Netflix’s ‘The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window’ a thriller with laughs

By Matt Pascarella

This title is so this long and complex and references other movies; when I first heard it, I thought this is a farce – but it’s actually a decent thriller. It may be both.

If you take this series at face value, it can be nothing more than a solid thriller. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, star Kristen Bell described the series as a satirical thriller, poking fun at movies like “The Girl on the Train,” “The Woman in the Window,” and others.

And it does do that. However, unless you are very familiar with these types of movies, you might not pick up on all the jabs they take. I know I didn’t.

This eight-episode series, “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window” stars Kristen Bell, Michael Ealy, Mary Holland, Tom Riley, Cameron Britton, Appy Pratt and Shelly Hennig.

Anna (Bell) is divorced and spends her days in a funk, upset over the past. When she runs into neighbor Neil (Riley) and daughter Elizabeth (Pratt) she notices he is in a similar situation. They begin to become friends. This may or may not be short lived.

Anna has ombrophobia, a fear of rain.  This plays somewhat into the series. She wishes for a future where monsters don’t exist.

When Anna finds out Neil has a girlfriend, Lisa (Hennig), her feelings toward him change. Despite her aversion to Lisa, Anna notices something strange from her window – or is it because of all the wine and pills she’s taken? It’s raining, so Anna has trouble getting over to Neil’s house. She calls 911.

Things don’t go so well for Anna from this point on. She decides if the authorities won’t handle this possible mystery, she will. Anna begins to build a case through Instagram and tracks down certain individuals.

There are many Lifetime-ish, After-School-Special lines throughout this series.

At one point Anna asks herself,

“When am I not hallucinating?”

Or says stuff like,

“Life is for the living.”

“I barely believed in myself.”

“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?”

And of course,

“I didn’t kill anybody!”

I hope this series gets a season two. It was a very good mystery, and you cannot go wrong with Kristen Bell. By the end of episode two, I was hooked and watched the entire thing in one day. (Maybe I shouldn’t admit that, but the series is that good).

It does contain a little violence, language and mild nudity, but it’s both fun and suspenseful. Can you figure out who did it?

I give this two casseroles up; why are there so many casseroles? I saw more casseroles in this series than I’ve seen in real life in the past couple years.

I highly recommend this satirical thriller starring Princess Anna ... as Anna.

Available on Netflix. <