Instinct to Kill (2001)

Instinct to Kill sets the stage with homicide detective Jim Beckett (Tim Abell) parked outside a suburban domicile, filming Tess (Missy Crider) while she’s getting ready for the day. Jim’s gaze follows Tess as she steps out of her room and joins her parents for dinner. To add to the list of why we dislike him, Jim lets out a chuckle in between his thoughts as Tess’s father brutally strikes her mother.

The next day, Jim oralapsed into a different time and is now inside a gym serenading a cheerleader practice. With a little bit of familiarity, he gets a hold of her on the bleachers, and guess who else is now at the location? Camera guy Jim. I don’t know how to feel.

The movie unexpectedly shifts its focus by 3 months. Jim and Tess are at the altar. During the reception, Jim and his due Lance (Kadeem Hardison) will accompany the groom and gawk at the bridal parties as well as the never-ending cleavage. You go Jim!

Moving on another 3 months, Jim is proven to be like many fathers of abusive daughters, having an abuser of a spouse. While Jim is attempting to take Tess’s life, his partner breezes in, gun in hand. Somehow, Jim has been handcuffed and escorted to the prison.

Three months pass and Jim breaks free of his incarceration and, after getting a disguise set from his abusive dad, Jim begins to stalk his ex-wife, her family and her friends. While Lance searches for his friend, Tess seeks the help of J.T., a self-defense instructor who doubles as her bodyguard.

As per the imdb, Instinct to Kill was rated R “due to violent content and sexual theme” and in fact, both aspects existed in such content. But let’s be real here, if those who were considering watching the movie aimed at editing out the tremendous violence and all the nude exposures, there is an argument that Killing to Instinct is a Lifetime movie. Anyway, it has all the classical elements loved by Lifetime a cunning former spouse, an excentric man teaching self defense, and a female who emerges from the experience stronger and self assured. Lucky for me, I enjoy Lifetime films and that might be the reason I found the movie Instinct to Kill to be an entertaining film against my expectations.

Perhaps this is also influenced by the fact Mark L. Lester, who has directed some of the greatest B-movies ever made, was the executive producer of Instinct to Kill. (He was also the one who directed The Ex, which has sort of become a trademark of The Lifetime Movie Network.) I do not know how close Lester actually got to this film’s production, but it does have its elements resembling a Lester film. The villain is over the top, the pace of the movie is fast, and it manages to elicit far more emotional reaction than anticipated.

While the movie has a very basic name, Instinct to Kill, it is by no means a generic film. Tim Abell is a truly terrifying antagonist, and Mark Dacascos perfectly combines strength with sensitivity. Yet, the highlights of the film’s performance is given by Missy Crider, who within the film progresses from a stereotypical victim to a strong warrior which in turn elevates the movie for the better.

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