This was the only "Slay Bells" movie that was actually Christmas-themed and not a repeated premiere. It's your basic Lifetime "thriller," that isn't scary, isn't that thrilling, but is watchable. It's a whodunit, but the villain (s) sort of stand out early on. The mystery was pretty weak, but at the same time, there were bunch of characters that we could have done without. I guess it was to add to the options of "who killed Tippy?" but at least two of them were unnecessary. I'm referring to Tippy's ex husband (for some reason) and the friend/business partner whose entire role was exposition.
Like I said the story was weak, I sort of feel like Diana's relationship with Tippy seemed non-existent. A friend of her grandparents became her play aunt? But I guess it had to be a distant enough relationship to justify her parents not attempting to leave their vacation for the funeral. I do like how the movie played straight the whole "why would Tippy leave me her house?" I was thinking the same thing.
After a while, it becomes apparent whodunnit and per usual with Lifetime, whomever they play up the most is usually innocent. Trying to stop spoilers in my reviews, so all I will say is, by the end none of it seemed worth it. There's also a nuance to the climax that made me question the title.
IDK, I'm one that thinks at Christmas, Lifetime should lean into using the holiday as a background for its "thrillers" more as opposed to trying to do Christmas love stories that can be hit or miss or have chemistry-less leads.
