Nightmare Tenant

"Nightmare Tenant" a "LMN" film is one that's a thrilling drama of obsession and rage as when one doesn't get what they want they behave badly. Dr. Allen's(Lauralee Bell) only daughter Lacey(Heather Hopkins) gets into an ivy league east coast school based on name and clout and passed over is Nikki(Virginia Tucker) so all of a sudden Lacey leaves the nest of California and flies east. So soon Nikki starts a dangerous cat and mouse game of danger and obsession by befriending Dr. Allen and becoming a guest also Lacey becomes a damsel in distress as she has a scene where she's tied up and gagged. Overall okay suspense TV thriller.

...where to begin! I missed the beginning (though other reviewers' observations made me aware of what an appalling dad Nikki had). I started watching when she was finishing her talk with the guidance counsellor. Virginia Tucker was as good as she could have been within the script.

I was less sure about Lauralee Bell's acting, until the utter stupidity of her character's behaviour drowned everything else into insignificance. I mean: a 21st century grown woman who studied and passed medicine being so dumb as to offer a perfect stranger a room because 'I have a good feeling about you'? Neglecting to make the inquiries that her boyfriend later made, which would have discovered the psycho fraud? Let her move into your house when you've known her a couple of hours?

Against my better judgment though, I watched to the end because I *had* to know how it ended! So I'd be a hypocrite to join the "don't bother with this one" people. If it comes your way, have a look, if only to marvel about how one is supposed to feel much concern for an idiot who opened her door to a stranger about whom she had a 'good feeling'!

The nature of this "psycho" feature is pretty decent. A lonely overachiever feels entitled to earn entrance to a college but fails to get accepted. Somehow, she learns that another girl from her school did get in, and from there, she plots her revenge. Writing Quality: The story is strong, though it would have made sense to show the villain, Nikki, interacting with Lacey at high school so that we could better appreciate the tension between them. Nikki only has her father and we learn how she's apparently a "disappointment" to him because she doesn't get accepted into the college. This aspect comes full circle at the end, but I thought the writers could have played more with this idea and how it interlinks with Nikki's nature. I'm not sure if it was the actors or the director, but all of the stars played their roles with such gravity and monotony. The mom, for instance, displays the same expression for everything, like she would in a soap opera role (apparently she's on The Young & The Restless). But hers and Nikki's flat-faced expressions don't work here. Too bad, because the story is pretty good. Scare factor: Nikki hurts herself in the beginning in a shocking way. Probably what is most scary is how unhinged she is and we are just waiting for all of her deception to culminate into a final vengeful act. Content (sex, language, & violence): No sex or language. Violence is startling but not graphic. Values & Themes: Protecting a family member. Again, the script was well written, but the acting was subpar.

While I'm a Y&R fan, and I like Lauralee (and the whole Bell dynasty for daytime dramas), I was not impressed with the stilted and stiff acting. The storyline was good, but it was all too weird a setup for these times. No deep research into a renter in the home? It would be better if mom was having trouble making ends meet, instead of wealthy and trusting. Finally, Lauralee, you should be a better actress by now, more natural. And eat something or curl your hair!

Another classic lifetime stalker movie. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. This one isn't any more or less entertaining than the rest. The acting is solid, and it's entertaining enough.