My Neighbor's Secret

My Neighbor's Secret
Directed by Leslie Hope
Written by Michael Murray
Starring Nicholas Brendon
Chandra West
Vincent Ventresca
Dakota Goyo
Distributed by Lifetime Television
Release dates
 September 26, 2009
Running time
 90 minutes

My Neighbor's Secret is a 2009 television film. Brent is a grieving husband who targets the family of his neighbor, whom he blames for ruining his marriage. The story centers on Brent's desire to destroy him, as well as his own obsession for the neighbor's wife. The film aired on Lifetime channel on September 26, 2009.

Plot

Brent Keller (Nicholas Brendon) seemed to have it all—a successful career as an architect, a loving wife and a beautiful home. Tragically, his wife Gretchen (Natalie Lisinska) was shot by someone unknown to her while leaving work. Casey and Jason Hest (Chandra West and Vincent Ventresca) offer condolences and reach out to Brent repeatedly. At first he rejects it, but when Casey sends over one of her famous dishes, Brent opens up. It starts off as a friendship, but it becomes obvious that Brent has a crush on the struggling writer. When Casey and Jason decide to remodel their kitchen, Brent quickly offers his services.

Through a series of flashbacks we see that things were not going well between Brent and Gretchen. Brent disapproved of her new career as in advertisement, believing she had sold out as an artist. He blamed Jason for introducing Gretchen to Sean (Nick Baillie). Brent grew increasing convinced that Sean and his wife were having an affair. We learn that Gretchen's untimely death was the work of a junkie, hired by Brent to kill her. As if that wasn't evil enough, instead of paying the killer off, Brent poisoned him with some liquor.

While measuring for blueprints for the remodeling job, he goes through the neighbors' belongings. Finding Casey's lingerie, he begins to fantisize about being together with her. He imagines running over Jason, paying him back for ruining his marriage. Through a series of hidden cameras Brent learns that Casey is jealous and suspicious of Jason's medical partner Paula, and also that Jason previously had an affair.

Brent uses this, and other bits of information, to turn Casey against her husband. When Jason is unable to show up at his son's soccer game, Casey's car mysteriously refuses to start. Conveniently, Brent offers to take Austin to his game, while she waits for help. She eventually arrives at the game, thanking him for his help. She quips that she "owes him", and he affirms that he will collect.

As Brent's assistant was going through his books, she notices a charge for gas on his credit card bill. It concerns her that is in the neighborhood where the junkie met his demise, so she alerts the police. The cops go through Brent's background to discover that Gretchen wasn't his first wife, that he was previously married, and he's a "classic abuser". Within eight months of their marriage, she had filed a restraining order. He is now a person of interest in Gretchen's death.

Soon Brent causes trouble for Jason, stealing confidential information on the mayor's health, making Jason miss Casey's book reading by sabotaging Paula's heat and lights so she'd have to check on her mother, while Jason had to take Paula's patients, then when Jason asked for advice on should he cancel going to a benefit given for Paula, Brent tells him to go but not tell Casey. Brent hides out in his car taking pictures that seem like an intimate moment between Paula and Jason and send them to Casey's cell phone. When Jason comes home, an obviously drunk Casey confronts him and kicks him out. Brent sees this as an opportunity to move in; he makes a move and kisses Casey, who at first didn't stop him, but then asked him to leave. The next day when he went over, she told him he's still grieving and it was a mistake; he doesn't take it well, stating he know she has feelings for him, and that Jason will just hurt her again, noting about Jason's previous affair, she asks how he knows this and says that he and Jason had drinks earlier.

Casey calls Jason to have him come over and asks him if he told Brent about the affair; Jason told her, he didn't. She tells him about the kiss and that he started acting weird, while Brent is listening in on the hidden cameras, Casey tells Jason she doesn't have feelings for Brent, which upsets him, he says, "tell him you do love me". Jason says that Brent must have been spying on them, he searches around and discovers the hidden cameras, they decide to call the police and leave the house, Brent loses it, the lights turn off and he knocks out Jason who was trying to call the police on his cell phone. Brent tells him, "you destroyed my life, you're going to lose everything, your wife, your child and your home. then we'll be even." He hits him in the head again.

Casey calls for Jason but Brent answers; she locks herself and Austin in his room, she has him climb out the window to the neighbors, Brent breaks down the door, she grabs a small vase and hides it. Brent told her that Jason ruined his life, that he had to kill Gretchen so she wouldn't leave him for Sean, and that he never expected to fall in love with her, but ever since the first day she came over to comfort him. But he tells her she just like Gretchen, she hits him in the head and runs to the kitchen to find Jason, she grabs a knife calling out for Jason, she hears a noise and accidentally stabs Jason. Brent runs down with a knife holding it to her throat, saying they could have had everything, she's the perfect wife, mother and companion, but not now. She grabs a knife and stabs him. The police and EMTs arrive, and as Jason's carried out on a gurney Detective Ruiz says their forensic need to search the entire house and they already found four other cameras. As the EMTs wheel Brent out he just stares right at Casey.

Then it is seen that Brent is in a mental hospital, with a bunch of drawings around him, as a nurse is giving him a shot, he asks if his wife is there yet and he tells her to tell Casey he is ready to come home.

Casey has a dream that she is watching Jason and Austin play soccer, then Brent shows up saying "miss me?"; she starts screaming and awakens to be comforted by Jason and Austin.

Cast

External links

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