Patty Duke Astin, who tries to be a friend as well as a mother. There are lots of preachy/teachy speeches at first, before the murder, and then a full obsession into finding the killers. As obvious as the storyline was, and as overwrought the acting was, I was sucked in nonetheless, to see how it ended, even though you could see it coming from miles and miles away. It was just awful. The female detective looks like a poor man's Michelle Lee in egg-and-pancake makeup. This is a cast of nobodies, with the exception of Ms. Duke and the young woman who would become Tiffany-Amber Thiessen of 90120 fame. I gave it two stars because the bad acting sufficiently pulled me in to watch the whole
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A disturbing story
derhds1325 July 1999
This one of the most disturbing TV Movies I have ever watched. Ellen is a completely disturbing psychopath and you might get scared to watch her. When the truth comes out about Jenny's murder, you aren't going to be shocked about who did it (you know from the second it happens), but you will be shocked about how it was done. A horrible scene to watch was Jenny's death scene. It was a shame because this girl (Jenny) did nothing wrong and these girls' reasons for killing her were complete misunderstandings about what they thought they saw.
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9/10
A terrific TV movie!
Dusius11 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
It's a terrific TV movie, one of the kind that makes me believe that some good made-for-TV movies are way more catchy and well-played than the majority of cinema films that are overrated, not to say a piece of trash.

A really affecting story about the murder of a teenage girl by her best friends. A true story turned into a movie in a wonderful way. The three lead actresses were awesome in their roles. Patty Duke is really good in portraying the tragic mother of the victim without a hint of exaggeration in her acting. Margaret Welsh is so good in the role of a girl with serious personality disorder that even her look is enough to convince you.

Regarding Tiffani Thiessen in the role of the beautiful and sweet girl who gets killed by her friends, she is excellent. Thiessen's performance in the shocking scene of her murder makes you feel the tragedy and despair the victim is experiencing in the last moments before the inevitable happens.
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4/10
Whoever produced this dog should be shot
ragreen25924 October 2005
This is one of the few times a true story is nearly made unbelievable by the idiotic cast of characters. Fortunately, the presence of Patty Duke holds it together somewhat, although for most of the movie, she's as bad as everyone else. It seems that everyone in the world is completely blind to the fact that the real killer is the loon that they've decided is their friend... they miss things like "Jenny told her in a dream," and "You need to go kill him, he did it. And bring me a finger to prove he's dead." Of course, she's not going to just join the lynch mob/family... she's apparently going to wait at home. If you want to know the story, which is tragic, but interesting, read the book... don't waste your time on this movie unless you've nothing else to do and you're snowed in.
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10/10
Powerhouse Duke performance.
FoxyKnoxyHart9 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
The fact that this is based on a true story make this movie all the more horrifying. Based upon the true crime novel, "Missy's Murder" by Karen Kingsbury, the movie surrounds the death of a high school girl whose body was found in a nearby river with a 100lb log on her body, and a mother's search for justice.

This is probably one of my favorite TV movies. Patty Duke moved me as Jean Monroe, a mother who would do anything to find out who killed her only daughter. My favorite line of all, when Jean confronts Det. Staley (Loretta Swit) and says "I may be a little woman, but I have a big mouth." Having seen the real woman whom Patty portrayed, I have no doubt in my mind that the line was actually said.

Ellen was probably one of the most vindictive manipulators I have ever seen. She finds a way to move into her dead friend's home with her young child (in her room no less!) and then starts wearing her clothes and trying to be her. The fact that she made her own child say that she knew who killed Jenny, was one of the most horrible things I have ever seen.

SPOILER ALERT!!! By the time you find out that Ellen and Carla were the murders, you are thrilled that Jean smacks Ellen on the face, yet panged that Ellen and Carla led her on for so many years.

IF you haven't read "Missy's Murder", you should really try to seek it out. I got mine off eBay after a bidding war.
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4/10
A killing among friends
ebtsamryad8 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
My god the acting of the mother is so awful lol , but Ellen and Carla are pure geniuses, their acting was everything .

Ellen is so evil , the actress is really good .

And carla's character as well , indeed beautiful.

I don't know how they sentenced as a second degree murder , and only fifteen years .

