There are some lifetime thrillers that are so bad they are good. This is slightly below that category. The dialog lacks subtlety and things could have been better written. But for mindless entertainment this is just okay because the ending isn't what you'd quite expect as things come together. Merritt Patterson plays a teenage girl who moves next door to a high school English teacher played by Chris Klein of American Pie fame and his wife played by Tasya Teles who acts quite well. Merritt Patterson plays the teenage vamp okay. I guess it is deliberate that Chris acts dumb because the character really does some dumb things to get into the mess with the girl next door. With all that suggestive dialog shouldn't he be running the other way? Don't expect too much and it's an alright mindless watch.
18 Reviews
why the hate this was a nice TV movie
FilmMan4731 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
ill be quick and very simple about this flick people are critics these days just hate everything too much.
now damaged 2015 is not a theatrical or DVD film it is a lifetime networks TV movie the amount of hate this is getting is undeserved.
the story goes as a young teenage student becomes a neighbor of a teacher they become friends soon and this teacher just falls for her tricks that costs him his marriage,career and everything he worked hard on.
this is a typical film where a female takes revenge for something done years ago i wont reveal much here but i would say one thing for sure is that guy deserved what he got he was accepting BMW and a Rolex watch from a student just because she was a girl don't mean she is not evil.
the rest of the flick is usual lame dialog driven ride same old you cheated on me,the affair and all that but films like these where men looses and you have a unpredictable ending is a clear hint at real life situations there so many people out there that relate to these characters for one look at our main hero here he had a brain and common sense but never used it got himself a hot wife still he allowed some slutty girl into his life and got himself killed.
the acting is horrendous here even the cast is passable except Merrit Patterson will keep you hooked till the end she is cute.
overall Damaged 2014 is a enjoyable nice film to see on TV it should be liked for what it is unless you are expecting a masterpiece now that is a different matter my rating is 4/10.
now damaged 2015 is not a theatrical or DVD film it is a lifetime networks TV movie the amount of hate this is getting is undeserved.
the story goes as a young teenage student becomes a neighbor of a teacher they become friends soon and this teacher just falls for her tricks that costs him his marriage,career and everything he worked hard on.
this is a typical film where a female takes revenge for something done years ago i wont reveal much here but i would say one thing for sure is that guy deserved what he got he was accepting BMW and a Rolex watch from a student just because she was a girl don't mean she is not evil.
the rest of the flick is usual lame dialog driven ride same old you cheated on me,the affair and all that but films like these where men looses and you have a unpredictable ending is a clear hint at real life situations there so many people out there that relate to these characters for one look at our main hero here he had a brain and common sense but never used it got himself a hot wife still he allowed some slutty girl into his life and got himself killed.
the acting is horrendous here even the cast is passable except Merrit Patterson will keep you hooked till the end she is cute.
overall Damaged 2014 is a enjoyable nice film to see on TV it should be liked for what it is unless you are expecting a masterpiece now that is a different matter my rating is 4/10.
Unimpressive thriller, with way too much improbabilities
johannes2000-129 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The premise is okay, albeit a bit worn-out (young male teacher gets into trouble by a seemingly flirtatious but in fact malicious student), and at least they gave the student a decent motive, instead of making her just an oversexed lunatic. But before we come to this, we have to accept a truckload of improbabilities.
Teacher Sam (Chris Klein) is apparently renowned and respected (so we may assume also intelligent), but within a split second of seeing his new neighbor girl Taran (Merritt Peterson), and right under the nose of his loving wife (Tanya Teles), he starts a heavy flirtation with her, and continues doing this even when he finds out that she's a student in his own class, thus blatantly defying every moral (and legal) code of conduct. He accepts of her a 10.000 dollar Rolex watch as a casual present, drives around in her slick BMW, and never fails a chance to be alone with her.
Apart from teacher Sam showing all kind of stupid behavior, it's also miraculous and never explained how Taran can plunder his bank account, can steal his car, or is able to make big property transactions in his name. Or how Sam's supposedly intelligent wife (who's by the way ten times more gorgeous and sexy than Tara) can stay so long blind for her husbands all too obvious infatuation, and then at last starts a totally irresponsible and illegal search by breaking in into Tara's house.
