While plenty of horror films are set nestled in desolate
locations, some of the scariest stories come from the house right next door.
Whether hiding bodies in their basement or harboring a dark secret, neighbors
can be the unknown and unsuspecting evil you never knew you had to watch out
for. Sure suburbia sounds nice and high-rises can build a sense of community,
but when your fellow suburbanites or tenants are evil, isolation seems like the
better plan. This week's list covers horror's scariest neighbors.
10. Will & Annie (Honeymoon)
While leaning more toward the isolated setting of films like The
Strangers, the indie horror flick, Honeymoon, features a pair of
distant neighbors who could make any new residents' skin crawl. When Paul and
Bea set out for their honeymoon at a remote cabin, their closest neighbors are
a pair of odd townies, Will and Annie. Will happens to know Bea from her youth
and Annie, while quieter is deeply troubled. And, while Will ends up being less
aware of the dark roots setting themselves into Annie and Bea, his initial
hostilities toward Will are more than suspicious cannot be ignored.
9. Ryan Jacobson (House at the End of the Street)
Despite his troubled childhood and continued struggles, there's
no denying the creep factor driving Ryan Jacobson. When divorcee Sarah and her
daughter, Elissa, move into a secluded and wooded neighborhood, the nearby
house at the end of the street proves to harbor more than the normal white lies
of everyday families. Ryan lives there alone after the disappearance of his
sister who happened to murder their parents. Things get increasingly unsettling
as Elissa uncovers far more than she bargained for in her budding relationship
with Ryan. Ryan isn't your typical scary neighbor; he's young, enrolled in
school and seems relatively friendly, but through all of his childhood trauma,
Ryan has turned into something far more evil.
8. Abel Turner (Lakeview Terrace)
Rarely do thrillers give as much of a perspective as to the
crazed reasoning behind bad neighbors as in Lakeview Terrace. While
completely unwarranted, there's something almost sympathetic about
the unhinged Abel Turner. His actions while sinister and problematic are
given plenty of backstory and while he eventually turns into quite the problem,
he starts the movie as a grumpy old man. It’s a shame how evil he
turns out to be because everyone would think having a cop next door
would be the blessing of a lifetime. Instead, it ends up being an
absolute nightmare.
7. The Castevets (Rosemary's Baby)
You have to love moving into a new place and discovering you
have kind, even if a little overbearing, elderly neighbors. Well, that is until
you realize they're far more sinister than they appear. Turns out, the
Woodhouse's neighbors are quite the opposite of cutesy. In fact, they're
anything but. Last week, the pair made the list of scariest old people in
horror and for good reason. The Castevets' pension for Satan, hidden behind a
desire to assist Rosemary and her pregnant needs, is anything but neighborly. Rosemary's
Baby is a classic hinged on the great villains created in The Castevets.
They're terrifyingly kind demeanors and their overly helpful nature make for
something truly dark.
6. The Ferrins, Halversons and Mr. Cali (The Purge)
While a lot of money may buy you a nice neighborhood, it
certainly can't buy you nice neighbors. While the tension built around the
neighbors surrounding the Sandin's may seem a little warranted, the added
pressure of an annual anything-goes evening of horrors is all that's needed to
break the camel’s back. Whether it’s the standoffish but innocent behavior
exhibited by the Sandin's is partially to blame the horrific intentions of
their neighbors is anything but couth. Despite the feigned culture and class of
them all, this group of neighbors are vicious. They set out with a goal and set
on the Sandin's house with all the ferocity of the deeply rooted mistrust and
competition of upper-class living.
