Death Benefit (1996)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Excellent adaptation.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I am from Kentucky, I went to a boarding school with the sister of the girl this movie is about. I remember when she found out that her sisters death was not an accident. That has been many years ago. We had lost touch for a few years, but I recently got back in touch with her. I actually talked to her about her sister tonight. Back in boarding school, she couldn't even talk about it. She did tell me that her mother was not portrayed correctly in this movie. She was not a good mother, and she was horrible to her daughter. I would say that if the writer of this movie did research with the family, then the mother was portrayed as she would want the world to know her as.

This movie is interminable. Peter Horton plays a lawyer who is out to investigate the possible homicide of a young girl virtually nobody cares about, including anybody unfortunate enough to happen to watch this incredibly dull film.Helmed by TV director Mark Piznarski, you get the feeling this "based on a true story" script has LOTS of embellishments, and none of them are interesting. No real reason is given as to why Horton's character is sooooo obsessed with this case that he would jeopardize his career, his relationship with his son and everyone else in his life. He just is. What makes it even harder to believe is we're never really given much of a portrait of the murdered girl. I didn't find her case compelling in the slightest, yet here's Horton obsessed with it. Carrie Snodgrass as the killer had a chance to create an interesting character, but never even reaches the level of killer in a bad episode of "Law & Order".This film illustrates the real death benefit is that the dead can't be forced to watch this.

I like this movie for some strange reason. I think Peter Horton is believable as a Louisville attorney who goes from corporate to a criminal case with a possible psychopath female serial killer played wonderfully by Carrie Snodgress. I found Horton's character of Steven Keeney to be believable. He grows conscious over a young girl's fallen death and her mother's inquiry regarding her insurance policy opens a can of worms leading to Virginia McGinnis whose primary motive is to collect money on their insurance policies. We begin a journey with Keeney to discover a disturbing psychopath cold-blooded killer capable of the unthinkable. I won't tell you anything more without spoiling the movie. I was impressed with supporting performances by Elizabeth Ruscio as the victim's mother and I enjoyed the rapport between Keeney's secretary Sara West played by Belita Moreno who is now on the George Lopez Show and himself. I found that to be refreshing and memorable too. I am giving this film an 8 because I think it was weak on some parts and could have explored Virginia's personality and background more clearly but I think it is a very high grade for a television film.

I'm confused. Is this a movie called `Death Benefit' that's about building a case in a homicide investigation, or is it a movie called `Family Neglect' about a professional man's responsibility to his family and his firm. Instead of staying focused on the true story, literally Every Other Scene is about how the protagonist is neglecting his insipid wife, his annoying son, his irritating secretary, or his stupid boss. All of these cardboard characters continually detract from what could have been a solid drama between two strong characters. Also, the director/editor keeps using quick-cut flashbacks in what I guess they think adds intensity, but the montage is so artlessly assembled, these only look like a student filmmaker's attempt to be arty.