Search - Neighbor on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 10/3/2020...

Old school suspense showing how a horror movie should be done. A must for horror, terror and suspense fans!

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?...

Lawyeraau | Balmoral Castle | 05/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This very suspenseful film opens with a scene in which a woman (Linda Kozlowski) apparently dies in child birth, leaving behind a young son named Myron and a newborn baby. The viewer then sees Myron, who had been very attached to his mother, put a pillow over the baby's head, suffocating him to death.

The film then moves ahead about fifty years later to where a woman (Linda Kozlowski), a doppelganger for Myron's mother, and her husband buy an old house in a bucolic location. The house used to belong to their new neighbor's aunt. Their neighbor, Myron (Rod Steiger), seems to be very nice and helpful at first. It soon becomes clear, however, that there is something creepy about him. The woman senses it, but cannot place her finger on what it is that bothers her about Myron, who is an established obstetrician.

When it turns out that she is pregnant, Myron wants to be her doctor, but she declines, preferring a female doctor. Myron, however, continues to insinuate himself into her life, causing more uneasiness. It is an uneasiness that compounds itself, as those to whom she is close start having bad things happen to them. What happens to this woman ultimately becomes a fight for survival, for herself and for her unborn child, as Myron goes over the top in trying to have her all to himself.

Linda Kozlowski is exellent as the intelligent, determined woman who suspects the seemingly benign Myron of being someone other than what he appears. It is Rod Steiger who walks away with the film, however, as he is effectively disturbing in the role of Myron. He plays it straight and ends up making Myron into a most chillingly creepy character.

This is a genuinely suspenseful film that will keep the viewer glued to the screen."

An hour and a half of horror!

Richard A. Back | Port Richey, Fla | 03/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to offer a caveat to any mother's-to-be about this truly scary movie and that is do not watch it unless you are extremely confident in your Gyno-obstetrician! Rod Steiger stars as a seemingly helpful and warm country obstetrician who sells his next door house to a young couple at a less than market value price. Slowly but surely he creeps into their lives and all seems well until he discovers that the wife{Linda Kozlowski} is pregnant and then the suspense begins. The kindly Dr. has a dark and sinister past that we do not fully know about until near the end of the movie when it is almost too late to save the young couple from a murder frame up for the husband and a loss of the baby for his wife. Steiger is never over the top as the truly frightening and creepy neighbor who secretely stalks them, enters their house and lives, and seemingly has an innocent alibi for all of it. If you can find this movie by all means buy it because it will make a terrific addition to any home movie collection."

Will Set You on Edge - Like Needles Under the Skin

R. Schultz | Chicago | 09/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was one of Rod Steiger's later screen performances, but by no means one of his least. Perhaps because of its "thriller' genre, "The Neighbor" has been unfortunately overlooked and hasn't gotten the acclaim of some of the grittier movies in which Steiger appeared. However, he continued to break new ground in character development here. He doesn't display the brutish vulgarity of his Al Capone, nor the agonized awakening of "The Pawnbroker." He doesn't display any of the over-the-top aggressiveness that made him stand out in so many other films such as "Dr. Zhivago." Here he shows a different face. He glints chillingly subdued, sociable, sinister.

Linda Kozlowski also turns in a brilliant performance as the pregnant woman with growing suspicions about the intentions of her quiet, always-at-hand-to-be-helpful pediatrician neighbor.

This movie is difficult to find. But it's well worth hunting for and buying. Then if you find yourself properly chilled by the kind of home-grown, embedded derangement of the main character here, you will probably also want to check out "Felicia's Journey" with Bob Hoskins."