Anyway, in the last scenes we get some explanations and there's also a rather unexpected and cynical end to all this. But this hardly makes up for the rest. The reasonable acting of Peterson and Tanya Teles can't save it, and Chris Klein almost sleepwalks through the whole movie.
Teacher Sam (Chris Klein) is apparently renowned and respected (so we may assume also intelligent), but within a split second of seeing his new neighbor girl Taran (Merritt Peterson), and right under the nose of his loving wife (Tanya Teles), he starts a heavy flirtation with her, and continues doing this even when he finds out that she's a student in his own class, thus blatantly defying every moral (and legal) code of conduct. He accepts of her a 10.000 dollar Rolex watch as a casual present, drives around in her slick BMW, and never fails a chance to be alone with her.
Apart from teacher Sam showing all kind of stupid behavior, it's also miraculous and never explained how Taran can plunder his bank account, can steal his car, or is able to make big property transactions in his name. Or how Sam's supposedly intelligent wife (who's by the way ten times more gorgeous and sexy than Tara) can stay so long blind for her husbands all too obvious infatuation, and then at last starts a totally irresponsible and illegal search by breaking in into Tara's house.
Anyway, in the last scenes we get some explanations and there's also a rather unexpected and cynical end to all this. But this hardly makes up for the rest. The reasonable acting of Peterson and Tanya Teles can't save it, and Chris Klein almost sleepwalks through the whole movie.
Stupid Teacher Award Winner
wes-connors15 July 2015
Still youngish-looking high school teacher Chris Klein (as Sam Luck) has a nice suburban home. Also the possible co-owner of a diner with his best pal, Mr. Klein is happily married to sweet, understanding and attractive Tasya Teles (as Kate). Klein's luck changes quickly when seductive Merritt Patterson (as Taran Hathaway) moves into a house across the street. The mature-looking teenager begins putting the moves on Klein. She has black-and-white flashbacks to some trauma involving her mother (apparently) and a sexual companion (apparently). Incredibly, Ms. Patterson turns out to be one of Klein's high school students. Naturally, you think Klein won't easily risk his job and beautiful wife to engage with the nutty woman. Think again. Neither does anyone involved with the production do anything to make their "Damaged" assignment remotely believable, or even fun.
** Damaged (2014-11-29) Rick Bota ~ Chris Klein, Merritt Patterson, Tasya Teles, Paul DeAngelo
** Damaged (2014-11-29) Rick Bota ~ Chris Klein, Merritt Patterson, Tasya Teles, Paul DeAngelo
Horrible flick
geoffox-766-41846722 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I have endured many a LMN awful movie, but this one hits the bottom. And it's a shame to see Chris Klein in such a loser. Playing a man that has no ability to be a husband or a teacher by falling in the throes of a under aged neighbor out to get him. And she did. As easy as pie. He had no backbone and loses everything and still runs to her to cry. I cannot believe anyone can be so stupid. The wife is as stupid as he is by entering the neighbor's house and peeking into her things and of course get's caught in the act. I mean how stupid can these people be? They deserve each other. There is no sympathy for any of the characters. The writer gave them no substance. No brains. No reality. If you are a Chris Klein fan, as I am, avoid this film. He's too good for this kind of trash. I hated the ending when the little monster got away with it. She goes through most of the movie with this empty headed look on her vacant face. Homely as well. I liked the wife, although working with a bad script. Sorry Chris, not worthy of your time.
Kafkaesque Nightmare
lavatch27 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
For English instructor Sam Luck, everything that can go wrong will go wrong in this gruesome potboiler. He loses his car, his job, his diner, his bank account, his dog, his wife, and (spoiler alert:) his life to his new neighbor, Taren Hathaway. He even loses to her at bowling!
How much agency exists in the downfall of Sam Luck? From the perspective of the filmmakers, the answer is : a lot! Sam makes a string a stupid decisions, the most outrageous of which is accepting a $10,000 watch as a gift from Taren.
