Early in "Forbidden Secrets," Alexandra Kent discovers that her pendant contains a key to a mysterious hidden room in her family mansion. The that room will disclose clues to Alexandra about her past when her dear Aunt Judith was murdered and her mother Evelyn was locked away in a lunatic asylum. If she can discover that hidden room, Alex will finally learn the truth about her past.

Structurally, the film was primarily about two psychiatrists competing for Alex's loyalty. Her dear friend Dr. Sam Bradburn had treated Alex for years after the trauma of witnessing the death of her aunt and the mental declivity of her mother. But there is also Dr. Mike Stanheight with whom Alex has become involved romantically. Which one of the shrinks truly deserves Alex's allegiance, and which one know the forbidden secrets?

While the conceit of the film was intriguing, not all of the characters seemed fit into the drama as a whole. Alex's ex-husband, Dan Lambeth, always seemed to have an ulterior motive to keep her in his life. The motivation for his obsession was never made clear. Also, Alex's bestie, Gina Matthews, and the handyman Ed seemed extremely unsympathetic in Alex's greatest time of need. Their roles in the film were haphazard.

The final twenty minutes of the film nearly lapsed into farce with a wild fracas in the home. The evil psychiatrist's line, "You couldn't leave the past alone!" was the biggest howler as the unconvincing final action unfolded around the indoor swimming pool.

The original traumatic event of the protagonist was never made entirely clear. And the biggest letdown was that the secret key led to a most inconsequential video room! In the end, the forbidden secrets were simply not that interesting.

**SPOILER ALERT** The dark secret that's been haunting art collector Alexandra Kent Lambeth, Kristy Swanson,since childhood is to come full crucial when she finally decided to visit her committed mom Evelyn, Jude Beny, at a local sanitarium.

Having just divorced her husband Dan Lambeth, Charles Edward Powell, Alexandra decided to start over and move into her empty mother's brownstone. It was there some twenty years ago where Alexandra's Aunt Judith, Danette Mackay, was murdered with her mom Evelyn being the major suspect in her death. Since then Evelyn had completely lost her marbles and was committed to a mental institution never having to stand trial for her crime. What's even more shocking is that little Alexandra witnessed the murder and had that memory totally repressed in her fragile young mind.

With all these suppressed memories, after visiting her mother, flooding Alexandra's brain the real killer of Aunt Judith comes out into the open to silence her, as well as Mrs. Kent, forever in order to keep the secret of his crime still secret! A secret that's been hidden in a secret room at the Kent brownstone for some twenty years. That Alexandra has had the key to but never realized it until now!

The secrets about the secret of the late Aunt Judith's murder are so many that by the time the movie is finally over a number of other persons who had nothing to do with the secret, including Dan Lambeth, end up dying because of it. Alexandra with the help of her mom's psychiatrist Dr. Mike Stanheight, David Keeley, does in fact uncover the secret. But not until Alexandra gets put on the right track by the kindly and understanding, in him taking all the uncalled for abuse from her, construction worker Ed, Richard Jutras, who knew abut the secret, or the key that uncovered it, all along.

***SPOILER***As things turned out the big secret wasn't that big of a secret to begin with in knowing who Aunt Judith's murderer is. Since you could practically spot him as soon as he popped into the movie with his overly and unnatural interest in the entire matter which shouldn't have been any of his business anyway.If the guy just laid low and played innocent, or ignorant, of what was going on all around him he may well have gotten away with it; Aunt Judith, and those who followed her into their graves, murder. That fact, being the busybody that he was, sealed his fate at the end of the film.

Like Canadian wine, Canadian movies are getting better. This one has a gripping plot. I rather like the fact that you don't really know who the good guys and the bad guys are until the very end. It's a psychological thriller. It's not Psycho but it's also not bad. I guessed correctly that the film was shot in Montreal. Those distinctive staircases were a dead giveaway. So why wasn't the story set in Montreal. This was a Canadian production done by and for Canadian movie channels and financed with healthy Canadian and Quebec government grants and tax breaks. Yet quite apart from keeping Montreal a deep dark secret, they go so far as to fly American flags in some scenes. Do we really have to pander to the American market in such a demeaning manner? Americans watch movies set in Paris or London. Why do we assume they will not watch one set in Montreal?