A tragedy occurs at Cleveland High School when head cheerleader Leah Dumont is murdered. She met her maker after being pushed down a flight of stairs. The question is: Who Dunnit????

This extremely slow-paced film never developed much suspense. The characters in the community put their heads together to try to figure who is the killer. One pair of thinking heads is the head of the football program, Coach Parke,r and the head coach of the cheerleaders, Coach White. But all they do is think aloud about the behavior of their greasy football players and catty cheerleaders. I was at least waiting for some romantic sparks to fly between the two coaches, but that never happened.

A better team of detectives is Sophie White, the daughter the cheerleading coach, and her nerdy friend Mikey, whose drone has captured images of a party that might reveal clues about the death of Miss Dumont. The last person to see her alive was Ryan Dell, ol' number 87 on the football team and the beau of Sophie.

The photos from the drone reveal that Ryan was kissing Leah. Then, the couple disappeared into the house. Ryan has an unsavory background with his father doing hard time in prison for robbery. Ryan himself came under the long arm of the law for committing vandalism. But Coach Parker swears that Ryan is a good kid who has reformed and deserves a second chance, especially due to his football talents.

The film is unsuccessful in developing a clear bonding between Sophie and her single-parent mom, Paula. The mother wants to instill in her daughter the values of cooperation, teamwork, and leadership apparent in the discipline of the cheerleading squad. But Sophie is a rebel who resists the efforts of her mother. Sophie wants to be her own person and has no interest in superficial organizations like cheerleading. The plot was really strained when Sophie was "grounded" and her cell phone confiscated for no justified reason.

This was a subpar film due to the lack of imagination in the narrative that included plot holes. It was never made clear who slammed Sophie into a locker, bloodying her nose. Was it the backbiting Reeva, who moved into the head cheerleader spot after Leah's death? It was also strange that the police were not deeply involved in the case. It was all up to the members of the community to muddle their way through in solving the deep, dark mystery of Cleveland High.

This is similar to those typical movies about Psychopath Obsession, but this time it is criminal instead of psychopath. While psycho is more likely to go to hospital, criminal to prison. There is some lack of interest, quality. story...but idea is good. Teens, Love, Rejection, Criminals, Fear, Family... Worth watching because it tells us about reality and motivates us to be more aware of relationships, society. Shows us what is it like to be abused, threatened, and live in suspicion. Good for people looking into insight of typical teen abused life.

CHEERLEADER NIGHTMARE (TV Movie 2018)

BASIC PLOT: Sophie (Taylor Murphy) was having a great senior year in high school, but now, everything is falling apart. Leah Dumont (Mia Stallard), the high school's head cheerleader, has just been murdered. Thanks to drone footage, Sophie has just figured out her boyfriend, Tyler (Jeremy Shada), was cheating with Leah. Tyler begs Sophie not to tell the police. He's a kid who's from the wrong side of the tracks, and without football, he'd have no future. But after someone breaks into her best friend, Mikey's (Johnny Visotcky) house, and steals the drone, after knocking him out, Sophie begins to wonder about those around her. Could it be Reeva (Raleigh Cain), Leah's main rival for the head cheerleading position, or does Tyler have something more to hide?

WHAT WORKS: *The background music in this movie, by 'Fear Zero', 'North Shore', 'Cry Harder,' 'Coastlines' and my favorite, 'Laura Reznek', gives the movie depth. Fear Zero', 'North Shore', and 'Cry Harder,' give the movie the teenaged feel it needs. 'Laura Reznek', gives the ending sentimentality and closure. Real music always helps a movie, and this one is no different. It fills in the hollow areas, with an emotionality only music can bring.

*For people who understand the art form melodrama, Jeremy Shada's performance of Tyler is right on the money. It's over-the-top, cheesy goodness, just as it should be. For those who don't understand this art form, his acting might seem overdone, even comical. In reality, his rendition of Tyler is melodramatic perfection.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Nolan Rudi is the cinematographer, and Danny J. Boyle is the director. They make some distracting shooting choices in this movie. There's a scene where Sophie and Paula are on the couch talking. There's never a pull back shot of them both, it's just intense close-up, after intense close-up. We, as humans, need body language to read situations. If you deprive us of this, it blinds one of our senses. There are several shots with items in the way, a lightbulb, a swing, etc. It's very distracting.

*It's not really believable the new head cheerleader, Reeva (Raleigh Cain), would attack, or order an attack, on the daughter of the cheerleading coach. She just became head cheerleader, after the last one died. Attacking the coach's daughter seems like a sure fire way to lose your new job.

*Other reviewers have stated there's no bond between Sophie (daughter) and Paula (Melissa Ponzio), (mother). I think people feel no attachment between the two, because they obviously aren't related. Sophie looks like a young Lady Gaga, and Paula is a woman of color.

*Leah Dumont (Mia Stallard), the head cheerleader who dies, looks five years older than all the rest of the kids. I think it's because she's too skinny; that can age you.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *This type of movie isn't for everyone. I would only recommend this movie to people who like teenage melodramas, or teenage thrillers. There are better ones out there, but this isn't terrible.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.