Sam's main problem is that he does not have healthy boundaries. He is incapable of saying "no," and he goes through life not thinking of the consequences of his actions. He is thrilled to give his class a set of tablets that will replace the regular textbook. The students are thrilled that they don't have to read a boring book. But Sam never considers how the technology might produce negative results. There was an incident nine years in his past in which Sam was having a casual affair. He was unaware of how fateful that tryst would be. He then repeats his bad behavior in the film with Taren. Sam just can't seem to recognize damaged goods when he sees them.
There is a fascinating scene in which Taren pays for the demolition of a red automobile. We watch the car being crushed, crunched, and processed into a small square object. And with great speed! The car is the metaphor for the ruination of Sam Luck.
Too much of this film stretched credibility. Everything from the school scenes to the bank transactions was sketchy and begged questions that were never answered. Above all, the film was far too unpleasant in the never ending violence. Was this realism? a mystery? a romance? an action film? a horror flic? Or...a little of everything?
How much agency exists in the downfall of Sam Luck? From the perspective of the filmmakers, the answer is : a lot! Sam makes a string a stupid decisions, the most outrageous of which is accepting a $10,000 watch as a gift from Taren.
Sam's main problem is that he does not have healthy boundaries. He is incapable of saying "no," and he goes through life not thinking of the consequences of his actions. He is thrilled to give his class a set of tablets that will replace the regular textbook. The students are thrilled that they don't have to read a boring book. But Sam never considers how the technology might produce negative results. There was an incident nine years in his past in which Sam was having a casual affair. He was unaware of how fateful that tryst would be. He then repeats his bad behavior in the film with Taren. Sam just can't seem to recognize damaged goods when he sees them.
There is a fascinating scene in which Taren pays for the demolition of a red automobile. We watch the car being crushed, crunched, and processed into a small square object. And with great speed! The car is the metaphor for the ruination of Sam Luck.
Too much of this film stretched credibility. Everything from the school scenes to the bank transactions was sketchy and begged questions that were never answered. Above all, the film was far too unpleasant in the never ending violence. Was this realism? a mystery? a romance? an action film? a horror flic? Or...a little of everything?
HORRIBLE MOVIE, CREATES DEPRESSION and CONFUSION
hybernalanthony24 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The movie at first follows the concept of a stable living individual who is married, but has sexual fantasies for a younger woman. It follows the typical Lifetime movie plots, until Chris Klein's character Sam Luck is not so lucky when things in his life begins to fall apart. Now the foundation of the movie makes sense as it points hatred towards Sam Luck and his lust for another woman, but he never actually cheats on his wife. To basically spoil the movie, the younger woman he is attracted to Taran Hathaway played by Merritt Patterson is ruining his life because she wants "revenge", emphasis on the quotation marks, for the suicidal death of her mom because supposedly Chris Klein's character caused to Taran Hathway's mom to commit suicide. This whole plot twist makes no sense and creates no explanation for the actions then committed by Merritt Patterson's character throughout the movie. The ending is the worst part of the whole movie as Sam Luck is shot dead and Merritt Patterson's character gets away with murder and frames Chris Klein's character for basically everything. The whole plot is everywhere in this movie and leaves me stunned with a climax that not only makes me wish I did not see this movie initially, but left me depressed with the idea that justice was not given. PLUS WHAT THE HELL WAS THE PURPOSE OF KILLING THE DOG!!!! WHAT DID THE DOG DO????? IT"S A DOG!!! The movie deserves to be on a list of movies that should not be seen by anyone who likes a true happy ending or even a good ending at that.