It looked like they were planning it .

I watched this movie because people were saying that the skylar neese killers were actually inspired by this . I do see it , especially with Sheila and Ellen , same act , same insanity .

The guy who was Carla boyfriend then Jenny boyfriend, point is , I don't know why was he with Jenny's family and Ellen like !! , he's irrelevant.
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10/10
Killing Part
jessiica_babii8 May 2009
Jenny Monroe gets murdered by her best friends Ellen Holloway and Carla Lewis. Kathy Pearl was the only one who knew it was them who killed Jenny. Ellen told her to keep her mouth shut. She grabbed a knife and left a cut on Kathy's face. The one day down in the woods Ellen and Carla faked a fight. Thats when it all went wrong. When Jenny tried to stop it, Ellen and Carla said "we don't hate each other, it's you we hate". They started pummeling on Jenny. They said "let's take a walk". The trail leaded to a creek. Thats where it all began. Carla pushed Jenny. Ellen cut Jenny's long brown hair. They both started Tring to kill Jenny. Then Carla tried to grab a log to drown Jenny but it was too heavy. Ellen Tried to help Carla lift the log. Once they got it they put it over Jenny and then she died.
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1/10
Psych lesson from Lifetime
gene_freak13 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The moonfaced girl from 90210 stars as God-knows-why-she's-supposed to-be-so-popular Jenny Monroe.

In a mall scene, I laughed as every man's head turned to see her bad 80s hair and tree-trunk legs bulging out of yellow short-shorts.

Of course her best friend is a luckless plain-jane teen mom in overalls, who actually is much prettier than the unbelievably beloved Jenny.

Plain Jane was adopted, AND nobody loves her, so she wants to be a substitute daughter to Jenny's mom.

Stupid, right?

She obviously masterminded Jenny's murder.

BUT... she did it all... for love!

I don't know for sure, because I really couldn't stand this pathetic estrogen-fest masquerading for psychological drama. I was just watching it because I ran out of sleeping pills, and it sure did the trick!
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It's terribly sad, but I love this movie
abdool317 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Being a young female, I think back to my high school days and it's horrifying to think that a teenager could be murdered by people she loves and trusts and that the victims own mother could let a killer move into the house without knowing it. I would say this movie is about 90 percent accurate. Many of the things in the movie happened in real life, except that the real Ellen was not thrown out of the house by Patty Dukes character. This was a shocking movie because the mother defended and loved her daughters killers but also because Jenny did nothing wrong. Jenny was very innocent; she didn't know how disturbed her "friends" were and I don't believe the real girl slept with their boyfriends;the real Carla and Ellen were just upset and jealous because things in lives didn't work out for them.Carla and Ellen made bad choices and blamed Jenny because her life was going great; she was pretty, popular, and about to go off to college,while Ellen had a baby she couldn't support and later we find that Carla used drugs.Both Tiffany Theissen and Patty Duke do a wonderful job in this very sad movie. Patty Dukes performance as a heart broken mother is tear jerking and the murder scene is heart wrenching. I love the last scene where Patty Duke says," We love you Jenny Sleep with the angles" It was a beautiful way to end the movie.
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10/10
The Death of Jennifer Anne Monroe
wilsonandrewc30 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Jenny (Tiffani Thiessen) was a sweet beautiful girl who had her whole future laid out in front of her and ever since she was little, she came to know these 2 girls, Ellen (Margaret Welsh) and Carla (Angie Rae McKinney) and to trust them and because of it, her mother, Jean (Patty Duke) trusted them too but after the truth came out about Jenny's murder, she regrets that. So, I'm asking you, please don't be fooled by them too. They murdered Jenny out of jealousy and they deserved to be punished.I hope the same thing won't happen to Jenny's niece/Greg (David Cubitt) and Sheryl's (Debra Sharkey) daughter when she becomes a teenager.
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10/10
intense, chilling drama a shocking true story!
msvarniej29 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen this 2 or 3x but hadnt in a long time til now. Very well played by all involved. Intense diabolical jealousy drives so called best friends to torture and kill a beautiful trusting Jenny.

