The Evil Next Door (2020) User Reviews

Average

[agm-78108 · 5/10 · 7 January 2022]

This wasn't a bad movie, it's just the same movie you've already seen 30 times before. Here are only a few of the same old worn out scenes:

1. Family goes to see a new house, the child makes a comment about someone living in the closet and is ignored.

2. Supernatural stuff happens, complete with jump scares you'll see coming from a mile away.

3. Wife and child are left alone in the house but husband refuses to believe what they say is happening.

4. Wife looks up house's history online but doesn't share that knowledge with husband.

5. Wife tracks down former owner who explains that his wife experienced the exact same things.

6. Husband is shocked to find that wife was telling the truth all along.

7. Tension-filled fight with entity.

8. Everyone is still alive. They embrace while crying. The end. Yawn.

Cheap jump scares ain't horror

[zorba-36271 · 5/10 · 27 August 2022]

It's like every modern horror piece released today. They all follow the same formula and do not distinguish themselves from the pack.

Too much of a reliance on jump scares. Modern day horror's crutch. Sets a nice creepy mood then WHAMO!! A jump scare. It's a cheap device. It's a hindrance to the horror genre.

Look at The Exorcist. That should be your blueprint. Sets a creepy atmosphere and the shock is earned and not cheap. The horror is there embedded in the story. Modern horror is like an airhorn used on someone while they are sleeping.

Didn't mind just he subtitles. Not bad but not an upper tier horror movie. Meh..

What was that?

[jllade-63216 · 4/10 · 19 February 2021]

I'm really wondering why they made this movie. Imagine you look at a house and have a creepy feeling about it. And you move in anyway. With your little 6 year old boy and boyfriend who is away at night often for work. And the house is white and cute but next door the attached house is black and creepy and looks like the Adam's family live there. And you never ask or find out who lives there. And at night you're always sitting in the dark and don't bother turning on lamps that are in plain view. And finally after a lot of weird and creepy things happen you decide to go into the creepy house at night and alone and through the attic. I guess the lady just wants to be scared to death or discover the murderer next door. And the movie progresses at a snails pace. Otherwise a great movie... but I didn't stay for the whole thing. Saw enough

No one reacts as a normal person

[petercarlsson-92297 · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

Well... take a familiar scene from any horror movie. Then make the actors do the opposite of what any normal person would do. Repeat for the whole movie. The End.

Leave a kid in a dark room. Kid stays in the room without any protests - in the dark Kid gets to meet a ghost Next day do the same thing again Walk around in the dark, without turning on the light Make the whole movie too dark, even in the day time Do the sound design so a knock inside a wall sounds like it was just beside you Repeat.

Pretty good

[toggeman · 7/10 · 25 October 2020]

This movie is like a mash-up of The Shining, Amityville, Insidious. Contains a fair amount of jump scares. No gore, but the director manages to keep the viewer on edge. Great sound with good surround effects.

"Andra Sidan" means "The Other Side" in english. Andra Sidan is a good effort in making a Swedish Amityville horror. I hope they make a sequel, or even better, a prequel.

Feels like it was shot without a script

[Blastanaut · 2/10 · 11 January 2021]

I think they just gathered actors in a room and said: "You've seen horror movies, right? So let's film a horror. We don't have a script, though, but you'll figure something out"

I would not even call it a movie, it's just a compilation of familiar scenes from other horrors, without any logical connection.

Even jumpscares don't work, they are either cut too early, or ruined by PlayStation 2 graphics.

You don't really expect well-written characters or logic from a horror, but you expect something. Just give me some vague explanation about "evil" possessing the house and make all the characters dumb, that's good enough for me, but in this movie things just happen. Actions and knowledge of the characters don't affect anything.

It is hard to explain, but this movie feels like something generated by a neural network. It feels familiar, and you can recognize some parts, but it just doesn't make any sense in general

Evil Inside

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 2 July 2021]

Some things are lurking there, waiting for someone to ... come. Which is especially true in any horror movie of course, but also here. There is a meme with houses and their murderous/violent history ... and a family just joyfully moving into that house.

Now most of the time (like here), the new family has no clue and was never told what happened before they moved in ... so at least they keep up appearances that way. And since it is a horror movie, you know stuff will happen that will make you cringe. On the other hand, do you blame the dad for some of his reactions? Well maybe you do ... still this is rock solid for any fan of horror, well shot and the sound edit is top notch as well.

Copied

[westsideschl · 2/10 · 25 December 2021]

"Inspired by real events." Nothing was stated as to what the "real" was. Maybe it's just people living in a house is the "inspired". Very formula & seen before copied from other similar horror scripts. Lone female going down into a dark basement; child seen being dragged into a room; doors open & close on their own; screams; years later new victims move into the house - repeat. The usual child sees & plays with new "friend", and draws strange image. The usual strange sounds. The usual dad's away, and doesn't believe his wife who then makes dumb mistakes. The usual computer search of house backstory.

