Lifetime Review: 'Is There a Killer on My Street?'

Shady Grove would initially seem to be a peaceful suburban neighborhood--and the perfect place for Lindsay Porter (Julie McNiven). After a divorce from her unstable ex-husband, the gated community allows Lindsay peace of mind as she runs her gym/yoga studio, hosts the neighborhood watch program, and raises her teenage daughter Jamie (Courtney Grosbeck). While dating is the last thing on her mind, Lindsay can't help but be attracted to Stephen Lane (Trevor Donovan), her new next-door neighbor. Despite her reservations, Lindsay is swept up by Stephen's charms and the two begin a tentative relationship.

But soon after that, Lindsay begins receiving frightening packages and seeing a dark figure outside her house. It would seem someone is watching Lindsay--and is not too happy about her new relationship. Along the way, it becomes clear that things are not as perfect among the Shady Grove residents as it would appear from the outside. As things escalate to murder, Lindsay begins to fear for her and her daughter's lives. Who is Lindsay's suburban stalker, and what other twisted plans do they have in mind?

Being another repackaged premiere-to-Lifetime-premiere, Is There a Killer on My Street? has been out since 2018. It's even still currently available on Tubi under its original title The Neighborhood Nightmare. But with its perfectly Lifetimey plot and mega-dramatic tone, it's only natural that this MarVista Entertainment chestnut would find a second home on Lifetime. The latter is what gives this familiarly premised movie its charm, as Jake Helgren makes it so easy to get caught up in the melodramatic world he's crafted with Shady Grove and its inhabitants. If the mystery of Lindsay's stalker can't captivate you, the suburban in-fighting between Shady Grove neighbors is sure to keep you watching to see how much tea gets spilled.

This fun atmosphere is kept alive thanks to the film's consistent pace and stellar cast loaded with familiar faces. While a good amount of time is spent establishing Shady Grove and its residents, as well as Lindsay's backstory, Is There a Killer on My Street? remains enjoyable thanks to everyone's natural performances. Much of the movie's snarky goodness is provided by residential flirt Kat Riley, played with delicious passive aggression by Helena Mattsson. While just about every character gets in on the shade-throwing, Kat's stands out as the sharpest. Mattsson is similarly effective at scenes where we get to that see that, for all her cattiness, Kat has a good side to her to complete her frenemy status. Joining Kat in delectable verbal jabs is neighborhood gossip Rita Barnes (played by producer Autumn Federici). While her presence in the movie is minor, Federici makes good use of her time to make Rita live up to her reputation and come close to matching wits with Kat.

Outside of the film's "Snarky Suburbia" bubble, Is There a Killer on My Street? is essentially a straightforward Lifetime mystery about a single mom being terrorized by an unseen stalker. Thanks to having seen MarVista's spoilery trailer well in advance of the film's official debut, I already knew who the main baddie was. But even with that spoiler, the cast and a couple of unblemished twists kept this movie from growing dull. In her second Lifetime thriller premiere this year, Julie McNiven brings a natural likability to Lindsay as she finds her efforts to find new love viciously interrupted. And like in Black Hearted Killer, McNiven brings a fire to Lindsay's more intense moments, be it when she's standing up to her snobby neighbors or allowing herself a moment to be vulnerable. My one complaint about Lindsay is how little she stands up to Jamie. Given how unnecessarily bitter she gets over her mother dating again and how defensive she is of her unstable abuser of a father, it would've been nice to give Lindsay a moment of putting her foot down on her daughter's thoughtlessness. As is, the movie ends with these mother-daughter conflicts unresolved.

Opposite McNiven is Trevor Donovan as Stephen Lane. Like in the Hallmark roles of his I've covered for this blog, Donovan brings an endearing charm to Stephen as Lindsay warily begins a relationship with him. Like Lindsay, you'll likely be drawn to Stephen, even as he begins to look suspicious. Adding to that, McNiven and Donovan share sweet chemistry, one that makes you believe in their quick growing attraction. Much of the supporting cast is able to bring life to their characters, with an unexpected gem coming in the form of Ryan Anthony as Lindsay's co-worker Phil. While he's not onscreen for long, Anthony gives the flamboyant Phil such an infectious personality that you can't help but love him. The fact that he's such a vibrantly goofy character in a group of mostly grounded individuals makes him stand out that much more.

This doesn't stop the rest of the supporting cast from getting their moments to shine as well. Lynn Chen makes an impact in a standard Heroine's BFF role, giving Lindsay's supportive bestie Janet a cathartic moment of calling out Kat and Rita for their nasty ways. Matt Raimo brings appealing friendliness in his first Lifetime role as security guard Barrett, and Trevor St. John ramps up the movie's histrionics with his scene as Lindsay's ex-husband James. SPOILER ALERT Raimo later replicates St. John's enthralling hamminess once Barrett is revealed as Lindsay's stalker. Raimo holds back no punches as he throws himself into Barrett's insane rantings and Entitled to Have You mindset. It makes the finale and climactic slasher movie-esque chase all the more exhilarating. Spoilers Over Fellow first-time-Lifetimer Courtney Grosbeck gets the short end of the stick, though. As stated before, Jamie Porter is a prickly character whose conflicts with Lindsay don't get the resolution they deserve. Grosbeck gives a decent performance and is particularly strong in her character's emotional third act moments. But until then, she's left with a generic "Angsty Teen Daughter" archetype role that gives little to work with.

While other reviews have derided the film for its distracting music, I never noticed such a problem during my viewing. In fact, my praises go to composter Chad Rehmann (who's done quite a bit of work for Lifetime movies) and everyone else in the sound department for crafting intense and dramatic music to match the movie's tone. Overall, Is There a Killer on My Street? is an exceptionally written Lifetime thriller that gives us everything you could expect from the channel. With fun melodrama delivered by compellingly portrayed characters, the small twists that allow a bit of deviation from the Lifetime Mystery mold are cherries on an already delicious sundae. If you missed the premiere, I highly recommend checking out a re-airing or the Tubi version while it's still available. If you like your Lifetime with a heavy helping of drama and thrills, it's just the film for you.

Score: 9 out of 10 ivy plants.