The House Next Door

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THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR is one dull TV movie. It's a simple story about a suburban housewife who lives next door to what might be the ultimate haunted house. A series of her neighbours living in this evil abode are subject to all manner of ill fortune and even death, and it's all something to do with the sinister architect who built it. Apparently this film was based on a novel so I can only imagine how horrendous that is. The main problem here is that the focus of the story isn't on the main characters at all but on the supporting characters who live next door. Thus the attempts at drama and human conflict are subdued. There's no real sense of resolution here, not even a real beginning, middle, or end, just continued nonsense. Frozen-faced Lara Flynn Boyle was a vibrant and even volatile screen presence in the 1990s so it's sad to see her hidden behind copious plastic surgery and reduced to starring in this kind of insipid TV movie fare that I thought they'd stopped making in the 1990s.

"The House Next Door" is much more than a haunted house film. It is a study in evil incarnate and the unseen forces that lurk within the darkest caverns of the human mind. The crisply-written screenplay included snappy dialogue that built dramatic tension with each new resident occuping the house next door. First, Buddy and Pie move in, and Buddy is transformed into a monster who pushes his pregnant wife down the stairs. Then, Buck and Anita reside in the home, and, to their horror, their deceased son Toby, who perished in Iraq, returns to torment them. Finally, Norman and Susie move in with their little daughter Melinda. Norman is instantly transformed into a monster. A dramatic question that arises has to do with the source of the evil. Is the evil in the house itself? Or, is the locus of evil in the soul of the architect named Kim? There is an interesting dimension of Irish folklore that is interlarded in the film. The neighbor Col keeps a lucky green acorn from her youth growing up in an Irish family. Will the lucky charm help to ward off the evil? Or must Col and her husband Walker take things into their own hands to defeat the forces of darkness? There was good suspense throughout the film in large part due to the excellent cast. The line readings were superb, and the actors developed credible character transformations. The directing made effective use of close-ups. While not always flattering, the facial reactions added to the sense of urgency. In the end, the filmmakers were successful in capturing the human dimension of evil, as opposed to relying on gimmicks and the tired conventions of a haunted-house horror picture.

Happily married Lara Flynn Boyle and Colin Ferguson (as Colquitt "Col" and Walker Kennedy) live in a beautiful country home. They are okay being childless – although Ms. Boyle pouts, in the opening, some awareness about her "eggs" getting old at age thirty-four. There is a faint subplot about children which could have been more haunting. Boyle (as narrator) tells us a haunted house was built next door. Due to some unexplained incidents, Boyle and Mr. Ferguson have decided to have a showdown in "The House Next Door" – even though it may end their lives… Eighteen months earlier, we watch the events which slowly lead up to the opening scenes. The house is built by attractive architect Mark-Paul Gosselaar (as Kim). One day, he works up a sweat and has to shower at Boyle's place. You expect something to happen, but it doesn't – all the weird stuff happens in the house next door... It is an unusual and difficult building to manage– but, it's a beautifully-designed building. Watching different people move in and try to live there is entertaining. The first one to leave is Mr. Gosselaar, who notices something strange has happened to him while building the place. Gosselaar helps sell the house and tries to get away, but not for long. This is an average TV movie production, with a couple of problems. Most obvious, the ending is a big disappointment. Of course, it's better not to say much – you'll see for yourself. Part of this has to do with some confusion about the characters – including the House as a real or inanimate character. This was based on a successful novel by Anne Rivers Siddons, which was undoubtedly clearer. Director Jeff Woolnough gets his best results in the house, especially building tension in effective scenes with Iraq War mom Julie Stewart (as Anita Sheehan). ***** The House Next Door (10/30/06) Jeff Woolnough ~ Lara Flynn Boyle, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Colin Ferguson, Julie Stewart

The House Next Door: A Possessed as distinct from a Haunted House. A new house is built in an exclusive area, a lovely young couple own it, a nice young architect designed it. But the architect is troubled, this was his first independent commission, now he seems to have lost his inspiration. Trouble soon befalls the new couple and other residents who follow them in occupying the house. Mostly psychological horror, people seem pushed to do things they normally wouldn't but also scenes of genuine horror. A TV set taken over to show films of past deaths, ghostly apparitions; gruesome suicides and murders occur. Directed by Jeff Woolhaugh. On SyFy Channel. 6/10.

