The Neighbor in the Window

I've seen a lot of Lifetime movies. They are hit and miss. "The Neighbor in the Window" is somewhere in the middle. It was an okay watch. It's just that there was nothing that special about it. The cast is fine. They all do a nice job. It's just that material isn't that hot. I don't want to bash this movie because I did kind of like it. It's that I wanted more than I got.

If this is what a typical United States housewife spends their free time doing (screwing with their neighbors) than no wonder there is mass exodus to get out of the USA. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler (From the Sopranos) plays Karen Morgan. Karen, her supportive husband Scott (Geoff Gustafson) and their ten year old son just moved into their dream home so that Scott can start his new job and live a good life with his wife and son. Karen and Scott are trying to survive the recent death of their six week old daughter and so moving to a new community is considered part of their healing process.

Karen's new neighbor Lisa Beasley (Jenn Lyon from Claws) shows great empathy towards Karen as both ladies share in the recent loss of a newborn child. But wait, Lisa is not who Karen initially thought she was. Far from it, Lisa is a whack job and pathological liar who does not take kindly to anyone who has good things happen to them such as when Karen decides to go back to work as a realtor in her community.

I can understand that Karen ignores the earliest indicators that something is wrong when Lisa keeps suddenly appearing at her door with a multitude of excuses for being weird, but what Lisa really should be diagnosed with is an antisocial personality disorder and if you ever had a neighbor that strikes you as just weird, then that's the neighbor where "good fences" make the best neighbors.

Our children are our most precious gift, and when our neighbors start screwing with our family then it is time to stop that sociopath behavior immediately. This movie is by no means a dramatic EMMY winner, but it should remind all parents (mom and dads and big brothers and big sisters) to look out for your own family and know the signs that when a neighbor starts interfering with your own families well being than it may be time to keep your distance from your interfering neighbor and as a last resort, move before it is too late.

I loved this movie right up until the last 20 minutes. I couldn't wait to see how it ended but was very disappointed. And yes, as another reviewer said, our legal system does not work the way the movie portrayed. It was laughable.

This LIFETIME suspense thriller was actually released this year and one of the newer ones with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. You might know her exceptionally well from from the holiday movie "The Christmas Note". In "The Neighbor in the Window," this is Lifetime's newest movie that is actually a real story made into a movie from the book "False Victim" by Kathie Truitt. The movie shows just how much HELL a person can go through when one neighbour invades your space, both figuratively and literally.

The film is about Karen (Sigler) when her and her family relocate to Washington because her husband has a new job and she falls in love with her new home, which is a beautiful house with large, impressive windows, but this new dream life quickly morphs into a nightmare when the looming presence of her neighbor, Lisa (Jenn Lyon), is all that cascades into those large panes of glass and the devil is scorned. Great movie also because it was based on a true story.

Karen (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and her family relocate to Washington for her husband's new job and falls in love with her new house which has large, impressive windows. However, this new dream life quickly morphs into a nightmare when the looming presence of her neighbor, Lisa (Jenn Lyon), is all that cascades into those large panes of glass.

At first, Lisa seems like a promising friend. But soon, Karen begins catching her in bizarre lies and copycat behavior. Karen confides in Lisa that she lost a baby, so Lisa immediately makes up a story that she also lost a child - even buying an identical version of the necklace Karen wears to commemorate her lost child. Lisa lies about various health conditions, claiming she had lupus and cancer. She even copies Karen's car, her clothes and her desire to become a real estate agent.

Then, when Karen grows uncomfortable with Lisa's behavior, Lisa's tactics escalate. Lisa phones in false complaints that Karen is neglecting her son in an attempt to have him removed from her care. She even files for a restraining order against Karen that means Karen can't even hang out in her own backyard without violating it.

In the most dramatic move of all, she falsely accuses Karen of trying to mow her down with her car. This leads to a trial where Karen could have been convicted with attempted murder due to Lisa's lies and fabricated victimization. Instead, it results in her acquittal.

There's no murder for a change in this Lifetime thriller based on a real story. The subject around 'False victims' is interesting. I never heard of it so it prompted me to read about. Who says Lifetime thrillers isn't informative! It's quite watchable and intriguing, however the plot gets a bit thin towards the end and the court scene should have had more punch. The actress who plays the 'false victim' was very good and quite sinister.