The House Next Door (2002) User Reviews

A Totally Predictable Festival of Clichés

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 24 November 2004]

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')

Young married couple move into their first home and find their neighbors are rather unusual.

[lewwarden · 5/10 · 7 December 2008]

This could have been turned into a better than average garden variety thriller with a different ending. In fact, I suspect the original script may have been written that way. Certainly the opening scene which found the new bride hovering between dream and reality -- and perhaps a bid daft -- was an excellent set-up for an ending in which after the terrified woman calls the cops, having made one of the more macabre discoveries of terror spoofs, the knock on the door reveals the police officer, suspensefully followed by the unbloodied "victims" who stagger over from the party next door to console the poor woman, victim of an over-stressed imagination or really off her rocker. Too bad about the ex-marine who only wanted to do what randy marines like to do to available women, but the life of a fighting man is fraught with hazard.

I thought the shovel banging on a wooden box was a real blunder. Whether dead dog or murder victim, no killer would put the body in a box to bury it.

Waste of talents

[tomppatomppa · 5/10 · 6 August 2003]

Actors are not bad in this film as a matter of fact acting is very good and believable. Also the filming is quite good as much as I can say something about it. But when the actually story is sooooo foreseeable all the way to the end then you just can't enjoy the film. Sorry :[

This movie sucks big time!

[pifas · 1/10 · 4 July 2002]

This is the story: my wife and I ran into The house next door at the video rentals, she picked it up and read at the back cover that this is one thriller in the vein of Hitchcock's The rear window. We both decided to watch it not because of the so-called reference with the masterpiece of cinematographic voyeurism, but for spend a little time of relax with a movie not so complicated, just as I guessed by seeing the front cover. But, once we watched it -in two periods, because we both fell asleep-, all I could think was that this is such an insult for the Master of all suspense and thrills. This movie it´s nothing but a big fat bunch of crap! I think I've never felt so bad after watching a movie. Of any kind.

Every little thing in this so called film is horrible: the acting, the screenplay, the suspense (?), the directing, I mean, everything it´s awfully done. It´s a real pain to sit thru' this movie because we never get to feel any connection with the characters; they're as unidimensional as only a blank paper can be; all is constructed under the simplicity of the easy -and predictable- scare; the scenario, the holes in the story, the stupidity in the lead roles unable to see what's coming, and run away when there's still plenty of time. By half the movie we already knew who was who and who did that and this. Was there any enigma to solve? Nope! Maybe just to find the missing mystery, because any episode of Scooby Doo has more of it -and tension- in it´s 30 minutes, than in the 90 plus that lasts this torture titled The house next door. I still can't understand how does this kind of garbage get to be done and reach for the cinemas; bad luck we found it, but good one that we only had it for rental. Anyway, once the movie finished, I felt like going back to Blockbuster and ask for my money back.

I'm aware that the tone in this text it's one in anger, but that is because I am. But, really, if you appreciate your time or mental health, don't you even get close to this movie. No matter what the back cover says -what else could the distribution company do?-, this movie stinks!!!!!

Not enough thrills to overcome predictable situations.

[jaykay-1 · 1 March 2002]

This conventional woman-in-jeopardy suspencer, screened at the American Film Market in February, has enough predictable situations to place it in the lightweight horror category.

A young Chicago couple, married two years, move into their country dream home only to discover their neighbors are not all they appear to be. The young wife (A.J.Cook) is left vulnerable when husband (Matthew Harrison) has to spend two weeks in LA on business. James Russo provides so-so excitement as the heavy-next-door.

While Joey Travolta directs competently, we don't get to know enough about the characters to make us care very much what happens to them in the situations they are placed.

this was the worst movie i have EVER seen

[cmehrlic · 1/10 · 16 March 2003]

the title really says it all but i can expand a bit. The acting was breathy and lacked any talent what so ever. The plot was obvious and stupid. I saw the end of the movie the second the movie started and i am ashamed that i saw the movie through. I suggest that NO ONE buy/rent this movie, because it would only encourage the producers of this movie to make another one. Bottom line: if there were a zero, I would have voted that one instead of the 1 I was forced to cast.

Men are EVIL movie #1,854

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 27 December 2008]

A newlywed couple move into a new house and the feminine half (AJ Cook) of said couple believes that their is something askew with their new neighbors. Playing out like any given made-for Lifetime-esquire movie, the film has all the stereotypes and clichés of type of film. Battered woman? check, all the men all either evil or complacent in said evil? double check. And as such is a predictably boring mess. I didn't care about anything that happened in the film including the so-called 'hero' who came off as a daft silly little cooze. the crazy (the actress, not the stuck-up part she played in this film) Sean Young did nothing to add that much into the movie.

My Grade: D-

Suspensefull. If you have never seen a movie before.

[Skreee · 2/10 · 21 August 2002]

This is slightly less suspensefull then having somebody tell you the plot of "Rear Window". All scenes are done by the book, with no big mistakes, but with no imagination or heart either. The actors save the movie from being downright rotten.

