The Stranger Beside Me (film)

Tagline

"Its what you dont know that can kill you."

Plot

Jennifer Morgan (Tiffani Amber Thiessen) is a young painter who has secluded herself from the world since being raped two years earlier. At a family party she meets Chris Gallagher (Eric Close), who falls in love with her. She is reluctant to be intimate with him, but he convinces her to marry him, by which she hopes to let go of her tragic past. Shortly after the ceremony, Chris 17-year-old cousin Dana (Alyson Hannigan) warns Jennifer that she will not be happy with him, but Jennifer does not listen. Because Chris has recently joined the Navy, Jennifer agrees to move with him to the seaside, where she befriends Nancy Halloran (Lorrie Morgan).

Shortly after, Gina Corbet (Suzanne Turner), a neighbor, becomes the victim of a peeping tom and is later raped by a masked man. Most women of the neighborhood leave in panic, but Chris dismisses the danger and convinces Jennifer that they are overreacting. Meanwhile, Chris dark side is starting to emerge and he becomes more violent and possessive. Jennifer finds out that Chris has been released from his Navy duty after threatening to kill himself. When she confronts him, he accuses her of being a spy. The same night, he is arrested for voyeurism. Chris pleads guilty to the charges, and agrees to a discharge from the Navy.

Jennifer is devastated by this news, considering that she has recently found out that she is pregnant. Regardless, she gives him another chance; they move back to their previous home, and for a while things take a turn for the better. However, Chris temper soon returns, while a masked rapist once again begins preying on women in the neighborhood. Following the birth of Jennifers daughter, Dana tells Jennifer that Chris molested her when she was a child. Jennifer starts to suspect his involvement in the rapes. She talks to a detective from California, who tells her that he had all the evidence but could not do anything because Chris was under the protection of a district attorney friend (Steven Eckholdt). Jennifer decides that it is time to leave her husband.

Chris, however, is unwilling to let her go, and he turns to domestic violence. Jennifer is rescued by two police officers, and afterwards presses charges against her husband. She drops them only a few days later, when Chris convinces her that he will not be convicted and threatens to harm her and their baby if she runs away. While posing as his loving wife, she tries to collect evidence against him. She finds his weapons in his car, but by the time the police arrive, they have disappeared. After this happens, Chris becomes increasingly violent.

One night, she follows him when he suddenly leaves at a late hour. She catches him preparing to rape someone, and warns the police. Chris tries to get away, but is eventually arrested. Chris pleads guilty to four counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of sexual attempted assault, and is sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Cast