The Neighbour (2016)

This film is one of the most refreshing thrillers I have seen in a while. I am going to be vague in my review as I don't want to spoil anything, and on that note, I watched this movie after watching 4 seconds of the trailer. Anchor Bay, small town, weird neighbor and thriller was enough to get me on the viewing wagon. The Neighbor takes you on a series of twists and turns, mostly being character developments and plot lines. The film I started watching was not the same as the film I ended watching, which I must say I have not seen done by a director or film writer in a while. I recommend this film HIGHLY for anyone who likes mysteries, thrillers, horror movies, and action. The cinematography was also impeccable as well as the soundtrack and film score. Everything came together perfectly in this puzzle.

Fmovies: There were many opportunities throughout the movie to make the 'neighbor' more mysterious, more freaky, and more cunning, but these were quickly abandoned in favor of a more clichéd criminal. That is my largest disappointment with this film. Otherwise, it worked well as an action/thriller.

The protagonists are caught up in a mob's smuggling operation, and they use a telescope to spy at people through the window. One day, the girlfriend (Who, I assume by the hero's subsequent panic is never supposed to leave the house) spots something incriminating and is nabbed by the neighbor. (Yes, this is the actual premise of the film, not the more innocent summaries I have read elsewhere. I don't know why they bother hiding the fact that their protagonists are criminals too).

So everybody, who is incidentally criminal, is trying to get one up on each other by sleuthing, tackling, slashing, shooting and your usual hijinks. The movie has good photography, good soundtrack, and is a bit gritty - kind of like the only quality everybody seems to need to survive.

Saw the trailer on you tube while going thru horror movie trailers. I added it to my watchlist after knowing that Mark Dunstan (The collector 1 n 2) is the director n Josh Stewart is the lead actor. I am a big fan of these two. The movie is a lil slow in the beginning but the end result is very satisfying. One may say it's predictable but it is a straightforward basic thriller without the clichés found in most horror movies. The females in this film are not shown as weak n stupid. Majority of the horror/thriller films got this stupid scene where after bashing the bad guy with jus one hit, the person starts fleeing without sure that the bad guy is dead or not. Another stupid cliche is the bad guy is tied up while our survivors r busy chatting. Glad that this movie doesn't hav these sorta stupid things. The movie does hav lots of tension, suspense n brutal killings but no torture. Josh Stewart acted well. Very good direction by Dunstan. One of the best part was the background music. One may find it a lil similar to The Collector for its cat n mouse game, minus the traps. Good shot gun scenes. I hope they show more about the dirty job of the lead characters in the sequel.

The Neighbour fmovies. Won't win any awards for most original screenplay but it was still pretty well-made and for the more part fast-paced thriller (at least the second half).

'Don't Breathe' is one of my favorites so far of 2016 and this is a bit similar to that (a criminal couple vs a old guy) although not as great of course but still good enough. Imagine if Rob Zombie directed that movie then you kinda get the idea of what this is like.

To be fair though the director Marcus Duncstan is in no way copying that movie or anything and has made similar movies before with 'The Collector' and 'The Collection' on his resume.

Not without it's flaws but overall a gritty and cool flick that's well worth spending 80 minutes to watch.

I'm a big fan of Marcus Dunstan. I'll never forget being in a hotel room late one night when a movie I'd never heard of called 'The Collector' came on, and I thought I'd give it a look. What followed were 90 of the most intense minutes I can remember seeing on film. While I still enjoyed 'The Neighbor', I can admit it didn't quite live up to those high standards. It's a fun premise, but instead of being tense from whoa to go, it has long sequences that are actually rather dull and hard to focus during. Those are really the only parts that let it down though, because the rest is excellent.

Josh Stewart fills the lead role again. I think he's an under-appreciated actor. He brings a tremendous intensity to a movie and manages to be likable, even when playing a crook (although often a crook who is the lesser of two evils). The main villain isn't quite as memorable as 'The Collector', hence the more toned down film title of 'The Neighbor'. I suspect that is what Dunstan was going for though. A more grounded and realistic story, while still keeping all the suspense of his previous films. He almost pulls it off to perfection and with some simple editing tweaks this could have been something very special. Alas it will have to settle for being an above average thriller.

I finished watching The neighbor a few minutes ago and as of now(September 2016) I am not able to find a Wikipedia page dedicated to this movie, while even worse movies have their own Wikipedia page. Anyway, I decided to watch this movie solely based on its IMDb rating. Ans was I pleasantly surprised! I felt this movie needs to be watched by more people which is why I decided to write a review.

The first few minutes made me think it was going to be one of those movies with disappointing endings. But at half hour past the beginning, things began to turn and the ride got more and more exciting.

Positives: - Does not have too much gore like many other thrillers have. But still keeps u at edge of seat.

• Strong female characters who are not just there for skin show and they are the kind who don't need a male knight in shining armor to save them as in many other thriller movies.

• Does not have moments where people torture each other or give a long speech before killing them(no wiggle room for someone who's at gunpoint)

• All the characters are grey characters. Not completely good or bad. Gives us chance to think who we are rooting for.

Negatives: - Lacks character development which helps keep the movie shorter

• Had a weak start which can seem boring to some people.

Overall, it's an enjoyable movie.