Next Door [2006]

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-05-15 rating:
Sub-Lynch film noir
There are good things in this movie, but plot is not one of them. The initial build up - the lost guy, the two mysterious women next door with their strange requests and their labyrinthine apartment - promises much, with shades of John Fowles' "Magus". However, the movie builds up too quickly to a single shockingly violent sex scene and then rather loses any sense of direction for the remaining two thirds of its running time. Clearly the labyrinth is a metaphor for what is happening inside John's (the protagonist) head. The denouement is therefore not that surprising, but wraps up the plotline neatly. However, for a short movie, it spends too much time lost between a short build-up and an equally short conclusion.

Good things are the photography (mentioned by other reviewers) and the acting. These lift it from 2 stars to 3 in my rating.

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review by: Emz date: 2008-03-14 rating:
Lesbian? No. Gay? No.
Yeah, Next Door was an exciting, fast-paced, eerie film with good twists and turns. but what i'd like to know is, why on earth is it listed in the gay and lesbian section? there is nothing homosexual about this film whatsoever! so, to those of you who are going to purchase this film in the hopes of it being gay/lesbian, don't bother.

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review by: A New Yorker date: 2008-03-13 rating:
How many Norwegian horror films have you seen?,
Well for me this is my first and I enjoyed it very much thanks to my Amazonian friends who had already seen this and recommended it to me. As beautiful as the direction and cinematography is this story revolves around the office employees John (Kristopher Joner), whose girlfriend Ingrid (Anna Bache-Wig) is recently separated from him. This has its already fragile psyche another missed kick. His life still revolves entirely to the woman who left him; withdrawn, he now lives alone on the top floor of a tenement house. His tidy, clean, even sterile housing is a desperate held upright on the contrast of dark labyrinth, which is its soul. Suddenly he meets two mysterious neighbors, which he has never noticed, even though they live right next door. When visiting the two women Anne (Cecilie A. Mosli) and Kim (Julia Schacht), a strange interest in having him appear, he loses more and more in the long, winding corridors of his comfortable environment to a sinking nightmare of sex and violence.

This movie's does have one of the most violent and vile consensual sex scene in movie history, containing a beating that only leads to more arousal. It's pretty ailing stuff, and you'll be just as disturbed as John is when he looks in the mirror afterwards, and sees himself covered in his mishap.... that's not all his. It really is an unsettling moment, and probably the defining one of the film. Julia Schacht and Ceclie Mosli did a great job in their roles even though I don't know much about them.. The lead character of John is not only convincing in the role, but you find yourself as a viewer putting yourself in his shoes. I was very sympathetic with John throughout this film and pretty much had no feelings towards Kim/Anne's except for their maze-like apartment which I fine really cool and something I like to invest in.

Other reviewers had mention the pacing of this film and that too is my only problem with it. Though it's over 70 minutes but somehow manages to drag. Sure, mood permeates most of it, but it doesn't help once you realize that nothing much happens throughout the film. This could've been a great short film. Those who want to sit through it will ultimately be satisfied by the atmosphere, but it will be a little hard at points. The film ends on the interesting note, a nice, mind-bending twist that might be somewhat obvious but is no less effective.

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review by: green-man-music date: 2008-03-07 rating:
Psychosexual Thriller
Naboer/Next-Door is the story of a man whose two eerie female next-door neighbours appear to be playing some kind of bizarre and perverse psycho-sexual game with him.

The eeriness is particularly effective in the first half of the film, although as the story proceeds, it's not long before the outcome is going to be fairly obvious.

It's a well-done film however, psychologically taut and engrossing and the protagonist's mind appears to be unravelling while being seduced and then provoked in turn by the inconsistent behaviour and stories from his weird neighbours.

Nice and dark, with fairly strong acting (particularly from the girls) and, it being a Norwegian film, there are no stupid Hollywood gags or one-liners to detract from the spooky atmosphere.


review by: date: 2008-01-30 rating:
Unforgettable viewing....
I really enjoyed this film, it has a strange pace to it and some very interesting twists and turns. The main actor is excellent and his performance carries you through a maze of events with rare intensity. I enjoyed the other performances also. But it is the director and the photography which sets this apart from other films of a similar budget. It looks very stylish and the use of camera is at times mesmerising, with some wonderful use of lighting. But aside from the technical workings, the film is worth a watch and i would recommend it to most people

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