"Killer Assistant" develops an obsession theme based on a new male assistant assigned to Suzanne Austin, the high-octane editor of a women's magazine. The young man, David Baranis, brings a good skill set to the job. He also brings a psychopathic dimension that Suzanne is slow is recognizing with fatal consequences.

The main drawback of the film is its unpleasantness. There is far too much violence and too many good people who are murdered. Another shortcoming was the scene in the middle of the film when Suzanne has a one-nighter with her assistant. In the logic of the film, it was not credible that Suzanne would be attracted to David or that she would be unfaithful to her husband David, despite his own womanizing.

The result is a film in which Suzanne turns into a kind of Mrs. Robinson, a married woman who has a superficial erotic connection with a younger man that drives the narrative. The performances were uniformly excellent with the dynamic Suzanne, who has a problem with her temper, and young David, who is quite the charmer on the outside and a total nut case on the inside.

The production values of the film were superb with the outstanding California coastline locations, good set-ups, and an interesting variety of camera angles. There were all-around good performances from the cast. The only drawback was the unpleasantness due to the high body count. Some of the situations in which the deaths occurred were grotesque. Couldn't the screenwriters have developed more of the cat-and-mouse game between Suzanne and David with out such a high mortality rate?

Before the opening credits, a preteen boy watches his babysitter scramble to hide a sexual encounter with her male companion. The young man vacates before the boy's father catches the copulating couple. The small boy receives attention and a piece of jewelry from his adored babysitter. Many years later, we are introduced to voluptuous blonde Arianne Zucker (as Suzanne),in bed with her neatly bearded musician husband George Stults (as Robert Austin). We assume this couple are the older, married and still sexually compatible teenagers from the opening. They have a daughter of their own, rebellious teenager Natalie Lander (as Callista). That leaves the preteen boy unaccounted for, but we'll get there...

Clearly the breadwinner in the family, Ms. Zucker is a big shot managing editor at the fashionable "Style Harmony" magazine. She wears fancy clothes and looks sharp in red bikini underwear. Zucker gets the "Killer Assistant" we are promised in the title. A "killer assistant" can be excellent on the job or, literally, a murderer. You will be able to determine which line of thinking is appropriate. Remember, this is a "Lifetime" TV movie...

Exuberant, handsome and muscular (you'll see him doing chin-ups in tight shorts) assistant Brando Eaton (as David Barinas) tells Zucker he is available "day and night." The latter proves to be an asset because Zucker is high strung and needs help to unwind one evening. Their story is fun to watch, with director Danny J. Boyle and everyone performing competently. Strongest are Mr. Boyle's scenes with Zucker and assistant Eaton. The pace is quick, which helps cover up the inability of the characters to figure out what is actually wrong and do something to prevent the next incident. Much appreciated.

***** Killer Assistant (4/1/2016) Danny J. Boyle ~ Arianne Zucker, Brando Eaton, Natalie Lander, George Stults

A typical obsession story containing a psychotic villain, David, with a twisted plan. The best part of this movie: Arianne Zucker (Nicole on Days Of Our Lives).

Writing Quality: OK, but the focus was on the protagonist, Suzanne, and her anger issues and stress rather than on the psycho and his plotting, which would have made for a better story. The husband needed to step up as a father and defend his wife, Suzanne, who the daughter constantly disrespected. Between the one night stand and the next day at the office, there needed to be a transition as Suzanne went from enjoying the fling to being cold and distant for no reason. Had David's questionable behavior showed up right then, she would have had a valid reason for her sudden behavior switch.

Scare Factor: The psycho assistant isn't really scary until near the end when he surprises another character by killing them and then his tactics in the finale as the truth of who he is becomes revealed. Again, seeing him behind the scenes, putting his plot points into place, would have compelled us more into the story.

Content (sex, language, & violence): There is a long scene with a couple engaging in a sexual rendezvous that is erotic, though no nudity. Mild language. One scene of quick brutal shocking violence. The end scene contains violence that is moderate.

Values & Themes: The wife is desperate to be believed (about David's instability) and to bond with her family. A married couple getting help for his past indiscretions. A mom protecting her daughter from making bad choices in boys.

A decent script that could have benefited from seeing the killer assistant stalking, watching, video taping, etc, instead of discovering it all in hindsight later.