"The Neighbor" is a brand new horror/thriller from director Marcus Dunstan, who also directed one of my favorite horror movies "The Collector" and it's sequel "The Collection". Dunstan did a great job in putting a spin on the home invasion premise with "The Collector" so I was excited to see what else he could bring to the table. The film stars Josh Stewart who was also the lead in "The Collector" and "Collection". So there are definitely a lot of similarities between those two films and the similarities do not end there.
The film follows John (played by Josh Stewart) who is a low level criminal looking to get one more big payday so he can get himself and his girlfriend Rosie (Alex Essoe) out of the business. But just as John gains the opportunity to get out he starts to realize that his neighbor Troy (Bill Engvull) is up to something very dark that may get in the way of John's hopes for a new life. It was definitely hard to ignore how similar the set up to this movie was to "The Collector", but as the movie progresses it definitely starts to take on it's own form. It does drags a bit in the beginning, it's not incredibly boring or anything but they do kind of take their time to kick things off. After about forty minutes the film really picks up and is a lot of fun, it's still not wildly original at that point but it does enough to feel fresh, for me at least. There are a couple scenes I could have done with out, and there were a few good scenes slightly ruined by some cheesy dialogue but for the most part the movie really delivered in it's third act.
I was pleased with the majority of the cast, especially Bill Engvull. I never would have thought that he would take on a role in a horror movie since he is known for being a very cheesy comedian. I was never really all that impressed with his comedy and the only movies I ever saw him in before this were low bro comedies that were not funny in my opinion. But he does a good job in this, he portrays his character well and actually came off as a little sinister in some scenes. Josh Stewart was good also, he plays almost the exact same character he played in "The Collector" but he does it well so I guess I can't complain. Alex Essoe does alright but there were a few scenes where she was trying a little too hard to be "The Tough Girl" and it just came off as super cheesy and unrealistic.
I enjoyed "The Neighbor", it's a little unoriginal and fairly predictable, but it's a well done movie with some tense scenes and a mostly good cast. Worth checking out for sure in my opinion.
6.5/10
The film follows John (played by Josh Stewart) who is a low level criminal looking to get one more big payday so he can get himself and his girlfriend Rosie (Alex Essoe) out of the business. But just as John gains the opportunity to get out he starts to realize that his neighbor Troy (Bill Engvull) is up to something very dark that may get in the way of John's hopes for a new life. It was definitely hard to ignore how similar the set up to this movie was to "The Collector", but as the movie progresses it definitely starts to take on it's own form. It does drags a bit in the beginning, it's not incredibly boring or anything but they do kind of take their time to kick things off. After about forty minutes the film really picks up and is a lot of fun, it's still not wildly original at that point but it does enough to feel fresh, for me at least. There are a couple scenes I could have done with out, and there were a few good scenes slightly ruined by some cheesy dialogue but for the most part the movie really delivered in it's third act.
I was pleased with the majority of the cast, especially Bill Engvull. I never would have thought that he would take on a role in a horror movie since he is known for being a very cheesy comedian. I was never really all that impressed with his comedy and the only movies I ever saw him in before this were low bro comedies that were not funny in my opinion. But he does a good job in this, he portrays his character well and actually came off as a little sinister in some scenes. Josh Stewart was good also, he plays almost the exact same character he played in "The Collector" but he does it well so I guess I can't complain. Alex Essoe does alright but there were a few scenes where she was trying a little too hard to be "The Tough Girl" and it just came off as super cheesy and unrealistic.
I enjoyed "The Neighbor", it's a little unoriginal and fairly predictable, but it's a well done movie with some tense scenes and a mostly good cast. Worth checking out for sure in my opinion.
6.5/10