Sartaj Singh
Helmed by director Troy Scott, ‘I Thought My Husband’s Wife Was Dead’ follows Lola Winters, who is living her dream life married to the dashing restaurateur Leo Winters, with the two expecting a child in their swanky house. However, their perfect spell is broken by the emergence of a ghost from Leo’s past. His previous wife, Tori — who was missing for five years and presumed dead — shows up in an extremely disheveled state at their home.
Upon her return, Tori describes a harrowing ordeal involving kidnapping, imprisonment, and a daring escape. While Leo and Lola agree to help her out financially, they begin to ponder why she didn’t go to the police and whether there is more to the situation than met the eye. The Lifetime mystery thriller reaches its crescendo when dark secrets are revealed to Lola, presenting terrifying answers to all her questions.
I Thought My Husband’s Wife Was Dead is Based on Minka Kent’s Novel
The story of ‘I Thought My Husband’s Wife Was Dead’ is derived from Minka Kent’s 2022 thriller novel, ‘Unmissing.’ The film’s script, written by Tamara T. Gregory, faithfully adapts the source work for the most part, with a few changes to plot elements and characters. While the narrative is highly sensational and full of gripping twists, grounded character motivations and powerful performances by the cast maintain its authenticity making it seem rooted in reality.
While staying largely true to the book’s narrative, some details have been altered for its screen adaptation. For instance, in the book, Tori appears at the couple’s door after 10 years of missing compared to the movie’s 5. This change may have been made to increase the realism of Tori’s situation, as five years seems like a more believable timeline for someone to reappear. Some of Minka Kent’s inspirations can be generally traced back to her admiring the writings of Stephen King as a teenager, as well as Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens, and Caroline Kepnes later in life. The author finds it fascinating to explore the situations in which good people develop the capability of doing bad things, especially when it concerns larger-than-life characters.
LeToya Luckett Researched Abuse and Channeled Genuine Fear in Her Authentic Performance
LeToya Luckett, who steps into the role of Tori, committed heavily to her performance, seeking to bring out as much of Tori’s terror and trauma as possible. During the filming of the scene where Tori initially shows up at the couple’s door, the actress deliberately asked her clothes to be torn down further to give a wild and crazed look to her character. She sought to take the terror felt by her character a step further and researched women who went through similar experiences. Getting easily scared in the dark also allowed her to express genuine terror during the forest and night scenes of the film.
“I really wanted to go and sit with some women who have been through abusive or domestic violence relationships,” recounted Luckett in an interview. “I’ve known people that have experienced that before, but I did read up on things like that. I just went into it, not judging it, allowing myself to feel those moments when we did the kidnapping scenes when we did the stuff in the forest. Like I was afraid… It’s very real; I allowed myself to feel that fear.”
The actress revealed that such takes would often leave her in tears, tapping into experiences she thought she had healed from, requiring her to stay in touch with her therapist throughout the shoot. ‘I Thought My Husband’s Wife’ is a fictional film based on Minka Kent’s original work. Gregory adapted the story for the movie by making a few changes to streamline characters and events while keeping major plot points intact. The cast and crew breathed life into the narrative, with Luckett making every effort to infuse her performance with authenticity.
Read More: Lifetime’s I Thought My Husband’s Wife Was Dead: Filming Locations and Cast Details
