Naman Shrestha
With Paula Elle at the helm, Lifetime’s ‘Killing for Extra Credit’ is a mystery thriller drama movie that revolves around a social media account named Extra Credit that constantly begins posting compromising stuff about the students of a small-town high school — Lakehills High School. Amidst all this, a troubled teenager and her best friend embark on a mission to find out the person behind Extra Credit.
However, little do they know that taking matters into their own hands might turn out to be deadly. Consisting of a group of talented actors, including Matreya Scarrwener, Jake T. Austin, Kennedy Rowe, Tyler Cody, Jessie Fraser, and Quinten James, the thriller film sheds light on various true-to-life themes and elements, showcasing the dark side of social media, making many of you pose the question — is ‘Killing for Extra Credit’ based on an actual story?
Killing for Extra Credit is a Fictional Tale
Even though one might find some reflection of reality in ‘Killing for Extra Credit,’ the Lifetime movie is not inspired by a true tale. In real life, people use social media accounts for all sorts of things. Some use it to share the happenings of their life with their friends and followers, and others use it for business purposes. However, some misuse it in scandalous ways to make life difficult for others, which is exactly what’s at the heart of the narrative of the thriller.
We all must acknowledge the fact that there is a good side to social media as well as a bad one, something that is portrayed in ‘Killing for Extra Credit” through its characters and storylines. Focusing on the negatives of social media, screenwriter Leo McGuigan seemingly derived some kind of inspiration from the controversies surrounding some social media accounts, weaving a story of scandal at a high school, He supposedly utilized his creative mind and excellent penmanship to conjure up the gripping yet seemingly authentic screenplay.
Apart from reality, the subject matter of social media and its negative capabilities have also been prevalent in the realm of movies. For instance, movies like ‘Disconnect,’ ‘Spree,’ ‘Mainstream,’ and ‘Ingrid Goes West’ put the negative side of social media, and the internet in general, on display. However, another Lifetime production, ‘Deadly Influencer,’ makes for the most suitable example. Helmed by Curtis Crawford, the 2019 crime thriller movie revolves around a young woman who causes havoc on her own school and its students by resorting to extreme lengths, including murder.
Just to keep her classmates’ social media careers from rising and getting better, the young woman commits murder. After she takes the life of a popular friend, she begins devising a plan to kill a new girl. However, she is likely to be stopped in her tracks as the new girl’s mother finds her suspicious and is ready to do everything in her power to protect her daughter. Taking into account all the above-mentioned factors, it would be fair to say that ‘Killing for Extra Credit’ is far from reality and is just a work of fiction.
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