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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Movie Review: Haunted by Murder - An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Characters we love in a good mystery
Cons: Bits of cheese, but little that will bother fans
The Bottom Line:
Body from the past
Hidden rooms and haunted house
Makes a fun entry




“You Know I Found Frank Brunelli’s Body When I Was in High School.”  “Who Don’t You Find?”

Halloween came early this year.  Honestly, I’m very surprised that Haunted by Murder premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel this past weekend.  With the haunted house theme, it felt like it should have been an October release.  That timing aside, I did enjoy the latest Aurora Teagarden Mystery.

When her mom, Aida (Marilu Henner) buys the old Enshaw place, it brings back memories for Aurora (Candace Cameron Bure) and her best friend, Sally (Lexa Doig).  The house has been abandoned for decades and had a reputation for being haunted.  As teenagers, the two of them went into the house on a dare, and they discovered a body in a secret room.  The police ruled it an accidental death, but Aurora can’t help but use this as an excuse to poke around again.  Will she find proof that a murder took place all those years ago?

Yes, we spend plenty of time in the house, and it really does appear to be haunted.  There’s a spooky atmosphere to much of this movie, but it’s a fun spooky.  This is still a Hallmark movie after all.  I watched the movie at night with no lingering issues that kept me from sleeping as soon as I turned off the movie, so don’t let that scare you off.

And the mystery was good.  I think I enjoyed it because it was different.  That’s all I will say on the subject, but I was satisfied with the twists along the way and how it all played out.

Another reason I enjoyed it is because all the supporting players were around.  It seems we often have one or two missing in a movie, but everyone was present this time, and I loved the dynamics that gave the film.  There were many wonderful jokes and a surprise about one of them.

The main cast also did a great job bringing their characters to life.  I did feel there was some cheese from some of the supporting players but it was lower than normal for a Hallmark movie, which I appreciated.

The movie starts out with teenage Aurora and Sally on the night they went into the house.  In a fun bit of casting, they got Candace Cameron Bure’s and Lexa Doig’s real life daughters, Natasha Bure and Mia Shanks, to play the teenage versions of the characters.  I love things like that.

I do have to mention Niall Matter’s beard.  Sometime between filming the last movie and this one, the actor grew a fill beard.  I’ve got to admit, I didn’t recognize him with it.  I knew he was still playing Aurora’s husband, Nick, but if I didn’t know he was in the film, I would have wondered if they recast the part.  I’m sure, if he keeps it, we’ll get used to it.

Minor issues aside, Haunted by Murder was a fun mystery movie.  Fans of the franchise will enjoy catching up with everyone and watching Aurora solver her latest case.

4 comments:

  1. I love this series and this sounds like a fun one. Thanks for the heads up about Niall Matter's beard. He's one of my favorite Hallmark actors but when I scrolled back up to look at the picture after you mentioned it I barely recognized him!

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  2. I absolutely HATED Nick’s beard. It looked artificial—almost like part of a rug. Movie was good but Nick’s beard has to go!!!! I still am mad that Martin was written out of movies. Nick is ok as a second choice but without the horrendous artificial looking beard.

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  3. My granddaughter and I live the Aurora Teagarden mysteries!! I’ve even bought all the DVD’s. Haunted by Murder is a good story but hate Nick’s horrible, artificial looking beard ( rug). Producer should have seen the beard to be distracting and didn’t fit Nick or his character.

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  4. I've heard the beard was because the actor had gotten a face injury, so he grew the beard to hide it. Hopefully, he heals and shaves it before the next one.

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