maineguy_04043 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.

lewwarden 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.

cinematicheroes 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!

jagproductions 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.