*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*
“I always get what I want…”
Cruel Intentions premiered on Prime Video on November 25th 2024. The drama series (based on the 1999 film of the same name) stars Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, Savannah Lee Smith, Claire Forlani, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Sara Silva. There are eight episodes in season one available to stream now. Each episode runs for approximately 42-45 minutes.
At Manchester College, step-siblings, Lucien and Caroline plot together to seduce the daughter of the Vice President, leading to lies, betrayals, and hearts broken.
Here is the trailer:
Cruel Intentions attempts to bring an addicting scandal to a new generation with soapy drama, but does it measure up to the iconic film? Let’s find out…
The Pros:
Sarah Catherine Hook is one to watch!
OK, let’s be honest…no one was going to come close to the queen, Sarah Michelle Gellar in this role, but I have to say that Sarah Catherine Hook did her best here and was the strongest performer by far. She seemed like more of a spoiled mean girl rather than the vindictive Kathryn, but she did have a few diabolical tricks up her sleeves and I really liked her outfits in this (although the stilettos seemed a bit much). Seriously, who would walk around campus like that?
I also really liked the actress who played CeCe and it was fun seeing some familiar faces show up. Sean Patrick Thomas appeared in the original film so it was great seeing him and he hasn’t aged a day! I’m also a fan of Claire Forlani (Mallrats) and Vinessa Shaw (Hocus Pocus) so I was happy to see them in this…although I wish they both got some more screen time.
The rest of the characters were mostly forgettable and leaned too heavily on tropes, but I was glad to see a few stand-out stars here.
Soapy drama to indulge in.
The series wasn’t bad in this department. If you like over-the-top guilty pleasure dramas, there’s enough here to enjoy. Sure, it felt very lukewarm compared to the steamy hot scenes in the original film, but it was enough to hold my attention.
I also liked that the series was set in college. We’ve seen the high school drama again and again so this was a refreshing change.
The Cons:
No chemistry!
My biggest issue with this series was that there was zero chemistry between our main characters. I expected a lot more here. How am I supposed to root for characters against impossible odds when I don’t even see the slightest spark between them? This was really frustrating and I also felt that both of these roles were miscast.
I read recently that Zac Burgess never watched the original film and it showed. I didn’t need him to be an exact copycat of Ryan Phillippe, but I expected someone more charismatic and devious here and I just didn’t connect with him at all.
Annie wasn’t much better…
Anticlimactic ending.
I’m not sure if they were trying too hard to set up a possible season two, but that ending was a serious letdown! I had to go back and check to see if there was another episode. I literally said out loud…that’s it?
I appreciate that this series tried to do something different here, but it really needed to cut in deeper to make a splash.
So am I in or out?
I’m 50/50 on this one…
Cruel Intentions (2024) fails to come close to its predecessor, but if you enjoy soapy teen dramas, there’s enough here to indulge in if you have nothing else lined up to watch.
I wouldn’t say that this series was horrible by any means, but it needed to take some more risks to truly capture a new audience.
I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Cruel Intentions (2024) in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!
Best,
Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl
A Halloween they’ll never forget…
When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.
Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…
My new young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!
Scream Hunt is available here!
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