Jenny truly has no clue at all ( and why would she, they have been best friends a long time) about the hatred the girls have toward her til they put their plans to action. It seems like the awful murder will become completely cold. All the while Ellen becomes more and more obssessed with the case coming up with many bizarre ideas with who could have killed Jenny. She plays the greiving friend and quest for justice to the hilt.

The burden of the awful truth becomes too great for the other girls involved in the murder, and they confess.

A real thriller. It becomes tiresome going on the wild goose chases Ellen comes up with.

The girl who plays Ellen is very scary! The fave part to me was at the last when Patty Duke looks at Ellen and Ellen offers her the usual friendly smile, but Patty gives her a great slap!
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A vivid example of what teens are capable of when driven by emotions they can't handle.
marksa19 January 2001
Warning: Spoilers
*SEMI-SPOILER ALERT* The movie focuses on the aspects of young adulthood, such as peer pressure, friendships and parental relationships. The saddest part is that Jenny was the most mature and sensible of the three; she even said, "Grow up, Ellen." Teens just don't realize that their feelings about different things will change once high school is over. I detested Ellen from the get-go, mainly because of how clingy she was. The second time I watched it, I counted how many times Ellen hugged someone and it really annoyed me. Patty Duke greatly portrayed a parent in anguish at the unnatural loss of her child.
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A tear jerker
ivegonemod12 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen this movie at least 20 times, and am shocked by it every single time. It is based on the real murder of Michele Alvila. She was killed by best friend Karen Severson and another friend Laura Doyle. Karen was released from jail in December 2011, and Laura December 2012.

In the movie, we see "Michele" who is called Jenny, with "Karen" called Ellen, as friends who have grown apart. Ellen is jealous of Jenny because she is pretty and thin and popular. Ellen has a child and a nowhere life. In her mind, Jenny has everything and deserves to die because of it.

Ellen is a twisted freak who gives Ted Bundy a run for his money. I wonder if Ellen/Karen has really changed.
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Good Movie. Cast question.
MissyBaby12 May 2003
A Killer Among Friends. The very title creeps me out. I personally enjoyed this movie. But, I agree, Ellen was very twisted. Jenny hadn't done anything wrong. She didn't deserve to die. Ellen should have hanged. I have a question for anybody who's seen it. There was a character by the name of Susan.......where do we see Susan?
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Jenny Monroe gets murdered by two of her best friends named Ellen Holloway and Carla Lewis
jbunyan26 May 2000
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER ALERT This was terrible when Jenny Monroe gets murdered by Carla Lewis and Ellen Holloway. Kathy Pearl who told the whole story to the detective said that she rode with Ellen Holloway while Jenny Monroe rode with Carla Lewis to the woods leading to the creek. Kathy didn't do anything, but Ellen and Carla cursed at each other, called each other names, yelled and screamed at each other when there was a misunderstanding between them. Jenny tried to stop the argument, but she probably joined in the dispute, and then Ellen and Carla started pummelling her, kicking her, other things besides that. Then they both took her to the creek where Ellen cut Jenny's hair with a knife and they drowned her. Ellen hid the secret the whole time and Carla also. They were lying. Thanks to Kathy Pearl for telling the truth before it was too late. Ellen Holloway and Carla Lewis were sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for first-degree murder of Jenny Monroe. This was such a terrible scene for people to watch.
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my take on the killers especially CINDY
dazed9129 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I believe Ms. Cindy Silverio,(the 4th girl,the one who finally came forward after 3 long years)should have been sent to prison for at least 3 years. Because of her "secret" she harbored for so long the Avila's had to suffer all that time not knowing anything and Silverio should have received some kind of prison sentence for not coming forward MUCH,MUCH sooner. Because of her,the Avila's suffered day in and day out for 3 full years not knowing anything and Ms. Silverio COULD have easily prevented that for them but CHOSE not to. For that I think that makes Ms. Silverio JUST as guilty as Ms. Severson and Ms. Doyle in my opinion.I think since the Avila's had to suffer 3 years then Cindy Silverio should have to spend an equal 3 year sentence in prison. And who really knows how "innocent" Ms. Silverio even really was anyway? Afterall,she WAS a part of the group that day.Think about it.....
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