Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dreadful, weak murder mystery with some mild violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Body in the Locker
What's the Story?
In THE BODY IN THE LOCKER, grief-stricken Amy (Kirsten Comerford) is about to take on the role of CEO of her father's charitable foundation in the wake of his untimely death. When a burglar invades her dead dad's mansion, Amy knocks a jewelry box out of the intruder's hands and is left with a storage locker key and a thumb drive. The key leads her to a hidden, murdered body and a big fat mystery. Who is the murder victim? What secret is Amy's husband James (Chris Hong) keeping? Why is Amy's mom (Jayne Heitmeyer) such a pill? What's going on with the new intern Maisie (Tori Barban)? What is an unscrupulous reporter trying to uncover?
Is It Any Good?
The Body in the Locker is a great title for a movie but it goes downhill from there. Kids posting videos on TikTok and Instagram demonstrate sharper narrative skills than the ones on display here. Pointless subplots muddy an already weak story. Why do we care about the colleague who is vying for James' promotion? Someone watches a video that is stored on a thumb drive that was hidden in a jewelry box. The goofy part is that the person in the video instructs the viewer to look for the jewelry box, which the viewer has to have already have found in order to be watching the video.
The best actor in the whole movie plays a minor role— the clerk at a storage unit. She has about twelve lines but with those twelves lines she shows intelligence, wit, and a beating heart. Let's see a movie about her.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how difficult it is to write and direct a great murder mystery movie. What are some qualities the best ones have?
Do you think good movies can be made on a low budget? Why or why not?
How does the female lead compare to other women in mystery films? Is she portrayed as smart and strong, as a victim, or both?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 23, 2025
- Cast : Chris Hong , Kirsten Comerford , Jayne Heitmeyer
- Director : Sean Cisterna
- Studio : Lifetime
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 87 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : July 13, 2026
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