The Killer Downstairs

Alison Peters (Cindy Busby) is struggling after her messy divorce. The former lawyer is stuck working at a big box store and trying to make ends meet. She decides to rent out her furnished basement to a family. James (Marcus Rosner) shows up without his family. They have split up and he's renting alone. Her harassing boss gets murdered.

This needs to setup a bit more with her husband and her lawyer job. Why not show her ex getting her fired and reputation destroyed? He could also be the first victim. As a lawyer, she should be better at handling such clumsy workplace harassment. For example, she could put her phone down to record the restaurant get-together and claim it as part of building his case. As a lawyer, she should know to be careful when dealing with the cops and she is jumping to conclusion quick. The movie is simply not written at the smartest level especially with Alison. It's frustrating to have her always a step behind.

No, seriously, that's not the actual message that's communicated. Although, guys who are handsome do often have a split personality. I try not to generalize, but 9 times out of 10, what glitters is not necessarily gold. The Killer Downstairs is a good movie that exemplifies why you shouldn't be so quick to trust a person you don't know. It was nice to see characters in their 30s who were believable for a change. Their conversations sounded natural, and their situations were unique. Everyone in that age group isn't always married with children, and has their life figured out. As is common in Lifetime movies, the audience is introduced to the main character right away. Alison Peters (Cindy Busby) is a lawyer who is struggling financially after having resigned from the law firm where she was employed, and now works at a big box store. Like most young women, she is routinely leered at and made uncomfortable by various men. Even when she was in the middle of working, a random male customer stops to stare at her. He's standing next to patio furniture that's on display, and he sits down, continuing to stare. Her back was to him the whole time, so when she turns around, she sees him, and he starts flirting with her. I think the filmmakers put that in the opening to show the audience how vulnerable she is. Not to say women are unsafe no matter where they go, but they are stared at, followed, and harassed by men, even in the most unexpected of places, to the point that it is a societal issue. Especially women in their 20s and 30s. But it's not just the customers' advances she has to put up with - her pervy boss won't leave her alone. So she just has problems with men all around.

As a solution to her money problems, she decides to rent out her basement by posting an ad on a website, and meets James (Marcus Rosner), who she is surprised to see alone, due to his picture online showing him posing with a woman and child. He tells her he's now divorced, and it's not talked about any further. They hit it off in a short amount of time. The only downside is, he's making himself a little too comfortable. The morning after he gets settled in, she finds him in the kitchen making breakfast, and that's an issue, because one of the house rules stated he was supposed to use the kitchen that's in the basement, seeing as it has all of the amenities of an apartment, so there's really no need for him to come upstairs for anything. Her work friend tells her to set boundaries. But she continues to fall for his charm, leading her to divulge too much information about the issues with her ex-boyfriend... And they end up kissing. That was quite predictable. He's a tall, physically fit guy. She had left a toxic relationship. When you get two people like that together, and they're occupying the same space, sparks are going to fly. I know you shouldn't fall in love with someone exclusively because of their looks, but you can't help it sometimes. Despite agreeing with each other that the kiss was meaningless, and they were still "cool," their romantic feelings are ignited, and they start living as more of a couple than a tenant/renter. Alison's life becomes increasingly scary when he turns out to be homicidal, as well as possessive, just like her ex was. James doesn't want her talking to anyone, men or women.

Towards the end of the film, he's sleeping in Alison's bed. When she's asleep, he reaches over her to pick up her phone, and sees a text from her friend saying she discovered the picture he posted on the renter's website was a stock photo. He cropped his picture in place of the original guy, to make it look like he had a family. At the end of the message, she tells Alison she needs to get him out of her house now. The next day he breaks into her house and kidnaps her. He was willing to go to great lengths, no matter how extreme, to keep other people from getting in the way of their "relationship." His acting was so convincing. I don't even see performances like that from well-known stars. Case in point of why Lifetime movies are underrated. I also love how in the newer ones, women are portrayed as less fearful and more courageous. When they're being attacked by a man, they at least try to fight back, unlike in the 90s Lifetime films.

Considering the world we're living in, where people going places and living with strangers has gotten so normalized (Uber, Lyft, those websites where you can rent a room from anyone), I feel like this is an important film for young adults to see, particularly millennial women. Many of us do feel awkward when it comes to setting boundaries, especially when it's a man who we like. We don't take our time getting to know someone, and I've been guilty of that too. This movie can be an example of the red flags to look for. It's not the unrealistic crap that you see in mainstream Hollywood. No young woman is exempt from being victimized. The story might seem far-fetched, but the truth is, there are lots of men out there who are like James - friendly on the outside, but unstable once you get to know them. Or if they're not unstable, they're a creep. I met this man in grad school (he was married, so we were just friends). We don't talk anymore. I recently went on his Facebook - a majority of the stuff he posted was toilet jokes, sexual garbage... He didn't present himself as a crude person in public. I felt unsettled that I had talked to someone who was perverted for 2 or 3 years, unknowingly. I shared personal things about myself, and I hardly knew anything about him. He barely even mentioned his wife. My point in saying that is, it's common for men to put on a facade. And many of them are so good at doing it, the women who they encounter don't find out they're crazy until it's too late. This film, even with the occasional lame acting performances, really does send across an important message. Don't judge it negatively just because it's from Lifetime.

I liked that this one is bit more extreme. I liked the saying "what a horrible way to die" which indicates how extreme this movie is. It's very similar to all other lifetime movies which are all realistic and about love. I liked the reality part such as something we can find ourselves in real life such as jobs, friends, criminals. I did not like the ending which could have progressed to much more story if main characters decided to go along with each other. Instead movies was finished in too typical approach with even bit unrealistic death avoidance and twists at the end. The end was unfortunately the quickest and the most unrealistic and most typical part of this movie.

Writing Quality: Unoriginal script, but it works well. Great acting by the MC. The villain is one of those typical extremely fixated on "bad behavior" villains. That is, even though James, the villain, has a good woman, Alison, a beautiful home to live in, etc,. he chooses to hone in on anyone he deems unacceptable or in the way of his relationship with Alison. Which makes his behavior, of course, creepy and unpredictable.

Scare Factor: There are a few kill scenes in this one, and they happen suddenly. The scariest part occurs in the finale, where everything comes to a head.

Content (sex, language, & violence): A sex scene that shows just the implication of something about to happen. Mild language. Violence is swift except in the end where there is a lot of tussling between James and Alison for an amazing and captivating showdown.

Values & Themes: Sexual harassment, protecting from harm, second chances, best friends looking out for each other

Best Part: An intense satisfying ending

Quite well done. This pretty current Lifetime thriller has lots going on. Cindy Busby plays a lawyer fallen on hard times and working in Costco like place. She rents out her basement. A seemingly nice man without his family as expected. Meanwhile she is sexually harassed by her boss. From the title you can expect he is the wacko in sheep's clothing.

Cindy Busby is quite suited to the role -looks smart. The look of this movie and the acting and cast are above average for Lifetime thrillers.