The House Next Door

I can be very picky when judging a suspense-horror type movie. I can honestly say I enjoyed House Next Door very much. Mainly because the type of suspense shown in the movie was believable. We've all experienced weird neighbors, not to this extent, but its something we can relate to. To me this is far more enjoyable then a typical Stephen King sci-fi weirdo picture ! I found the story was well written, well directed and the acting was superb. It goes to show you Producers don't need idiots running around with a chainsaw and hockey mask chasing bare breasted women in the middle of the night. The movie was clearly written and stuck to the point right up until the final climax. I purchased this older movie the other day and I know I'll end-up watching it again in the near future. I recommend you do the same. You will not be disappointed. I'll give it an 8.

I got this dvd for free, so I checked it out. I think it's quite an ordinary thriller but also a well made one. The characters were well written and acted. Not a movie I'd want to watch agan soon, but it wasn't boring either.

Recommended if you like thrillers that are set in the real world and could actually happen. And if the theme of neighbour's dark secrets seems appealing to you.

The young couple Lori Peterson (A.J. Cook) and her husband Tom Peterson (Matthew Harrison) moves from Chicago to a suburb, to live in a huge house. Their neighbors Helen Schmidt (Theresa Russell) and Carl Schmidt (James Russo) welcome them with a dinner party at their house and the two couples start a good relationship. When Tom travels to Los Angeles on business, Lori stays alone at home and realizes that Carl is a violent man and might have killed his wife. She decides to investigate what might have happened to Helen. 'The House Next Door' is a totally predictable festival of clichés. It seems that the studios have some sort of previously prepared combination of screenplays with this sort of flick, and releases them with a minor participation of some known actors and actresses, like Sean Young and Theresa Russell, a beautiful cover and posters to the video rentals to attract the attention of viewers. Later, they release it to an open or even cable TV channel, and nothing else. Just as an example, this type of movie is very common and typical in the Saturday 9:00 PM session of TV Globo (the greatest open channel in Brazil). 'The House Next Door' is a watchable and very forgettable flick. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): 'Vizinhos Lado a Lado Até a Morte' ('Neighbors Side by Side Until Death')

I had the opportunity of being invited to the Vancouver screening of `The House Next Door'. The movie was very well done; it kept everyone in the audience on the edge of their seats wondering... why doesn't she leave? Vancouver composer John Sereda did an outstanding job on the films soundtrack. It was "Dramatic, Dynamic, Suspenseful, and it Rocked you"... It is definitely a movie worth seeing... and a soundtrack worth hearing.

This thriller is very watchable due to the high caliber acting of three of the main characters. A J Cook (Jennifer Jareau on TV's Criminal Minds) and Matthew Harrison play Lori and Tom Peterson who have been married for two years and decide to leave the big city of Chicago and move to a smaller community in the countryside, where they believe their lives will be safer and more like the lives of the people on that old television series The Andy Griffith Show which took place in the quaint little town of Mayberry.

Little do they know that they have moved next door to a very militant neighbor who associates with a group of degenerates that like to party at his house. James Russo is the neighbor from hell named Carl Schmidt. Carl is married to Theresa Russel's character Helen Schmidt who is a stay at home mom with two young children. Helen appears to be abused both verbally and physically by her ex military husband Carl.

Two other characters that come in to play are Lori Peterson's hip girlfriend Monica played by Sean Young who comes to town to visit her good old friend Lori, and the not so nice, and corruptible skirt chaser Sheriff Vernon Crank played by Frederic Forrest.

Yes, the script is very predictable, but the musical score suits the scenes as they play out, and A J Cook, Theresa Russell and James Russo are all good actors who hold the movie up quite well to the bitter climax. Even the director Joey Travolta (yes he is John Travolta's brother) does an admirable job pulling off a pretty good thriller. One could do a lot worse than watching this 95 minute thriller, so sit back with your popcorn and leave at least one light on for this two and half star thriller.