it was a Lifetime movie
dantonstl2 February 2015
so the last Lifetime movie I saw had Rob Lowe in it as ex cop Mister Peterson. I liked it, I had a bottle of wine while watching it. This one happened to have been on the same day as the super Bowl. Amy Adams was starring on HBO simultaneously alongside Matthew Goode..BY! Bye Bye... this is the best, during the film we get a look at a relationship between co owners of a bar, a Blooper that involves Porn and schooling kids with Futuristic Tablets, IPADS, or whatever. Then, as we see that this guy finally notices his student is flirty, and rich.... he gets to use her car, A BMW...he gets a rolex....he's being uncool as a teacher with no exuse that logically satisfies his BUDDIES inquisitions on this NEW relationship. BUT THEN....that's not all that this movie is...There's suicide, there's murder...as a matter of fact this SONG IM LISTENING to, BLOOD CULTURES by Indian Summer might as well be sung by Chris Klein..because hed probably satisfy whatever is going on in the minds of any woman watching this PROGRAM...again until...the cops come...and the woman..I mean student is put in a predicament to have her life taken so that there is this all involved simultaneous dead at the same time innuendo going on...and you will see...did the cops do the right thing? did the best thing happen for anyone involved in this preview of tragedy? like andy rooney who likes water...I think so..its so heart wrenching...
Worse Movie Ever
saravermillion323 January 2015
That was the worse movie I ever!!! Started out good then only took like 15 minutes to start to suck, got so annoyed with it that we fast forwarded to the end just to be even more annoyed and disappointed with how crappy of an ending it had too!!!! I was so excited to watch this movie, I hate this movie, its stupid I have to write at least 10 lines to post my review so I guess I will just keep saying again and again it sucks soooooo bad. was good for 15 minutes max then went down hill very fast, awful plot line, the description of the movie is misleading too, says nothing bout how stupid and screwed up in the head the dumb girl is, they make you think they will have an affair when that doesn't happen,! ONCE AGAIN....VERY VERY Disappointed WITH THIS MOVIE!!!!!
The Worst. Even for a Lifetime Movie
jackiepearson-3016429 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Besides the obligatory psycho stalker that must be a central figure in 98% of lifetime movies, this movie was also graced with a cast of dull witted people who have zero ability to think on their feet or even a fleeting sense of self preservation. Well, except for the villainess who seemed to get all the cunning, more luck than anyone should have in a lifetime (no pun intended) and nerves of steel.
Besides killing their dog and keeping his collar as, I guess, a trophy of the crime - she buys the house across the street from him, buys out the diner from underneath his business partner (we are talking a highschool student) and somehow gets someone to falsify the deed to make it look like the hapless teacher did it, accuses him of molestation, kills his wife and then is all tearful & "thank god you saved me" when the cops shoot him dead. I don't really blame her for the cops killing him because if you aim a gun at a bystander, refuse to drop it and then turn to half point it at the cops - you're gonna get shot. That one was on him.
When you watch a stupid evil stalker in a bad movie like this, the least you should get is some small iota of justice at the end. None here. And it wasn't fun or camp, like movies that are ok fine even with an everyone dies & evil wins ending. This one just plain sucked and it's a couple hours of your life wasted.
Hands down best Lifetime Movie I have ever seen
Dan_Perazzo3 January 2015
For a Lifetime Movie, this score is really a ten. We all know they are our guilty British Colombian pleasure and not of the highest cinematic quality. Secondly, let me tell you have seen a few dozen lifetime movies with my wife (yes I am a man), I can say without reservation this is the BEST one I have seen. I am not the biggest Chris Klein fan, but he was pretty decent in it. I told my wife what I thought would make the best ending to the movie about an our and a half into it and boy did they read my mind without any spoilers, you should definitely check it out. I guess the Renaissance of TV is truly here. Thank you Netflix (HOC), HBO (GOT), Showtime (HL/RD/HoL), Starz (TM/S*), AMC (TWD/BB/HOW), and BBC (DW/Cu/) for raising the ante on what passes for good TV. As they say, and in this instance applicable while simultaneously veracious (while normally malapropos), A rising tide lifts all boats! (JFK)akin to Reagan "trickle down" fallacy. What an odd juxtaposition JFK and RR, different sides of the same coin I suppose? There is no Republican, there is no Democrat, there is no matter, there is no dark matter, ONLY GRAY MATTER. Think for yourselves people !