The House Next Door is set in a very nice suburban area in the US, loving couple Col (Lara Flynn Boyle) & Walker (Colin Ferguson) live in a nice residential street & have a seemingly perfect life. However their quiet & tranquil lifestyle is abruptly disturbed when a new house is built next to their's, a very modern house that looks very impressive both outside & in designed by novice architect Kim (Mark-Paul Gosselaar). Once the house is built a young couple named Pie (Charlotte Sulivan) & Buddy Harrelson (Stephen Amell) move in, at first they seem the perfect couple happily in love but Buddy unexpectedly pushes Pie down the stairs causing her to lose their unborn baby. The next couple that buy the house & move in also suffer tragic events, watching this take place from next door Col becomes convinced that the house is evil & decides to do something about it before more lives are ruined & lost... This Canadian & American co-production was directed by Jeff Woolnough & was based on the novel by Anne Rivers Siddons published almost thirty years prior & by all accounts is far superior to this tame made for telly supernatural drama. The House Next Door is so forgettable, plain & dull that it fails to make any sort of lasting impact. The script is fairly slow going although as far as haunted house horror flicks go does have the slightly unusual angle of being told from the point of view of the neighbour's rather than the inhabitants of the evil house itself which in all honestly doesn't amount to much anyway. The reasons behind the haunted house are never explained beyond vague guesswork & the events inside the house aren't that frightening anyway, I mean some guy shouting at his wife? Isn't that called an argument? Doesn't everyone have them from time to time? Why the stupid cow decides to pull a gun out & shoot the guy I don't know, then strange phone-calls are hardly a reason to commit suicide are they? I don't know, The House Next Door just feels like a really tame made for telly drama with a hint of supernatural thrown in & plays it safe. There are no major surprises or twist's, the character's are dull & as a whole the film is forgettable. Also what is up with the names in this? I mean you have men called Walker, Buddy & Kim while women called Col & Pie. The film looks alright, it's reasonably well made although very static & dull to look at. The house itself isn't imposing enough & looks too modern to be haunted or generate any sort of suspense or atmosphere. The gore count is zero with no blood spilt at all. Filmed in Toronto in Canada actress Lara Flynn-Boyle has noticeable Botox filled lips, it's not a very pretty sight. The acting is alright, no-one stands out as great though. The House Next Door is a throughly tame & forgettable made for telly supernatural drama that didn't do anything for me, it's far too slow & dull for me to be able to recommend it. There are far better haunted house horror flicks than this so don't waste your time.

