Secret Obsession is a psychological thriller based on the very familiar premise where a woman-with-amnesia is manipulated by a possessive male, who pretends to be her husband. Promising at the outset, the movie loses its grip and dallies along predictable lines without very good execution.
The opening sequence builds tension as Jennifer(Brenda Song) flees an unseen danger in the pouring rain, from the assailant who is trying to kill her. I felt I was going on a great ride because such scenes set a gripping tone so well. I tried to control my terrified gasping as I watched on. And then she gets hit by the car and is rushed to the hospital, in an ambulance. She survives, but with fractures and a messed up brain – amnesia. Then Mr 'handsome' Russell claims to be her husband without any means of solid identification but just by a tattoo on her back, are you kidding me? No relatives, no friends, no colleagues from workplace, just a common tattoo. Now that is definitely dumb!
When Russell is informed by a doctor that Jennifer has lost her memory, he asks, "Does my wife know who I am or not?," and the doctor says "no." From this point, I saw where this was going.... The thrill of suspense for me, evaporated into thin air.
Apart from the fact that it does have a very predictable storyline which comes so very soon in the movie that Russell is an impostor, and thus much suspense is lost, the viewers have pretty much guessed the plot well before the film's climax.
After an enthralling initiation, the story slows down, and becomes more thrashy down the line, dots that didn't connect, lack of plot and character development as in the case of Russell and the guy with the bouquet of flowers, whom he strangled to death. Jennifer's parents' bodies were already decomposing in their bedroom and no neighbourly neighbor noticed anything.
There's nothing very special in Mike Vogel's Ryan (posing as Russell). He has a one-dimensional character, and his obsession is explained very superficially.
Brenda Song's Performance was good because she gave a account of herself as Jennifer, playing fear, confusion, and determination in her character. Dennis Haysbert as Detective Page was a straightforward character, of a grieving detective who was committed to justice.
My verdict;
Secret Obsession promises a good... thriller but it comes with little originality or depth to set it apart from similar movies in the genre. The performances are commendable, but the story lacks surprise and creativity, and this makes it a forgettable experience.
It’s a decent one-time watch but fails to leave any lasting impression. I wouldn't watch a second time so I am rating it a 5/10.
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The film begins with the chase of a girl, she is escaping from someone when she is hit by a car. She is quickly taken to the hospital alive. Jenifer wakes up but due to the accident she has memory loss and doesn't know anyone.
At the same moment, a desperate man named Rosell arrives at the hospital, claiming to be her husband. Although Jenifer does not recognize him after telling him part of their married life, she decides to go home with him.
A detective who is investigating the accident meets Rosell, interrogates him, being dissatisfied with his statement, he prepares to investigate the wife's life, arriving at the house of Jeniffer's parents finding that they were murdered.
After receiving the medical discharge, the couple arrives at their house, which Jenifer hardly remembers. As the days go by, her memories become clearer and she discovers that Rosell is not who she says she is, his name is Rayan, a co-worker who was fired and became obsessed with her. Jenifer tries to escape several times but her attempts were unsuccessful, she is tied to the bed, while
The detective arrives at the house and is beaten by the man when his intentions are discovered. The murderer leaves him for dead and hides him in a refrigerator when he regains consciousness and manages to get out.
Jenifer manages to escape by running into the forest, but Rosell, who realizes it, chases her and after several attempts at fighting, the detective saves Jennifer's life and together they manage to kill Rayan, who is the murderer of Jenifer's real husband and parents. in addition to the owners of the house where they were. In short, everything was a true nightmare, not to mention the deception.