The Killer Downstairs (TV Movie 2019) Poster

(2019 TV Movie)

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4/10
This made for TV film did not arouse my Spidey senses in the least
Ed-Shullivan24 November 2021
The futile attempt at a suspenseful and non-stop music score degraded the otherwise decent acting of the lead character the unemployed lawyer Alison (Cindy Busby) who rents out her furnished basement apartment to the hunky and handsome recently divorced James (Marcus Rosner).

As people who Alison Peters has had previous conflicts with start disappearing, her basement tenant always seems to be around to lift Alison's spirits. I wouldn't even call this a half decent timewaster, rather just an attractive landlord with a macho basement tenant who we discover rather quickly has a hidden agenda and the blah suspenseful music score is simply just irritating.

There is a cute GEICO insurance TV commercial where there is a bunch of scared loser ladies and men who say to the camera in the middle of the night "Let's Hide Behind the Chainsaws" that appear in the garage while the serial killer is shaking his head how stupid this group must be. If you don't want to feel like these TV commercial losers, I would suggest you pass on this non suspenseful waste of time.

I give it a less than stellar 4 out of 10 IMDB rating.
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4/10
Alison is typical LMN woman
hoops-5343610 April 2021
She falls for a guy she knows nothing about. I guess pecs and abs are the only thing they think about. She takes a ride on the clue bus when it's way too late.

The only redeeming factor is that the girls are cute.
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6/10
Amazing
kerrydragon2 June 2019
How one person could be so naive,while living with such an evil force.
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Typical LMN
haroot_azarian10 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Not going to analyse the movie but one ridiulous thing that stood out was how easily in broad daylight in the parking lot of a big law firl psycho managed to snatch Michael!

SPOILER ALERT!

Psycho James fries to death in the sequel the Killer in the Guest House!
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5/10
Marcus Rosner Plays A Great Villain
kupcr27 May 2020
I really liked this LIFETIME film, but the ending was a little weak and I would've written it differently. In this film, Marcus Rosner ('Christmas In Evergreen') plays James, who seems to be one of those nice guys, the one with the muscular build, handsome face and kind demeanour who would turn any beautiful woman on.....until Alison, actress Cindy Busby, becomes his landlord and as he moves in to the basement apartment downstairs, his true colours begins to show and people begin to disappear. A nice movie, but so so!
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7/10
Mi Casa Es Su Casa
lavatch9 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"The Killer Downstairs" is clearly a film about boundaries. In the case of Alison (Ali) Peters, a downtrodden attorney reduced to working at the local Big Box Outlet Store, she is just unable to say "no."

Ali lost her job in a law office because she had an inappropriate affair with another attorney, ending in her resignation. Her marriage ended because she was physically abused by her husband Edwin. Now, Brandon Matthews, the manager of Big Box, who has a reputation as a lothario, invites Ali to dinner at the Fat Cow restaurant, and Ali makes the mistake of agreeing to meet him. Of course, the evening is a disaster.

In order to make ends meet, Ali rents out the lower part of her house to James, who claims that he is in the process of separating from his wife. Instead, he has murdered her as part of a set of serial killings committed across the country. Ali blithely welcomes James into her home with the words, "Mi casa es su casa," and James walks right in and makes himself at home, planning to kill anyone who stands in the way of thwarting his efforts to possess her.

When a former law school classmate, Michael Hammond, returns and provides the opportunity for Ali to get a second chance in the law office where he works, Ali badly misreads Michael's overtures. Michael never crossed the line with Ali. But Ali never understands the concept of a line. As a result, poor Michael becomes yet another casualty of James.

Ali has known Sarah since elementary school, and they are "besties." Sarah tries to give advice to Ali about boundaries. But what Ali really needs is "tough love." Sarah's "spidey sense" was not enough to ward off James. And, in the film's denouement, it is clear from their banter that Ali and Sarah are still talking as if they were high school students. Someone needs to sit the protagonist down and inform her, "You've gotta learn from your mistakes, Ali, and you have learn to say 'no'!!!"
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5/10
needs to be smarter
SnoopyStyle5 May 2024
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.
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8/10
Quite relevant Lifetime thriller
phd_travel4 March 2019
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.
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9/10
great
Kristamw11 December 2019
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
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8/10
too typical but realistic and more extreme than other lifetime movies
NijazBaBs19 April 2019
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.
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predictable
Kirpianuscus23 April 2020
The main virtue is its predictability. You now, from the first scenes, the story and the film has the gift to not propose surprises, twits or other inovations. Decent acting, naive story, the expected end. You know everything from many other Lifetime filmes but , I repeat , this is , maybe, the only obvious virtue of the film. So, far to be a bad movie, it is just the film of its public. So, nice. And, off curse, so, so, so predictable.
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