Helmed by Randy Carter, Lifetime’s ‘A Roommate to Die For’ is a drama thriller film about a suspicious tenant. At the center of the story is Faith, whose partner moves out after a bad breakup. But rent is due, and Faith needs to make ends meet and take control of her situation. This leads her on a path to find a new roommate who can help her with the rent. She finds one, but strange things start happening for which there isn’t any clear explanation. Faith really needs a roommate, but she can’t possibly ignore the new doubtful presence in her life. Starring Angela Cole, this is one of those films about a stranger coming into your life and starting a chilling chain of events. As creepy as it sounds, it’s interesting to learn about whether there’s any truth to this story.
A Roommate to Die For is Not a True Story
‘A Roommate to Die For’ isn’t inspired by true events but is the work of experienced writers who understand the genre inside out. It’s the result of a story by Jeffrey Schenck and Peter Sullivan and is written by Adam Rockoff. Schenck and Sullivan have previously worked on thrillers like ‘The Case of the Christmas Diamond,’ and even some lighter Christmas films like ‘His and Her Christmas’ and ‘All About Christmas Eve.’ Sullivan is also associated with ‘Blind Injustice,’ ‘Cave In’ and ‘Trapped.’ This shows the range of these writers and how this film, too, promises a build-up to unravel a mystery.
As it deals with a stranger with a complicated backstory, the theme isn’t very unheard of. A similar real-life case happened in July 2023 when a 31-year-old man from Nevada, George Anthony Bone, was accused of killing his roommate. Cops reportedly found the body of the victim, who was Bone’s roommate, in his house who had allegedly been dead for “an extended period of time.” It’s not clear who reported the murder, but since Bone was apparently staying with the corpse for a while, he was arrested under suspicion. This is one of the many incidents we hear about a roommate turning out to be a murderer or involved in something sinister, which resembles the theme of the film closely.
It’s not just the true crime stories that have addressed the issues, but a shady roommate has been the subject of many documentaries, films and TV shows as well. One such docuseries comes to mind, which is Netflix’s ‘Worst Roommate Ever,’ which discusses how a seemingly innocent roommate found on Craiglist turned out to be a serial offender who plotted to kick his roommate and landlords out of the house. Another film that works much better with the theme is ‘Barbarian,’ where two people end up sharing the same Airbnb as roommates, and there’s tons of suspicion involved.
While this film has more horror overtones, it’s primarily about two roommates who keep doubting each other when strange things start happening in the house, and their doubts are most likely triggered by the fact that they’re living with a stranger they have no idea about, which in itself seems like a scary idea if the news headlines are anything to go by. But all things considered, ‘A Roommate to Die For’ is definitely a fictional narrative dealing with themes taken from reality that feel scarier than a real story due to the possibility of something similar happening to people.
Read More: Is Lifetime’s Stalked by My Stepsister Inspired by a True Story?
