The Guest Who Wouldn’t Leave (2026 Lifetime Movie)
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Cast: Molly Flanagan, Alex Trumble, Brittany Bennett
Director: Peter Sullivan
Writer(s): Dan Golden, Jeffrey Schenck, Peter Sullivan,
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Lifetime)
Tom and his daughter Cora decide to open their guest house to short-term renters; however, when their first renter, Elise, begins to overstay her welcome, Tom is faced with the reality that he may never be able to get her to leave.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
Based on Actual Events.
The movie begins with a blonde getting ready for a date. She hears someone downstairs and goes to investigate. She is relieved when it is just her puppy, but then someone stabs and kills her. Thankfully, the puppy survives!
One month later, Alex Trumble (My Lifetime crush) plays a bartender/widow named Tom. (Which is my dream man!) He is listing his mother-in-law’s suite as an Airbnb. The first guest is a woman named Elise, who travels with a suitcase as big as she is. Elise is an art history professor, and she bonds with Tom’s cute daughter, Cora.
Elise is low-key a freak. She has a creepy cupid music box and a torn photo that she affixes to the mirror. Elise quickly attaches to her host family, eating dinner, bouncing in their bouncy house, and staring at Alex Trumble through the window. (What is she, me?) Isn’t Elise supposed to be on vacation? She visits Tom at the bar and instantly gets jealous of Audrey, a woman Tom is talking to. We also see on the wall of the bar that Tom’s wife was the blonde who met her untimely death.
Louise, Tom’s sister, isn’t a fan of the new house guest. She thinks having a woman around is confusing Cora, leading her to project motherly feelings onto Elise. Tom doesn’t take his sister’s advice and vents his stress of being a single dad. Elise starts helping out with school drop-off and pick-ups. Elise also installs a pen recorder to keep an eye on her potential new family.
Elise gets drunk at the bar and tries to make her move on Tom. He tries to set some boundaries, but Elise opens up about he music box and mother. She holds his hand while he drives, which is unsafe! Ironically, Elise tells him she wants to feel wanted and safe.
Tom kicks Elise out because he has a booking, but Elise isn’t going anywhere. Ever heard of squatter rights? Elise gets all gussied up to try and convince Tom to let her stay… forever! She practically throws herself at him, and I would do the same thing, TBH! Tom tells Elise that he is in love with Audrey.
Tom proposes to Audrey, and she says she needs time to think about. JK, she says yes, and they take things to the bedroom. Elise can’t listen on her pen cam and goes out to the bar to pick up a rando in an attempt to make Tom jealous. It doesn’t work. So she keeps stalking Tom at every turn.
Tom has to point-blank tell Elise that he does not have feelings for her and never will. (I’m trying not to take this personally, but am I, Elise? I get it, Alex Trumble, you aren’t that into me!) Elise doesn’t take rejection as well as I do. She trips over a rug and injures her back, delaying her departure until she is better.
Audrey wants Elise out, and Tom tries to get Elise out, but she refuses to go. Tom calls the police, and his new booking shows up with no place to stay. He has to lawyer up because Elise changed the locks. The Lawyer can’t find any information on Elise; it is as if she doesn’t exist.
Elise poses as Sara, a wedding planner interviewing for the job of planning Tom and Audrey’s nuptials. At the meeting, Elise tries to strangle Audrey with a scarf, but Audrey defends herself with a kitchen knife. The two fight it out, like it is a deranged version of “The Boy is Mine.” Audrey ends up in the hospital, and somehow, Tom is the number one suspect for a domestic dispute.
Detectives call Tom into the station to review security footage, and, of course, Elise follows him. She gets pulled over for loitering outside the station with a broken taillight. Tom sees Elise in the footage and calls his sister to warn her about Elise, but it is too late. Elise grabs Cora and locks her in a closet in the Airbnb.
Tom and the detective rush to save Cora. Tom talks to Elise on the phone and begs her to let Cora out. Cora did nothing wrong. Tom agrees to meet with Elise alone, and she is armed with a hammer behind her back. She lets Cora out and talks alone with Tom. It’s Elise’s big freak-out moment. She tells Tom she tries to kill Audrey so he could see that he was meant to be with Elise.
Just as Elise is about to finish Tom with a hammer, the sister and detectives rush in and take Elise into custody. Everyone is safe!
Months later, Audrey is better, and they all bounce in a bouncy house together. The end!
STRAY Thought
I get it, I would do the same for Alex T!
Overall rating
Number of Kills: 🔪 ( 1 knife)
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷 (2 Glasses of Wine)
Lifetime Tropes:
Should you watch it?
Pour it up (Give it a shot)
Put a Cork in It (Skip It!)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media at @LifetimeUncorked and @patrickmiguel.
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