Stalker in the Attic (2020 Lifetime)

Stalker in the Attic (2020 Lifetime)

Cast: Jen Landon, Joshua Close, Tara Redmond van Rees, Steve Lund

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

Finding her relationship at a standstill, single mother Mel breaks up with her boyfriend, Ben. After he moves out, strange things start happening in her house that threatens her safety and well-being.

Thoughts

Ben is a creepily attractive man who has nightmares about being taken from a car by the police when he was a child. His girlfriend, Mel, has trouble sleeping as well because she isn’t so into Ben. While Mel works (or clicks her mouse and then points at her screen.) with her handsome co-worker, Sam. Ben makes coffee, does a crossword puzzle, and fixes odds and ends around the house. Mel comes home and is annoyed to see Ben hasn’t made dinner, and her teenage daughter, Brooke, is talking about Emojis. (Insert eye roll emoji here.) It is the last straw, and Mel breaks up with Ben. He is perplexed! They haven’t been fighting and get along great. Ben promises to fix whatever the problem is, but Mel kicks him out of the house. (He has issues leaving home because actually grew up in a car with his mother.) 

Ben moves into a new apartment and is working a the building manager. (Oh wait, lies. He is living in Mel’s ATTIC!) Mel feels terrible but is moving on. She has the hots for Sam (who is separated.) and drinks wine with her friend. The friend, Erin, tells Mel to be a slut because she married the first guy she slept with and moved in with Ben after her first husband died.  

Mel asks Carl, the elderly neighbor, to keep an eye on the house since she kicked Ben out. Ben continues to do his crossword and drink coffee while Mel and Brooke are out for the day. Ben is almost caught when Brooke comes home early from school and makes out on the couch with a boy. Ben sneakily walks by and sets off the fire alarm to distract them. Carl comes running over and tells Mel that her daughter was skipping school.

Up in the attic, Ben can hear the mother and daughter fighting. He texts Brooke some emojis to make her feel better, which is creepy. Then late into the night, he works on creating a miniature replica of the house. He drops a tool, and it clanks loudly on the floor, waking up Mel. Mel gets out of bed and looks at the ceiling with a worried expression on her face, but gets back into bed and goes to sleep. (Not me, I’d burn the house down!)

The next morning, Mel attempts to get into the attic but has trouble pulling down the ladder. Then she assumes it must be squirrels. She calls Ben to see if there is a trick to getting into the attic. He doesn’t answer, because he is in the attic. He calls Mel later while she is on a date with Sam, and she brushed Ben off. Mel starts noticing some strange things happening around the house. 

1. Mel sees something move in her bedroom window. 
2. A photo Mel removed of Ben, Brooke, and herself back on the fridge. 
3. Mel’s bed is getting made even though she doesn’t remember making it. 

Mel calls an exterminator to look in the attic, he surprisingly doesn’t find Ben, but he does find some crackers. Carl, the neighbor, on the other hand, catches Ben inside the house and is suspicious. Ben claims he is doing housework (that Carl was coming over to do.) as a surprise for Mel. Carl gets murdered off-camera, and his body is staged as an electrical accident. Mel finds the body and is understandably frazzled. Ben “comes over” to fix the electrical problem and offers to stay the night. A boxing montage happens out of NOWHERE! While Mel is beating the hell out of a punching bag, Ben sneaks back into the attic.

Horny friend Erin gives Mel sexy lingerie as a birthday present. Mel puts it to use while Brooke is out of town. As she is getting ready for Sam to come over, Mel notices the toilet seat is up!!! Sam and Mel makeout on the couch to terrible music plating on their laptop. They move things to the bedroom, and they literally watch Netflix instead of having sex. Netflix and NO CHiLL?!?! They fall asleep on the bed, and Ben stands over them, watching angrily. Ben goes downstairs and deletes the project they were working on. 

Sam is like Ben. He likes to drink coffee and do the crossword too. Sam has a wife that he is separated from, and when he gets a text. He bolts. Mel leaves the house also, leaving Ben to come down and throw a temper tantrum ripping up newspaper. Mel forgets something goes back inside to find her paper trashed. She calls the police who aren’t helpful. They advise her to install a security camera. 

Once Mel realizes that the work file is deleted from her computer. Sam is very unimpressed with Mel and blames her daughter. With no one else to turn to, Mel calls Ben and wants to come to his place in an hour. Ben rushes out of the attic and pretends one of the apartments that he has been working on is his.

Mel comes over and drinks some white wine. She is impressed with the place and misses the Vitafusion Woman’s Daily Gummie Vitamins #Ad on the counter. Mel and Ben start making out on the couch, and it quickly almost turns to sex in someone else’s bed. Mel finds some panties in the couch and leaves abruptly. As she goes, the woman who lives in the apartment comes in and sees some things out of place and shrugs. 

Brooke is back, but not for long. She tells her mother that she hasn’t been in the attic and that she is paranoid. Brooke stays with a friend while Mel tries to pull it together. 

Alone in the house, Mel is visited by Sam, who has gotten a face to face presentation with the client. Sam wants to work on the presentation, but they have sex instead. While they are knocking boots, Ben lets himself back into the house.

The next morning, Sam is enjoying his morning coffee and starts foaming at the mouth, choking to death. As Sam is on the floor, Mel stands over him while calling the police. Behind her, he can see Ben watching them. (It is a cool shot.) Sam gets admitted to the hospital and has been poisoned. The next six hours are critical for Sam. He wakes up and tries to tell Mel about the man behind her, but she thinks he is crazy. 

Brooke is back in the house, and Mel almost kills her boyfriend when he sneaks in. Mel is convinced Brooke is lying and has been sneaking her boyfriend in the house, which would explain the sounds and strange occurrences. Brooke denies everything, and Mel decides that they should sell the house. 

Ben isn’t having any of that. When he learns that Mel is moving, he gets angry because he cares about the house. Mel slams the door in his face. Ben shouts and bangs on the door. He then goes and finds Horney Friend Erin and pretends he is interested in buying a condo. Horney Friend Erin invites him inside and is 100% dead. 

Meanwhile, Mel goes back to Ben’s apartment and is surprised to find a woman in the apartment. The woman tells Mel that Ben is the maintenance guy in the building. Mel rushes home and heads directly to the attic. It is there that she finds Ben’s things (Crackers, water, and sardines.) Ben is right behind her, and he admits to living in the attic because he cherishes the house. Ben won’t let Me take that from him.

Brooke comes home and is surprised to see Ben in the house. Ben says that he and Mel are back together, and Brooke isn’t buying it. She calls her mom and hears the ringing in the attic. Brooke pulls down the stairs and finds her mother tied up in the attic. Brooke frees her mom, but Ben isn’t far behind. Mel and Brooke fight and throw things around the attic, Mel throws a mean right hook and knocks Ben out. 

The police are called, and they take Ben into custody… maybe? Mel and Brooke move into a new house, and it doesn’t have an attic!  

Side Note

Part of the Worst Impressions Movie Marathon  

Minority Report: Lauren, Police Officer, 

Set in Philadelphia 

Also known as: Within These Walls 

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Overall rating

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*Photo Credit: © 2020 Lifetime

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