Ehhh
Kristamw21 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
OK, so the acting...the villain, Taran, knows how to put on a show. She's cleverly deceptive. Unfortunately, Chris Klein, Sam, can hardly act for his life. He spends most of his time breathing shallowly or squinting.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Writing Quality/Character Development: Terrible script. Everything is so implausible. A happily married teacher allowing his own student, who just happens to move in across the street, to give him expensive gifts in exchange for some poor handiwork he does for her? Accused of stealing his own car to putting porn on his laptop which syncs to his students' tablets, to letting Taran seduce him, only at the very end, after she tried unsuccessfully multiple times, when he thinks his wife has left him? No. The insurance company accusing him of a "suspicious loss" and then impounding his car? No. The principal firing him because a student accuses him of sexual misconduct? No. Guess who the student is? The list goes on. Such a sorry script with no evidence and a teacher who doesn't even try to defend himself against the atrocious lies.
Scare Factor/Suspense: Not scary. Some suspense when Taran sneaks up behind Kate, Sam's wife. What is shocking is how graphic the kill was as you see Taran bash Kate's head in with a hammer and blood spurts out and then sprays across the room. Especially gruesome for Lifetime.
Values: Not a focus. The movie seems bent on suspending belief about anything.
Content (language, violence & sex): No language. Violence with Kate's murder. And then a ridiculous shootout on Sam after cops tell him to put a gun down. He turns to explain that Taran killed his wife, and the police open fire--aiming right at his chest. Would not happen. A porn site is explicitly shown, another surprise given this is Lifetime material. Also, a flashback to a couple having sex and a vivid sex scene with Sam and Taran.
Merritt Patterson (Taran) plays her role well, but that's the only good thing here.
Awful acting
ketomomof25 September 2018
Good grief
neil-4764 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
This is, in fairly broad terms, an urban paranoia/psychological thriller featuring a hugely cunning and resourceful high school student seeking revenge on a hapless teacher.
The overriding feature of this movie is the ability of Sam, the teacher, to make bad decisions. If it's possible for him to make a bad decision, he makes a bad decision. If it's impossible for him to make a bad decision, he still makes a bad decision. Even if no decisions are involved at all, he manages to make a bad - nay, even more diastrously bad than usual - decision. This guy takes stupid to a level seldom seen before on screen. We sat there open mouthed at the non-stop stupidity on display until we realised that this guy was never going to make a not-stupid decision. Then we had a contest, trying to predict the bad decisions before he made them. We fell short much of the time, but we had a LOT of laughs in the process.
To compound the felony, Sam is played by Chris Klein, a good looking man whose American Pie performance got by on two expressions - "I'm cheerful," and "Duh, what's going on?" The latter is used her to excess, joined at the end when the you-know-what hits the fan by expression number 3, "Someone just broke wind, and it's a bad one."
Also, Sam approaches plumbing work with a hammer. When water unsurprisingly sprays everywhere, his reaction is, "Perhaps we should call a plumber." Stupd, stupid, stupid.
This is not a good film, but we did get laughter from it for all the wrong reasons.
The overriding feature of this movie is the ability of Sam, the teacher, to make bad decisions. If it's possible for him to make a bad decision, he makes a bad decision. If it's impossible for him to make a bad decision, he still makes a bad decision. Even if no decisions are involved at all, he manages to make a bad - nay, even more diastrously bad than usual - decision. This guy takes stupid to a level seldom seen before on screen. We sat there open mouthed at the non-stop stupidity on display until we realised that this guy was never going to make a not-stupid decision. Then we had a contest, trying to predict the bad decisions before he made them. We fell short much of the time, but we had a LOT of laughs in the process.
To compound the felony, Sam is played by Chris Klein, a good looking man whose American Pie performance got by on two expressions - "I'm cheerful," and "Duh, what's going on?" The latter is used her to excess, joined at the end when the you-know-what hits the fan by expression number 3, "Someone just broke wind, and it's a bad one."
Also, Sam approaches plumbing work with a hammer. When water unsurprisingly sprays everywhere, his reaction is, "Perhaps we should call a plumber." Stupd, stupid, stupid.
This is not a good film, but we did get laughter from it for all the wrong reasons.
Excellent teacher!
Guanche4828 February 2023
That this movie has a 5.3 rating out of ten, is a big mystery to me, and not in a positive way. The first 15 minutes are really impossible and painful hell!!