A big step for Swedish horror movies!

[SidVain · 7/10 · 30 October 2020]

"Andra sidan" is a pretty basic haunted house horror movie with good fundamentals.

Dilan Gwyn does a great job as the lead role, she and the rest of the actors creates a trustworthy and believable environment.

The sound is the movie's greatest strength, but the story and character development is it's weakest. You see the characters interact with eachother but they rarely develop any character traits that are relevant to the story.

This is definitely a 7 for me since the sound, actors and picture keeps you at the edge of your seat through out the movie and I certainly hope that this is just the beginning for Swedish horror!

Förutsägbar och dålig

[linn-sundling · 1/10 · 17 April 2021]

Extremt dålig och förutsägbar, man kunde gissa sig till varje scen och hur den skulle gå. Ingen story och jag rekommenderar den inte.

Okay, seriously, people who said this is boring must be very boring people

[torijoyous-69964 · 8/10 · 7 February 2022]

I thoroughly read the reviews before deciding to give this title a try. My 29-year-old son loves horror. It is his favorite genre. My husband doesn't like it as much as I do, but neither of us are true horror fans. However, all three of us sat down to watch this movie, and we all made it to the end. My son often leaves early during a film. He stayed for the whole thing. Why? Because this film was interesting and engaging. It also had a satisfying ending. If you don't mind reading subtitles, I would recommend this film. It was a good story, had some creep-appeal, great cinematography, good acting. All-around decent flick. Seriously.

Pretty enjoyable horror

[skiba-17673 · 7/10 · 3 April 2021]

Pretty enjoyable Scandinavian horror. The sound built a gloomy atmosphere, a really well-made movie. I recommend.

Next door paranormal.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 5/10 · 10 April 2021]

Being a big fan of Nordic Noir,I was intrigued to see in the line-up of films at Grimmfest a Swedish Horror title,which led to me crossing to the other side for a viewing.

View on the film:

Revealing in a interview after the screening/stream that they had come up with plans for the movie whilst they were both directing a TV series, co-writers/co-directors Tord Danielsson & Oskar Mellander display a clear inspiration from Insidious (2010-also reviewed) with the most spooky set-pieces being the long, stilted shots holding the camera at the back of the household, as a ghostly figure slithers along in the background.

Listening in from the noise in the walls, the directors set the foundation of this haunted house on a quiet loud quiet beat, where each rumbling ghostly scream closes the wall in on the increasing fear of the family.

Unearthing the history of the house, the screenplay by Danielsson and Mellander points the towards an enticing,more off-beat direction, with talk that the strange noises are originating from the empty house next door, and most enticingly, having it discussed in the dialogue of a ghost who actually wants to help the family.

Sadly, the writers burn away the chance for enticing left-field turns, by stamping over them with plodding shocks which lack any eerie mood,as the family crosses to the other side.

If IKEA made horror movies (no manual)

[sigurdclod · 1/10 · 7 May 2021]

Just a bad cliche ....... Nothing new nothing fancy, some sound effects work but that's about it ....

Enjoyable

[themellly · 6/10 · 19 February 2022]

This was a fun watch, it wasn't scary necessarily but decently creepy. I'm usually not a fan of films in a foreign language, just don't like reading subtitles, but I was hooked from beginning to end with this.

The opposite end of the spectrum

[bdeferme · 1/10 · 4 November 2021]

If Låt den Rätte Komma In set a new standard for Swedish horror, this atrocity of a movie redefines the opposite end of that spectrum. Do not waste your time.

Wow

[anton_berner · 1/10 · 16 January 2021]

I mean, if you enjoy terrible acting, awful screenwriting and a completely senseless plot, then yeah, this movie is for you. I would call it the absolute rock bottom of Swedish film making. Every single scene is stolen from American horror movies, and when they add Swedish dialogue through the pitfall of Sweden's actors, it becomes pathetic! This movie should have never been made!

Another one

[baunacholi-86159 · 2/10 · 11 July 2022]

Ok here we're again. A couple moves into a new house and soon strange things happen. Of course, there's a child experiencing the dark entity 1st, the daddy is not available, etc.etc.

In my pov a complete lack of surprises, twists or suspense.

Loved it!

[chroberts-1 · 9/10 · 21 October 2021]

I'm not sure if this movie is meant to be taken literally, or as a metaphor for the feelings the new stepmom is struggling with (think the Babadook).....but for me, it works either way.

This was scary! Not bloody, but psychologically scary.

I would have gone with a 10 but I am SO OVER the "man won't believe what his significant other is going through even though she's a sane, rational human being" trope.

Ending is lovely.

