Naman Shrestha
The 2020 thriller ‘Psycho Party Planner’ centers upon Kayla Anderson, a young mother and successful art gallery owner who just can’t seem to find a break from her work. What adds more stress to her plate is the need to plan something special for the upcoming sixteenth birthday of her beloved daughter Kerry. Since she is drowned in her work, Kayla decides to delegate the party planning job to a professional and hires a seemingly competent and knowledgeable party planner named Lindy Shores.
A lack of background check on Lindy is possibly going to cost her, as little did she know that the planner has recently killed her husband. Not only is Lindy highly unstable on the inside, but she also has ulterior motives regarding Kerry — she wants to gain the birthday girl’s love and trust and make her her own daughter. Helmed by Jake Helgren, the enthralling Lifetime movie features compelling performances from Lindsey McKeon, Katrina Begin, and Cathryn Dylan, all of whom try to add authenticity to the narrative through their acting. Originally titled ‘The Party Planner,’ the film is bound to evoke fear and doubt in the minds of the audience about the authenticity of the tale.
Psycho Party Planner is Fictional, But There Are Similarities With Real Life Cases
Stranger things tend to occur in reality than in fiction, but ‘Psycho Party Planner’ is something that Jake Helgren penned from the confines of his imagination and creativity. However, we can’t take away from the fact that similar instances have happened in real life, be it in different situations. In February 2023, babysitter Norma Chagnama was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection to the tragic demise of a 4-month-old baby named Zury Cruz-Sumba.
As per reports, the accused allegedly handled the baby forcefully and even threw her onto her shoulder and the bed, which supposedly caused fatal injuries to the toddler. It was later found that Norma did not even have a daycare license, about which she had kept the parents of the baby in the dark. When the autopsy was conducted, it was found that Zury had died due to injuries caused by child abuse. Thus, the manner of her death was announced as homicide, and Norma was held accountable for the crime.
The character of Lindy showcases similar characteristics as she is a murderer in disguise, something that her employees are unaware of. Even the angle of the family suffering the consequences of their employee’s actions is in the same light as that of the case. Besides the resemblances to the real-life case, there are certain deviations that the story of ‘Psycho Party Planner’ takes, such as the fact that a 16-year-old girl is in danger in the narrative and not a toddler. So, it would be safe to reemphasize that the Lifetime film might hold some resemblance to reality but is just a figment of the imagination of the writer.
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