Stalked by My Neighbor

A girl and her mom move to the suburbs after the daughter survives a terrifying ordeal in her city apartment. The girl likes to take photographs and some of her photographs convince her that her neighbors are not what they seem to be.

Of course, like a lot of TV films, the girl suspects the wrong person of stalking her and doesn't realize her mistake until it's almost too far gone.

I feel like the big reveal of the killer could have waited until closer to the end, and that there could have been a bit more drama, but all in all not a bad movie to watch on a Saturday night.

Same idea, same story-line, same boring actors and same boredom in watching. However it's good when you're working at your desk and need some sound to break the silence. Not having to watch the silly nonsense is a treat, believe me. I won't mention names as I don't want to promote these bad poker faced actors. Plot wise without delving into specifics so as to not let you know the contents (you must be forced to watch this tripe). The leading lady is so wrong for the role. Although the role has something to be desired. This film is trying to make a hero out of a snoopy young thing that goes around taking candid pictures of her neighbors without their permission. Totally in the wrong, she expects sympathy? You gotta be kidding. You want her to get her up-pence. There is no compassion for someone who goes around accusing innocent people and interfering with their lives. Get a life, sweetie.

One of the other contributors hit the nail on the head when they said the title of the movie was wrong. In fact it was in fact Jodi who was the stalker, photographing the neighbors without their knowledge like a peeping tom, and following them and breaking into their homes.

The story line per usual was ridiculous. Jodi had massive trauma only three months earlier when she was raped at home. And yet here she is drooling over a neighbor boy taking pictures of him even after he catches her doing it. I do not want to assume anything about rape victims in real life nor do I wish to disrespect them, but to me it seemed far-fetched that someone like Jodi who at such a young fragile age goes through such a horrific experience and apart from a few scenes where she is on edge and jumpy, for the rest of the movie she acts so normal and even gets romantically drawn to the neighbor boy whom she has only known for three weeks.

And the lecture Nick gives Jodi's mom was just pathetic. The movie tried to copy Hitchcock's Rear Window and the newer Shia Labeouf movie Disturbia, both of which were in the league of their own.

Alone in her West Hollywood condo, pretty blonde teenager Kelcie Stranahan (as Jodi Allen) is attacked and raped by an intruder while talking to her mom on laptop video. Three months later, single mom Amy Pietz (as Andrea Allen) has moved her daughter to a presumably safer suburb near the Angeles Crest Mountains. Still skittish, Ms. Stranahan occupies herself taking photographs of the neighbors. With her zoom-lens, she specializes taking pictures of handsome young men in the neighborhood. Stranahan is a real "Peeping Tom" (or, more appropriately, a "Peeping Tina"). An obvious favorite is muscular young Grant Harvey (as Nick Thompkin). Stranahan happily catches him washing his truck while wearing only a baggy pair of sweat-shorts...

This ends up being an ordinary and very predictable "Lifetime" TV movie thriller, but you have to give writer-director Doug Campbell credit for so obviously portraying heroine Stranahan with what some might consider a character flaw; apparently, she takes "half naked" photos of young men for her own personal enjoyment. She also takes pictures of her neighbors' windows at night. Soon, she thinks she has witnessed a deadly crime. This updates what many correctly saw as perverse subtext in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" (1954). But, back to this story. The camera angles are nicely done, especially when Stranahan checks another neighbor's house for an intruder while wearing her own little shorts. "Lifetime" knows its PG audience.

***** Stalked by My Neighbor (2015-03-21) Doug Campbell ~ Kelcie Stranahan, Grant Harvey, Amy Pietz, Katrina Norman

Plot briefly - daughter Jody is cruelly raped in city apartment, after which loving Mom moves them to supposed safety of upscale suburbia. But is it. We'll see.

What interested me was youthful Jodi's traumatized mental state after being raped by a stranger. Actress Stranahan does a good job in this early part expressing mental imbalance without going over the top. For example, her fascination with sneaky photography of neighbors could be traceable to that trauma, or her accusing boy Nick of the later murder crime without evidence could also be a result.

Too bad the screenplay soon returns her to normality through turn-around puppy love with neighbor Nick. Then too, suspense is undercut by a too-early reveal of the killer that removes the fun of a guessing game. Without these give-aways, we might even suspect Jodi as the killer, imbalanced as she initially is. That unknown would have considerably raised the movie's suspense level to a fascinating degree. Instead, the screenplay opts for a more conventional type suspense rather than exploring the rich potential of Jodi's lingering trauma.

Nonetheless, the flick has several notable touches - the real suburban neighborhood with its upscale homes; the unusual all-girl showdown, poorly done though it is; and good crisp eye-catching photography.

All in all, the suspenser strikes me as average at best, with a squandered potential at worst. Anyway, despite the downside, it's probably worth a quick look-see.