Praying Mantis Reviews

This otherwise serviceable TV thriller suffers from an insurmountable problem endemic to the genre: The script is told from the point-of-view of the titular murderess, leaving little mystery save for who will find her out, and how. Perhaps the police procedural format is so popular for the simple reason that serial killers aren't that interesting when they're unmasked in the first reel. Nonetheless, Praying Mantis goes down easily enough thanks to the slick professionalism of TV mainstays Jane Seymour and Barry Bostwick -- and aging Aryan moppet Chad Allen, Seymour's Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman co-star. The lone truly interesting performance comes from Frances Fisher, who tries to invest her character with more grit and intensity than the rote material really allows. As for director James Keach (a.k.a. Mr. Jane Seymour), well, he sticks to genre conventions, for better or for worse. For a smarter, more ambiguous, and altogether scarier variation on the same theme, seek out Bob Rafelson's theatrical feature Black Widow.