The house next door was flat

[nightroses · 2/10 · 2 October 2018]

The film starts off as quite promising with a newlywed couple, Lori and Tom, just moved into a new house in a small town, far away from their home in Chicago. An unfriendly barking dog is the first neighbour that they meet. It's as though that scene was foreshadowing of what's to come later. The couple end up invited for dinner at their new neighbours' house. Although the story here is introducing the characters at the early stage, already we know that their neighbour Carl is off. He allows his child to play with guns and Carl shows Tom his room full of weapons and medals. For some reason, probably script laziness, the newlyweds are broken apart when hubby's job forces him to leave for a while, and his wife Lori has to spend time alone. First of all that was a real bomb, as it was an excuse for the writers to get Tom out of the story most of the film. Why bother with this character at all? Why not have Lori as moving in on her own as a single woman? There wasn't any purpose to Tom at all other than he came across as a bit of a moron and unintelligent. He never saved Lori or attempted to help her. He acted like a goon that was easily influenced by his nice neighbour Mr Carl. When Lori told her husband that Carl sneaked in her room as she slept, Tom stormed over to the neighbour's house and ended up sharing a beer with Carl and his best mate. That was the most dumbest moments in film by having husband change so quickly and get under the Carl Spell just like the whole community itself was. According to that party, the entire town was under a form of hypnotic trance by Carl, looking up to him as a king, sort of. However, Lori is the only person who can see through him because she's witnessed Carl's wife get abused by him. Lori found that Carl is up to something and is the most evil man in town. Frustratingly no one believed her. The next annoying thing was Lori's friend Monica. It's as if there is a standard formula because every female BFF of the female main protogonist in American films, always has to be like Marge Simpson. The most mindless thing that happened, and most unrealistic thing anyone would do under the circumstances, would be for Monica to go snooping in Carl's back yard. It was a fatal error. It was the most daft thing that could happen. Because of all these silly mistakes and bad storyline, I give this a thumbs down low score.

Some good acting wasted on a weak script

[Ed-Shullivan · 6/10 · 11 November 2013]

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.

Suspenseful with a little humor.

[jagproductions · 8/10 · 10 December 2001]

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.

The House Next Door: Unoriginal but watchable thriller

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 5 September 2017]

First of all I want to point out that the cover lies. As is commonly the case the cover deceives the viewer in order to sell more copies. In this instance Sean Young is on the right hand side instead of the lead AJ Cook. Why would they do this? I can only assume because Young was more famous at the time of release, but having the lead absent from the cover is rather baffling.

Following your standard thriller formula telling the story of a couple who move into a new home but become increasingly concerned that their neighbours aren't as nice as they present themselves.

Decent enough performances including the excellent lead (Cook) make this generic title watchable enough. I have to say I thought they were building to something different, I expected a double bluff but got a disappointing paint by numbers finale.

Watchable stuff but not stuff to go out of your way to watch.

The Good:

AJ Cook

Sean Young

The Bad:

Very clichéd

Thou shalt LOVE the B-Movie!

[cinematicheroes · 6/10 · 6 September 2004]

As a writer and a filmmaker myself, I try not to be ultra-critical when you consider all of the elements that go into making a film. When viewing this one, I quickly realized that John Benjamin Martin's script didn't have the same quality of writing of a William Goldman script, and for the most part it certainly lacked the dialogue of a Quentin Tarantino ... or even a Jon Favreau script, for that matter. But, if you're looking for a semi-fun, serviceable B-thriller, this will do fine. In fact, it's the perfect Friday Midnight Movie when you just want to veg-out with a BIG tub of buttered popcorn!

In fact, a little over four years ago, a similar film - WHAT LIES BENEATH - was released starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. Was it a better movie? Sure, but not that much better when you consider all of the variables involved: HOUSE NEXT DOOR was made with a lot less dough than WHAT LIES BENEATH was. And HND certainly lacked both the A-list stars and the BIG-Studio backing of 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks. In fact, I would go so far as to say that director Joey Travolta did the best he could with what was given him.

And one of the things given him in this film is a fine performance by James Russo, who is at his utmost-creepiest, playing Carl Schmidt, the next door neighbor of Lori Peterson (played by A.J. Cook). Russo's performance - along with Travolta's direction - actually makes this film not only watchable, but enjoyable as a "guilty pleasure." As does the performance of Sean Young, who also does the most she can with the supporting role of Monica, Peterson's long-time friend. It's priceless to hear her utter lines such as, "It's crazy - I mean like get in the car and move to Arizona crazy!" Frederic Forrest, who garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 1980 for his performance in THE ROSE, also lends credibility to the cast.

And again, I felt Travolta's direction, which seems to get better with each new film, helps to offset the movie's notoriously low budget.

As was the case with WHAT LIES BENEATH several years back, THIS film is filled with the obvious cheap thrills you'd expect from a movie of this nature, but again, that's part of the reason that makes THIS the perfect Friday Midnight Movie!

Some neighbors can be very deceiving. You really have to watch the ones that bring a lot more then memories home from the war !

[hereatgraceland · 8/10 · 27 September 2006]

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.

Some solid acting, elevates the whole project.

[RatedVforVinny · 6/10 · 13 December 2019]

The main actor James Russo, was excellent, mean and moody as the manic neighbour from hell. Another film that has been done to death (excuse the pun) but the quality of the whole cast and the intense acting (especially of main character), really makes for an involving and pretty scary, plot scenario. Gets a bit predictable towards the end but the journey, is quite satisfactory.

Decent neighbour-hell thriller

[SkullScreamerReturns · 6/10 · 10 February 2022]

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.

Very Suspenseful

[maineguy_04043 · 10/10 · 14 January 2018]

Okay was I the only one waiting for Carl to take the neighbors husband Mr. Peterson, and bend him over the kitchen table?? I found this movie very homoerotic, intended or not. It was too bad the husband was sent off on a business trip because he was the best thing going for it. Without him it was just another dumb chick gets killed the end movie when it held so many possibilities! Carl had a few too many screws lose but if Mrs. Peterson had just gone and checked into a motel she would've been better off.