In this 2019 Lifetime film, Cindy Busby stars as Allison. Allison spent a lot of money on law school, but she hasn’t been able to get a job with a top-rated firm. Instead, she’s working at a grocery store that is definitely not meant to be Target, despite the fact that it looks like Target and all of the employees appear to be wearing blue versions of the Target uniforms.
Despite having a low-paying job and what one can only assume is a mountain of student debt, Allison lives in a mansion. One of the most comforting things about Lifetime films is that, no matter how bad life gets, everyone can still always afford to live in a giant house with a really impressive kitchen. (This is why I’m a capitalist.) Still, Allison could use a little extra money to help pay the bills, so she puts her basement up for rent on MiCassaSuCasa.com.
Soon, she gets a tenant. James (Marcus Rosner) is handsome, sensitive, and in need of companionship after his divorce. James is the type of guy who will show up at work and save you from your obnoxious boss while still finding time to make you a fabulous dinner. He seems like he’s perfect, but, of course, this is a Lifetime film, so no one has any excuse to be shocked when James starts planting secret cameras all over the house. James is clever enough to worm his way into Allison’s life and to start to win her heart, but he’s not smart enough to turn off his laptop whenever he leaves the basement. Nor does he really seem to be prepared for Allison’s best friend, Sarah (Donna Benedicto), and her skill at doing Google searches. That said, James does manage to kill a few people without anyone noticing him lurking around beforehand, and he also sabotages Allison’s upcoming interview with a law firm. What is James’s plan?
The Killer Downstairs is a typical Lifetime film, in that the plot depended upon Allison being way too trusting and James being way too eager to try to take over her life. If you’ve watched enough of these films, you’ll be able not only to guess exactly who James is going to kill but also when he’s going to do it. Unfortunately, Allison has never watched a Lifetime film and, as such, she’s noticeably slow to consider that maybe it’s the mysterious new guy in her life who is disrupting everything. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I spent several years as an office administrator for an actual attorney, but there’s absolutely nothing about Allison that suggests she would be a particularly good lawyer. Even before James shows up, she seems to be a bit scatterbrained. Ultimately, the message of this film becomes that some people are just meant to work in a grocery store, but that’s okay because they can still live in a mansion with a really nice kitchen. In the end, isn’t that what life is all about?
