wes-connors

While soundtrack music pulsates, a young man in denim searches for a terrified young woman. She hides under the bed to escape his clutches, but doesn't manage to get away. The next thing we see is a couple moving away from the city, attractive Ashley Bell (as Chloe) and her lawyerly husband Adam Mayfield (as Michael Anderson). They have been successfully trying to have a baby and Ms. Bell has had a nervous breakdown. The new neighborhood seems ideal, but the older couple next-door, retired psychiatrist Tom Amandes and early drinker Isabella Hofmann (as Gerald and Cheryl Dixon) give off creepy vibrations...

Bell does not watch "Lifetime" TV movies because she decides to get chummy with the neighbors...

Co-directors Devon Downs and Kenny Gage adequately guide this formula assignment, by writer Adam Rockoff. There is very little spark and only a few surprises. The opening "attention grabber" or "teaser" works, but is never fully explained; it doesn't make much sense. Bell jogs in the most unusual places, at all hours of the day, and on terrains most unwelcome to jogging. She would probably mistake a bed-of-nails for a trampoline. Probably, the explanation is that she is looking for places to photograph. The soundtrack songs are very good, but they should complement instead of taking you out of the story.

*** A Neighbor's Deception/ Next Door (4/8/2017) Devon Downs, Kenny Gage ~ Ashley Bell, Tom Amandes, Isabella Hofmann, Adam Mayfield

In her bathtub, a beautiful blonde woman is drowned by a hooded intruder. As she succumbs, handsome killer Mitch Ryan (as Alex Smith) comes into focus, regretfully telling her, "We could have been a family." We're sure he's the obviously deranged title character of the story. Quickly, we learn the murderous young man is a "manny". This fitting term is explained as a combination of "man" and "nanny". It's nice to learn new things by watching TV movies. Mr. Ryan's next job is at the big, lovely home belonging to beautiful blonde Ashley Scott (as Karen Clark). She's a single, working mother of two young boys. After a string of weird "nanny" and "manny" applicants, Ms. Scott happily hires Mr. Ryan. He's very attractive, great with kids, willing to clean her large house, and likes to cook delicious meals. In fact, he sounds too good to be true...

Of course, Ryan sets out to become the real man of the house. He's a hard worker. Ryan has an obstacle, however, as Ms. Clark is very seriously engaged with three-years-sober and now responsible boyfriend Woody Jeffreys (as Greg Hitchens)...

Director Chad Krowchuk should win you over in his first scene, especially when Ryan exits the crime scene one step ahead of his victim's housekeeper. Two ships crossing in the night, and wonderfully placed. Ryan is quite believable as the psycho killer. Inviting and dangerous, he looks less like an actor having fun and more like a character on his mission. Even when director Krowchuk has Ryan spit in his rival's scrambled eggs, it's played straight. Supporting roles are all engaging. Eyes are drawn upon "hot-to-trot" Jordana Largy (as Cori) and manny-knowledgeable Fiona Vroom (as Gillian). Kid actors Dylan Kingwell and Jett Klyne (as Max and Rex Clark), plus bullying Cory Gruter-Andrew (as Brett Blainesfeld), are stellar. In a fairly substantial part, Dylan demonstrates particularly fine acting. Being called "Maxi-pad" when your name is "Max" has got to hurt.

******* A Stranger with My Kids/Manny Dearest (2/5/2017) Chad Krowchuk ~ Mitch Ryan, Ashley Scott, Woody Jeffreys, Dylan Kingwell

Following an attempted gang rape, beautiful blonde Laura Harris (as Alison) weds handsome blond rescuer Eric Johnson (as Darris Shaw). Understandably, she's a little skittish, so they move to a small town outside of Toronto and plan a simple, safe life. This being a "Lifetime TV" type of movie, you know it's going to be a bumpy ride. Before things get too weird, we see Mr. Johnson and Ms. Harris are also attractive without their clothing. Johnson looks good wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, on his little pony. Harris looks pretty in petals and putting on her robe. They are sexually compatible. She's an aspiring artist and he's into antique restoration and construction. Right away, he gets a job working with creepy Kim Coates (as David Snow)...

We think Mr. Coates must be the serial killer Harris tells her psychiatrist about in the pre-flashback opening teaser...

"This film is based on a true story," we're informed, by lead character Alison Shaw. It's nice to also learn the story was embellished because some of what we see does not seem entirely realistic. By the time things get too strange, embellisher Michael Amo and director Stuart Gillard have suspended our disbelief. Playing her heroine as borderline bonkers, we are not sure if they're going to eventually tell Alison is imagining things. While the framing suggests she survives to tell her tale, she seems more edgy in the "present" scenes. Also, note she "tells" the story with her hair chopped up like Mia Farrow in Roman Polanski's classic "Rosemary's Baby" (1968). And, don't those other characters act like...

The three leading players are perfectly cast and directed by Mr. Gillard. Cinematography by Manfred Guthe is another strength. Several of Mr. Guthe's scenes are quite beautiful. Yet, he and Gillard do not lose the pace and or let arty camera-work take away from telling what is essentially a formula story. They get as close as they can, but do not color outside the lines. Not too shabby.

****** A Friend of the Family (2/2005) Stuart Gillard ~ Laura Harris, Kim Coates, Eric Johnson, Sabrina Grdevich