Another Man Who Fails to Believe His SO

[tiffanytallent1981 · 5/10 · 11 August 2022]

This movie has a few decent semi-scary scenes, especially at the end. Any monster or evil entity that breaks bones to transform instantly creeps me out. The acting was not bad, but could've been better. Some of the character's reactions weren't normal, at least not to me. I definitely wouldn't close my eyes and sit there, if a monster was coming towards me. Gee let's just hope I'm invisible now. The audience also doesn't get a reason for the monster. Why does it live in the apartment next door? What is its purpose of taking kids? What started the whole thing?

I have watched numerous movies where the husband/boyfriend NEVER believes their significant other, when she tells them something is not right. And to be perfectly honest, this movie didn't even need the man. I wish he had been involved in a better way. He added absolutely no substance. Only annoyance. The girlfriend (Shirin) realized something evil was trying to take the man's boy. She tried to tell the boyfriend (Fredrick), protected the boy (Lukas), and investigated what was happening in the house. AND the investigating happened AFTER the man kicked her out for abusing his son. So this man trusts her enough to move in together and leave his son with her for days. But will not listen when she tells him someone or something else is trying to get the boy. Unbelievable. And when **SURPRISE** Lukas is taken by the monster, Shirin saves him. Frederik gets knocked out for the entire rescue.

I would like to know HOW she saved him though. Was it because she finally admitted her love for Lukas? Was love what kills the monster? Or at least wounds it? Or was it because she never gave up? If the monster went into the attic, so did she. If it went under the house, so did she! Another couple had their child taken at the beginning of the movie, but the dad just sat down, gave up, and cried. Maybe because he didn't run after his daughter is why she was taken. He didn't love her enough or try hard enough? I guess these things I'll always wonder about.

This movie is a one and done. Like I don't feel my time was completely wasted, but I'll never watch it again. Here's my 5 star break down:

** Shirin finally sees Lukas as her own son & allows herself to love him at the end.

**Creepy & semi scary scenes *Extremely decent translation subtitles that actually made sense.

Just entertainment, ...

[ecom-bkl · 4/10 · 18 March 2021]

Weak film, badly written by collecting the mandatory haunted house items. Really nothing new. Not a minute. Every second of this film is copied from other haunted house movies.... Just popcorn entertainment for kids and teenies, but dont expect any sense in it.

But in corona times, you take every film you can get in the drive in theatre.... and so 4 stars just for being a movie to watch in lockdown!

Some Inconsistencies

[jedediahthomas · 3/10 · 9 January 2023]

This one had a lot going for it with the atmosphere. That's about where it leaves off.

It feels like there was a legit decent horror movie filmed on the same set, and when the professional actors left the set at night, this high school film troupe broke in and filmed their own movie.

It feels incomplete and bizarre. The characters act irrationally throughout. The monster(s) aren't explained and seem more of a plot device to advance the integration of a stepmom into her new family.

Specifically with the irrationality, it harped too much on the boneheadedness of the father, not listening to anything that was being said and being unrealistically skeptical.

The stepmom couldn't communicate clearly that there were multiple instances and evidences that would support her case.

The son seemed completely uninterested in living or defending the claims of the stepmom, and basically just waited around to be monster bait.

The stepmom left the son alone - multiple - times even after knowing that if left alone he would get snatched. Not very smart.

And then there's the monster(s). I say plural because there's a scene where the stepmom is talking to one downstairs and the other one is in the room with the kid.

Clearly there's more than one entity but at the end of the movie the two entities are merged into one shape shifting monster. Nothing wrong with that, but explain why it can be in two places at once.

And lastly, the big reveal is that Kim is actually a girl and the little boy is the monster. Which the stepmom had to drive however long away to figure out, when everyone was talking about a girl going missing from the get go. If she had not misgendered the entity it could have saved probably 45 minutes of screentime and she could have spent less time using the son as bait.

So if you like creepy sets, this is a decent one. But I wish I knew what the actual movie was that was filmed there because this ain't it.

Not that bad.

[toressontobias · 5/10 · 28 November 2020]

I was suprised it wasent a total waste of money, extra good only being 8 in cinmea that takes over 200 even tho Covid-19 sucks much more then this movie The lead Dilan Gwyn was really good and kinda saves the movie, the ending was not good tho and well could have been done so much better. Overall a decent movie.

Great hidden gem

[jendevjoss · 8/10 · 18 November 2021]

Loved this movie! I was totally creeped out with the idea of this movie being based off of true events. I thought the acting was good as well as the horror scenes. There has been some crappy movies these days but this was pretty solid.

Creepy

[jayaxelhickey · 8/10 · 27 October 2021]

This movie is a hidden gem. The music they use adds to the suspense. The acting was very good. The little boy actor was very good for being so young. It had my heart racing at times.