Everybody Needs Good Neighbors
Chloe (Ashley Bell - Don't Wake Mommy) and her husband Michael (Adam Mayfield - Sweet Surrender) have moved out of the city to a nice place in the suburbs, something they can afford as Michael works long hours as an attorney. Unfortunately it means Chloe spends a lot of time home alone with little to do other than jog and take photos. But she comes to the attention of her neighbour, Gerald Dixon (Tom Amandes - Bonneville), a retired therapist who observing that Chloe is a little jumpy offers her some free therapy sessions especially as she previously had a break down. It is then that Chloe starts to become suspicious of Gerald and begins digging in to his past, especially when she meets James Rooker (Ben Whalen) who claims that Gerald seduced his wife, who was a patient of his, and then she mysteriously disappeared.
I have a quick question; what woman would go out jogging when it is dark, use the middle of the road as a track, have headphones on and not wear any reflective clothing? It is one of the scenes in "A Neighbor's Deception", which is also known as "Next Door", which might make you think that this movie is a bit of a nonsense. There are more of this sort of scene which when you think about them just don't ring true and whilst you get unbelievable scenes in most Lifetime movies for some reason they stick out more than ever in "A Neighbor's Deception".
I think the real trouble with "A Neighbor's Deception", or at least for me, is that beyond the characters and story specifics there is a lot of cliche and formula at work. As such we have a couple who can't have children, a workaholic husband, a wife who had a breakdown and still suffers from a nervous disposition. But we also have her being watched by someone, and then we have her turning amateur detective when she starts becoming suspicious of her neighbour as well as his wife, who whilst friendly is quite protective of her husband. Basically you know that by the time the movie ends Chloe is going to be fighting for her life and the only question is will it be person A, B, C or maybe even person D who is trying to kill her. I will be honest, I guessed who the danger would come from shortly after the first clue appears and think most people would spot it or at least put a few clues together to start thinking it before it happens.
What this all boils down to is that "A Neighbor's Deception" is just a routine Lifetime movie which whilst benefiting from the acting talents of Ashley Bell and Tom Amandes really has one trick up its sleeve, a semi-twist ending.
