BKNJ Movie Review: The Good Neighbor

This movie is very complex. Will do my best to avoid spoilers.

First lets speak cinematically. This film had 3 parts. 1: “Spy Cam” footage (new, genius creation, great for the allusion of watching “real life” in film, also relatively new to cinema), 2: “Real Life” where we see a better production level, (it is very effective), and 3: “Future” which is real life, but in the future.

Now to the story, which relies heavily on the characters. We have the two main male leads played by Logan Miller and Keir Gilchrist as “Ethan” and “Sean” respectively. Ethan, the long-haired charismatic teenage white guy who takes the geeky, yet incredibly smart MIT bound Sean under his wing. Sean is clearly the brains and Ethan supplies the hot chicks, Carly and Ashley. For a second, I thought we might not get to see the hot chicks again after they first appeared, thankfully I was wrong.

We find out right away what is happening in the film, (it is basically explained in the film description). These two kids are attempting to do an experiment on the neighbor, "Harold Grainey". Harold Grainey, who is played by James Caan (are you kidding me? awesome), is the ratchety old man who lives a few doors down from Ethan. To put it mildly, it looks like Mr. Grainey has a bad temper. The two teenagers plant a bunch of electronics and spy equipment in their neighbor’s house to try to make Mr. Grainey believe his house is haunted.

Don’t feel bad if you start feeling bad for this mean old man, what these two kids are attempting to do is obviously beyond f*cked up. It’s a relief to see this sentiment is not lost on the film’s producers. Horror fans love things that are f*cked up. Check.

The mom is very genuine, pleasant and empathetic. Actress Anne Dudek (from “White Chicks”) gave a short, but great performance, and it made me wonder what ever happened to the other blonde girl from “White Chicks”?

This film has a terrific score, and creates some very dramatic and tense moments. They dive further into certain subject matter, with a scientific backstory or a flashback scene. This film is compelling but long (1 hour 37 mins). “The Good Neighbor”, like many successful films, grabs and keeps the viewers' attention. The story is linear but the plot bounces around, which forces us as witnesses, to want to know the truth at the end.

Overall - Must Watch