A cheap American film with a very cliché and predictable theme, not to mention the bad acting, terrible at least!
It is all about the ssstupid teacher!
On several occasions making women as if we were stupid, as in this case the wife of the main role, the actor Chris Klein. How low can you fall?
Instead of communicating with her husband, she starts her own investigation, like those women who pay a detective to spy on their husband.
Don't you have dignity? Or you don't know how to talk to your partner if you have problems?
In order to judge it I had to hit the forward until the end, and I hoped it would improve, but no, not at all.
I don't understand that someone who likes movies and cinema has been able to see this completely.
I imagine that most of the positive reviews are from millennials, or students at American Universities...otherwise I can not understand how someone could like this.
Give it 1 star for the little twist at the end.
A cheap American film with a very cliché and predictable theme, not to mention the bad acting, terrible at least!
It is all about the ssstupid teacher!
On several occasions making women as if we were stupid, as in this case the wife of the main role, the actor Chris Klein. How low can you fall?
Instead of communicating with her husband, she starts her own investigation, like those women who pay a detective to spy on their husband.
Don't you have dignity? Or you don't know how to talk to your partner if you have problems?
In order to judge it I had to hit the forward until the end, and I hoped it would improve, but no, not at all.
I don't understand that someone who likes movies and cinema has been able to see this completely.
I imagine that most of the positive reviews are from millennials, or students at American Universities...otherwise I can not understand how someone could like this.
Give it 1 star for the little twist at the end.
An Insult to the (sane) Viewer
mickeymouseatsivalley27 April 2024
Crazy people might think this ridiculous plot of revenge is great but it sucks from the near beginning, after the girl goes nutty when he's trying to fix the sink, and he gets no red flag message!! So he happily drives around in her alleged dad's BMW, and accepts a Rolex watch from her, and gets everything the idiot deserves.
Being derivative the film makes no attempt to create genuinely believable acts of life sabotage. Instead it relies on a pathetic, weak, incredibly stupid teacher at the receiving end of implausible mishief.
Crazy people might think this ridiculous plot of revenge is great but it sucks from the near beginning, after the girl goes nutty when he's trying to fix the sink, and he gets no red flag message!! So he happily drives around in her alleged dad's BMW, and accepts a Rolex watch from her, and gets everything the idiot deserves.
Being derivative the film makes no attempt to create genuinely believable acts of life sabotage. Instead it relies on a pathetic, weak, incredibly stupid teacher at the receiving end of implausible mishief.
Being derivative the film makes no attempt to create genuinely believable acts of life sabotage. Instead it relies on a pathetic, weak, incredibly stupid teacher at the receiving end of implausible mishief.
Crazy people might think this ridiculous plot of revenge is great but it sucks from the near beginning, after the girl goes nutty when he's trying to fix the sink, and he gets no red flag message!! So he happily drives around in her alleged dad's BMW, and accepts a Rolex watch from her, and gets everything the idiot deserves.
Being derivative the film makes no attempt to create genuinely believable acts of life sabotage. Instead it relies on a pathetic, weak, incredibly stupid teacher at the receiving end of implausible mishief.
INSANE!
pmcorso15 June 2019
The best lifetime movie ever!!
Every actor in this movie was on point.....
Chris Klein is not only handsome but a great actor, as well as Tamaran. They work well together I would love to see them in another movie.
This movie makes you think is she really "The girl next door"?
Brilliant Movie!!!!
Mewkebi8 November 2023
I have seen many many Lifetime movies over the years. Some have been downright crap, some have been ok, many have been good with very predictable endings, few have been excellent and fewer still have been outstanding. This movie is one of those very very rare outstanding movies with a very un-Lifetime movie ending. The storyline was excellent, the never-ending-tension was first class and the acting very good (massive big-ups for the outstanding Merritt Patterson as Taran Hatherway). I can count on one hand the number of outstanding Lifetime movies I have ever seen. This movie without a shadow of a doubt is one of them.
Ultra highly recommended!!!!
Ultra highly recommended!!!!
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