An Average Movie-Goer’s Review
No spoilers! If you would like spoilers – check out the Spoiler post
I love horror movies and if I’m going to watch them anyway, why not write an entertaining/funny review from the POV of an average movie-goer and not a professional critic.
Today we’re looking at the 2020 Swedish film The Evil Next Door
After a family moves into a new multi-family house, they start encountering some strange events coming from the abandoned other side and something evil targets one of the family.
Is it Scary?
The scares are your run of the mill scares that won’t leave you shaking in the night. There are a few effective jump scares and the main “monster’s” design is creepy but overall not memorable.
Review:
Overall I liked the concept of The Evil Next Door, the story they were trying to tell is not original or ground-breaking but the acting, dialogue, and pace of the movie worked well. While the movie had it’s moments of suspense, it never really struck a terrifying chord with me.
The movie also leaves you with so many questions about the details and backstory of every character. It’s almost as if each character was blank slate prior to the movie and then shoved into this story. While that’s not an entirely bad thing since it doesn’t affect the story the movie is trying to tell, it does prevent the audience from connecting with the characters.
The movie does suffer from telling and not showing. We learn about certain character relationships through dialogue but we never see real evidence of it. It’s also the core of the movie and affects how the ending plays out so since we can’t connect with it, it sucks. In the end nothing feels earned and you’re left with “that’s it?” and that’s never a great sign.
The Evil Next Door is not bad but it could have been so much better, not just in its scares but in its story. This is a low-tier recommendation from me.
Cast IMDB