‘The Cheerleader Murders’: Lifetime’s Crime Movie Reminds Of Old True Story Out Of Dryden, New York
The Cheerleader Murders is a new crime thriller that Lifetime will roll out this Saturday on the network designed for women. The 2016 movie, which was originally titled Kill Them All, is directed by David Jackson and written by Matt Young. The music that fans will enjoy in the film is by Claude Foisy. The Cheerleader Murders stars Amanda Leighton as Dee, Annie Monroe as Mrs. Taylor, Samantha Boscarino as Ellie, Jim Pirri as Keith, Michelle Joyner as Mrs. Fuller, Austin Lyon as Nicholas, Tessie Santiago as Jane, Chelsea Zhang as Stacy, Hannah Kasulka as Morgan, Henderson Wade as Coach Reeves, Devin Crittenden as Ben, Hanna Stein as Cindy, and David DeSantos as Agent Ramon Martinez, according to information found at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
https://www.facebook.com/lifetime/videos/10153679493164087/
The Cheerleader Murders — Synopsis of the New Lifetime Movie
After the death of her sister and father, Ellie and her mother, Jane, do everything possible to move forward with their lives. Still, the circumstances surrounding the murders stays on their minds. In the upcoming years, it appears that Ellie has everything under control. She is a popular cheerleader at her high school and makes good grades. On top of all of that, she has a loving boyfriend, named Nicholas, who seems to adore her. But, just as Ellie settles in and begins to enjoy her new life, her two friends — Dee and Morgan — have gone missing without a trace. Dee and Morgan are also high school cheerleaders, and when one of them is found dead, Ellie is convinced that the whole town is cursed, making her the likely next victim.
Strange True Story About A So-Called Cursed Town
Lifetime’s The Cheerleader Murders entertains themes of violence and murder related to police investigations. Though it is a fictional movie, there is a true story about a town that was also said to be cursed after a rash of strange deaths. According to the locals of Dryden, New York, the murderous events happened in 1989, when a couple and their two children were killed in their home in New York by an intruder. The victims in that attack were identified as Dodie and Warren Harris, as well as their 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. Old newspapers from that time describe the killings as execution style.
In the years that followed, a high school football coach was murdered several days after Christmas while trying to stop his daughter’s girlfriend from hurting her. In another case, a 17-year-old popular football player was killed and another young man was stabbed to death by his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.
In addition to those gruesome deaths, several fatal accidents were reported in that same small town, which only had a population of around 2,000 people in those days.
In 1996, Dryden, New York, community residents were gripped with fear once again, when two 16-year old cheerleaders from the local high school vanished after house sitting while the parents of the home were out of town. After going into lock down, parts of the girls’ bodies were found strewn about the village. The cheerleaders were identified as Jennifer Bolduc and Sarah Hajney. A neighbor was arrested in that case, according to the Daily Gazette.
Well, we’re not sure where the movie producers got the inspiration for this movie, but it sure sounds somewhat similar to this case, doesn’t it? In fact, in residents reported that the town was such as peaceful one that no one ever locked their doors before the murders. Even the superintendent at the time spoke out on the strange series of events, though local police say it wasn’t a curse, just a slew of unlucky tragedies.
Over the years, Lifetime Television has had their share of movies that involved cheerleader murders. One of the most infamous true-story movies to date was titled Death Of A Cheerleader, about the murder of Kirsten Costas — a cheerleader who was stabbed to death by her classmate, Bernadette Protti, in the 1980s. That movie was released in the 1990s.
Lifetime’s The Cheerleader Murders was filmed in Thousand Oaks, California. The movie feature is produced by Cheer Films and is executive produced by Sharon Bordas, Fernando Szew, and Hannah Pillemer. Don’t miss Lifetime‘s world premiere movie, The Cheerleader Murders, this Saturday, April 9, at 8/7 p.m. central.
[Image via Monkeyland Audio/Facebook]
