By Mr. Will Wong
While 2021’s THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW proved largely to be forgettable, at least this eight episode Mini-Series inspired by that film, gets it right! THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW is a hilarious, dark and twisty Thriller that is over-the-top, and that just might be what we need right now.
Kristen Bell stars as Anna, not to be confused for the Frozen heroine of the same name which she also voices. After a devastating loss, she and her husband Douglas (Michael Ealy) part ways and she finds herself obsessed with a handsome new neighbour across the road named Neil (Tom Riley) and his daughter Emma (Samsara Yett). Anna consumes a large amount of red wine and prescription pills and the lines get dulled as she copes with her own grief and lives vicariously through her neighbours. Deaths begin to accumulate, and she suspects that Neil might be responsible, so she circles dangerously close trying to solve this mystery on her own, finding herself a suspect as well. Did she do it? Or is this all in her head?
Michael Lehmann has directed some classics including episodes of Veronica Mars, Heathers, 40 Days and 40 Nights and The Truth About Cats & Dogs and gets the tone just right here. The highly digestible Series at 20+ minutes per episode, is packed with little cliffhangers that could make it a late night for you depending how late you start watching. Though it is laugh-out-loud ridiculous, it actually stands on its own as nail-biting Thriller, never getting too lost in the Comedy of it all.
Bell approaches the role a bit deadpan, but is completely in on the joke, letting the writing from a Trio of Creators in Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf and Rachel Ramras guide us through a wild ride through Anna‘s in troubled mind. Also, you won’t be disappointed by the square-off at the end!
THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW is a perfect mixture of jump scares and LOLs we all need to make it through these winter and pandemic blahs. It screams… I mean streams January 28, 2022 on Netflix.
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