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18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Memorable shocker, May 9, 2010
This review is from: Neighbor (Unrated Director's Cut) (DVD)
Neighbor is the kind of film that defenders of the so-called "torture-porn" genre have been waiting for. It would be very easy to be dismissive of a film such as this because of all that have come before it, but "neighbor" requires a deeper analysis.
First is the inclusion of character development. Whereas any previous entry in this genre have discarded or ignored any kind of depth in their characters, "neighbor" has gone out of its way to make three likable protagonists in its small-time band mates. Christian Campbell plays the lead, and his everyman good looks and charm can easily lead an audience member to grow fond of him within his first few moments of screen time.
The characters are not given the amount of depth that the characters on LOST have, but they make sense, and that is all that matters. You grow to like these characters even with their flaws (Don does drugs, Sam can be kind of creepy at times, etc).
And then you feel so so SO horrible for them as they go through their unfortunate circumstances throughout this film. This isn't Hostel, where one barely gives a rats behind over what happens to any of the three womanizing and boorish American tourists. This isn't SAW where you have an ensemble of unknown entities being tortured one by one.
What writer/director Masciantonio has done is craft a movie where you want to reach into the screen and SAVE these characters. And he has also created a shift in time/consciousness in the film that may confuse those who are not giving the movie their full attention. I found it very easy to figure out what was going on, however I can understand that some people may be thrown on a first viewing.
One of the main reasons there are so many bad horror movies out there is that they are very cheap to make (relative to other films) and they make their money back easily most of the time. Any idiot can make a horror film, but when somebody with a true vision has a reason and a drive to make a good one, it can transcend the genre and become something better. Masciantonio's work on this film reminds me of David Cronenberg in many ways. You have the cerebral story element mixed with pure body horror. This is Masciantonio's "Scanners." It is low budget and it isn't very polished, but it may be a sign of good things to come.
Finally, America Olivo might just play the scariest serial killer since Hannibal Lecter.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gore 5 Stars Story 3 Stars, August 5, 2010
This review is from: Neighbor (Unrated Director's Cut) (DVD)
I picked this up at WalMart not knowing anything about it except reading that it was suppose to make Saw and Hostel look like Snow White.
"Neighbor" Did deliver on that promise,there were some very over the top gag me ,grit your teeth moments.One in particular and if you happen to be male,you might want to cover your eyes.
What I thought was lacking was story.Why was she doing this?where did she come from? and a few more WHY moments.
Yes I know,you might say slasher movies don't need a motive for someone to kill or be a manic.But with that being said.In this scenario and the storyline,in my opinion I needed a reason why.She wasn't a mindless maniac like Jason or Michael.Just a woman who obviously had lot's of rage inside of her .But where did it come from? why this neighborhood? why this particular guy?
All in all I was entertained.The lead actress' acting was really good being creepily normal yet wigged out from second to second,Picture Dr Jekel and Mr Hyde ,but Bi Polar~!
I recommended it to gore hounds and slasher lovers.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alfred Hitchcock meets Quentin Tarantino, July 25, 2010
This review is from: Neighbor (Unrated Director's Cut) (DVD)
I went to a screening of Neighbor this weekend in the suburban Philadelphia town of Lansdowne Pa. This film was shot two towns over. I was interested in seeing a film that was locally made. I knew going in, that the movie was going to be in the slasher genre and expected another low budget, silly, fake blood, snooze fest. I left however, feeling that I had just seen a gem. I can see this movie being a future "cult" sensation.
I find in many movies in this genre there always seems to be a lack of talent in the acting department. I was pleasantly surprised that Neighbor left me actually caring about the characters that normally seem to be an annoyance in any slasher flick. In this case the acting and screenwriting was way above my expectations and the character development was such a welcome break from the "don't go in there" throw away characters you normally expect. You really actually do not WANT these characters to "go in there" because they seem like real people!
America Olivo was the perfect actress to portray "The Girl" with her easy control of seemingly "teasing" the people around her to instantly open up to her inviting them to their doom. Her timing and delivery was spot on when she "did her thing" making you not sure why you hated her and somehow felt for her. Her eyes seemed to try to give away just enough pain and emotional scarring she had buried deep into her personality to create the knowledge it was there but, they never quite did tell the whole story making the movie that much creepier.
Christian Campbell did an excellent job portraying the tortured (in so many ways) victim and his character was so easy to root for. Surrounded by his best friends throughout the film, he is sent on a rollercoaster ride in and out of his perception of reality making this movie a psychological thriller with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of you seat.
All that being said, the movie Neighbor, even with the great story and acting is THE Sickest Goriest movie I have ever saw. If you like Gory, You MUST SEE this movie. It should IMHO be given a top award for goriest special effects. If you don't like Gory, don't even be within a mile of it...It might reach out and getcha!
My brother, who also went to this film with me, summed it up perfectly. He said, "Neighbor was Alfred Hitchcock meets Quentin Tarantino ". He was so right.
Neighbor will be out on DVD on July 27th and I highly recommend the Directors cut simply because the gore is way beyond rated R.
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