The Perfect Stalker (2016 Lifetime)

The Perfect Stalker (2016 Lifetime)

Stars:  Danielle Savre, Jefferson Brown, Krista Morin, Scott Gibson

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

Grace Winston has HPD (Histrionic Personality Disorder). After murdering her husband, she moves to Philadelphia and finds herself in love and obsessed with her neighbor… but how to make him fall for her? Grace invents an imaginary stalker, and she’ll need his help.

Thoughts

Grace is a beautiful woman with mood swings and has trouble “handling her emotions.” Her husband Harvey is a stud, but also sexist. He takes his wife to a therapist who diagnoses Grace with HPD.

“Histrionic Personality Disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriate seduction and an excessive need for approval.” (Dis me?)

Harvey is concerned and wants to put his wife in treatment. Grace is having none of that. She turns on the electricity while Harvey is fixing a light on a ladder. He is shocked and falls to his death. Bye, bye, husband.  

Grace moves to Philadelphia and is looking for a fresh start. She flirts with guys at the gas station and her movers. A redheaded neighbor named Erin is on a jog and invites Grace to a party. As she is shopping at the grocery store, Grace runs into a handsome man named Robert Harris. She fixates on him immediately, and online stalks him. He is an author and professor in town. Grace tells her new co-worker Tina about the run-in with Robert and claims she used to date him. 

Dressed in a tight red dress and a red statement lip, Grace attends the party. She is disappointed to learn that Erin is married to Robert and his messy bedhead. 

At work, Tina demands all the details. Grace fills Tina in with LIES. Tina warns Grace not to get involved with a married man. Grace promises not to.

Later at night, Grace fakes an attack while getting out of her car near her neighbor’s house. Robert comes running out to rescue her and calls the police. The police are unhelpful. The best advice they have is “buy a dog.” and “be careful.” Seriously? I mean, I know she made it up, but come on. Scared and alone, Grace asks Robert out for martinis, and then afterward, he walks her home. She invites him inside to look around for intruders and fantasizes about making love to him. He leaves without any inappropriate behavior.

Robert fills Erin in on the night’s events with Grace, and they are concerned about Grace’s stalker. Erin is offered a job in Baltimore. She shares the news at a dinner party that Grace throws to thank Robert for saving her. Grace feigns happiness but isn’t going to let Robert leave her.

Grace stages another attack and is admitted to the hospital. She lists Robert as her emergency contact, and he rushes to make sure she is okay. Grace cries about her stalker terrorizing her. He invites her to stay at his and Erin’s house. Robert puts Grace to bed and gives her one of his t-shirts. She lays in bed and smells the shirt, like a weirdo. The next day Grace stalks Erin and then kills her in the parking lot with a black wig. 

A memorial service for Erin happens, and Grace is douting hand and foot on Robert. She gets upset when she hears Robert making plans to go to a cabin without her. She splashes water on her face and talks to herself in the mirror. As Robert drives up to the cabin, he thanks her for everything, she has done to help him during a difficult time. 

While Robert is away, another neighbor Wade is on high alert watching his house. He sees Grace bringing over some groceries to Robert’s house and decides to investigate. He peeks through windows and notices Grace taking down photos of Erin. Wade calls a private investigator friend to look into things. 

When Robert returns, Grace continues the charade of being stalked. She shows him threatening voicemails on an ANSWERING MACHINE. He is very concerned about her and ANGRY. He does a reverse phone number search and goes to the gas station associated with numbers and interrogates the clerk. The clerk says he was paid $50 to leave the messages. They decide to go to the police again and then kiss. 

Wade continues to look into things and learns from Tina that Grace said she was dating Robert and recently quit her job. Wade tries to warn Robert, but he is at a book signing with his ringer off. Grace gets an angry call from Tina about the lies. She knows that Wade is on to her. Grace breaks into Wade’s house and knocks him with a crowbar, sending him tumbling down the stairs. When detectives arrive, they talk to Robert and tell him it is an unusual situation. Later, the detective plants doubts about Grace into Robert’s mind. He finally checks his voicemail and hears the message. (It was deleted, and he had a student retrieve it.) 

Robert drinks whiskey and is sad. Grace uses the opportunity to try and seduce him while he is sleeping. She is playing house and cooking him dinner, living her best wifey lifey. While eating dinner, Robert catches Grace in lies buy asking her to retell how her husband died. The story is different. All the lies come flooding to Robert is a flashback. He then boldly tells Grace all the evidence the police have against her. Grace pulls a gun on Robert and is angry that he doesn’t love her or appreciate everything she has done for him. 

Grace delivers her villain, monologue. Robert wrestles the gun away and tells her that he will always be there for her. She can tell he is lying and tries to stab him with a knife; he stops her with a vent cover. Then shoots her.

In the hospital, Grace waits for Robert to visit. She will be waiting for a long time.

Side Note

Minority Report: Police, Clerk, Detective,

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Overall rating

🔪🔪 (2 Knives)

🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)

*Photo Credit: © 2016 Lifetime