I first had the pleasure of seeing this rather elegant horror movie on my beloved Horror Channel and I immediately appreciated it's subtle approach and slow but steady build up of fear, and how you could feel that fear without truly seeing anything. No ghostly figures, no dark rushing shadows, just a rather great oppressive atmosphere of rising dread, and a series of unfortunate events...:2: I thought that before I reviewed the movie I would read the book it's based on. I did and I was very disappointed. It was way too depressing, not to mention long-winded, boring, and very weak. There was also an endless blatant and challenging snobbish arrogance to the entire thing that I didn't like either. I ultimately found it to be a better film than a book...:3: The tone and feel of the book was pretty much just like the movie, except for the following differences: Anita Sheehan doesn't kill herself, and is instead shocked into a permanent coma. Suzanna Greene doesn't just shoot her husband. First she shoots him, then her daughter(!), then herself. And possibly the biggest change, at the end, instead of blowing up the house with Kim the possibly demonic architect still inside, Walter and Col, after figuring out that is is somehow Kim causing the dire events, and not the house, quietly murder him and take his body to the basement of the house and then set the place on fire. Then the two of them, believing the house will not let them destroy it and live, sit and wait to see what will happen next. It sounds creepy, but it was a weak end to a weak book written by a snob, I thought...:4: I quite liked Lara Flynn's performance. She kind of makes the movie, in my book. So much better than her turn in Men in Black 2! And, consequently, the lips WERE pretty damn big...:5: I thought Noam Jenkins was just awesome as the anal, arrogant, and deliciously odious Mr Norman Greene. (that's Greene with an "E" and don't you forget it!)He's not quite as monstrous as the book version of the character. I found the guy so funny to watch with his uppity, almost camp delivery, appearance and overall demeanour. And that thing he said! I mean, when you've got a grown man repeatedly uttering the phrase: "What is wrong with this picture? What is wrong, tell me sister?!" It's a little silly, especially coming from this guy. To me a very intense and scary scene is when the long-suffering Anita Sheehan, very movingly played by Julie Stewart, sees the moment of her son's fiery death on a TV screen in high definition. It's a very serious scene, but I find it hard not to laugh at the poor woman's crazy reflection on the screen as she does look very funny! It makes for a very weird contrast! I also laugh at the bit where Mark Paul Gosselar gets kicked in the head!:6: I thought the theme of the malignant house of creeping evil thing was very well done. But uh, I personally just can't find a house scary to look upon. That house wasn't scary, it didn't look ominous, or magical, or anything remotely weird to me. It just looked like one of those ultra-modern, cold and ugly houses. No more frightening than a car, a closet, a pair of shoes, or a refrigerator! (Mr King!) Don't get me anywhere near a wicker basket, though! This is a little mild, a little cheap, and a little TV, it's still very enjoyable despite all that. Not a bad movie at all. Do you have the equipment to deal with it?

I read Anne Rivers Siddons's excellent book some years ago. Stephen King, in his essay DANSE MACABRE, refers to the novel as one of the best haunted house stories ever written, and he is correct. Unfortunately, in translation from the printed page to the small screen, quite a bit is lost. The basic plot remains intact, happily: a young, hot-shot architect (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) builds a new, contemporary house on a vacant lot next door to the Kennedys, Col and her husband Walker, who frame the story and serve as the narrators (Here is where the inexplicable differences begin: in the novel, Col was Colquitt and Walker was Walter, and the book is told in first-person by Colquitt). During the course of the next year and a half or so, three couples occupy the house, and each of them suffers terrible tragedy, leading Col to the conclusion that there is something malevolent about the house. She's right, but some of the terror has been diluted by two things: the choice to make this a television movie, and the choice to update it by nearly thirty years (the novel was published in 1978). Had it been made as a feature film set in the Atlanta suburb of the original late-Seventies novel, perhaps they could have captured the indescribable creepiness of the book. The cast isn't much help, either. Lara Flynn Boyle leads the proceedings as Col, but she seems miscast (To be fair to Boyle, Siddons never actually gives a physical description of Colquitt in the novel, but Boyle is not what I myself pictured), and worse, she underplays the role so severely that she often appears comatose. And the massive amounts of collagen plumping up her lips on one side don't help matters any either; in some scenes her mouth is such a distraction it is easy to miss what is going on. Still, there are moments when her dreamy, almost-hypnotized stare does send a chill through you as you realize what the house next door might be doing to her, never mind the neighbors. And Colin Ferguson is just about right as her husband; he wisely plays his role at the same emotional level so as not to upstage her or make Walker seem foolish. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is not worth talking about. In the novel, the effect of the malevolent house was felt by eight of the neighbors on the street, and each, especially the women, reacted in his/her own way. The supporting cast in this telefilm is so homogeneous that unless Boyle says their names it is hard to tell them apart. A pity, because Siddons described them quite vividly. Mark-Paul Gosselaar as the architect was probably cast to pull in the young girls, but he is probably the worst choice of all. For starters, he still can't act. He couldn't as a kid on "Saved by the Bell;" he couldn't on "NYPD Blue;" and he still can't. All he can do is pose and look pretty. Which he does very well, except that the role does not call for it. The architect wasn't unattractive in the novel, but he certainly wasn't a pretty boy like Gosselaar. I can't say I hated it. I loved the novel, and there's still enough of the novel left to make this worth sitting through on a rainy afternoon if you've nothing better to do. But I'd sooner recommend reading the novel; you'll get all the shivers that way, and you won't think Stephen King has terrible taste in horror stories.