If You Liked ‘The Collector’, You’ll Love This Movie [Watch]
Welcome to The Overlooked Motel, a place where under-seen and unappreciated films are given their moment in the spotlight. I hope you enjoy your stay here and find the accommodations to be suitable. Now, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I have some misbehaving guests to ‘correct.’
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Today’s pick, The Neighbor (2016), comes from one of my favorite filmmaking duos, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton. The pair is best known to horror fans for The Collector films, so I suspect anyone fond of that series is likely to connect with this 2016 effort. The Neighbor is a horror-infused crime thriller that serves up a similar look and feel to The Collector without ever coming across as derivative.
The Neighbor follows John (Josh Stewart of The Collector), a low-level criminal who runs scams for his mobster uncle. John and his wife, Rosie (Alex Essoe), dream of leaving their life of crime behind and starting fresh. And they are on the precipice of doing exactly that. But their dreams of escape are put on hold when Rosie witnesses their unhinged neighbor, Troy (Bill Engvall), embroiled in a bit of old-fashioned criminal mischief. Not fond of looky-loos or loose ends, Troy abducts Rosie, which prompts John to spring into action with a plan to rescue her. That, however, will be easier said than done, seeing as Troy has more than a few dirty tricks up his sleeve.
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Knowing that we may never get the long-gestured third installment in The Collector franchise serves to heighten my appreciation of The Neighbor, as this film shares a certain amount of connective tissue with The Collector series. In addition to aesthetic similarities, we have Josh Stewart as a criminal with a conscience, a masochistic antagonist in Bill Engvall’s Troy, and a captivity element that sees several characters abducted and locked in cages. All of that translates to a film that’s far enough removed from The Collector franchise not to feel like plagiarism but similar enough that I think of The Neighbor as a spiritual sequel to The Collector series.
The flick has a great core cast of characters. Josh Stewart is in his element here. He plays John with a tough exterior but an inner vulnerability, not dissimilar from Arkin in The Collector films. Alex Essoe is also effective as Rosie. My only complaint, if you could even call it a complaint, is that I wish she’d been given a little more to do. She’s such a versatile actor and she doesn’t get to flex her acting chops as much as I’d have liked. With that said, she’s plenty enjoyable in all of the scenes in which she appears.
While Bill Engvall’s comedy has never really been my cup of tea, he proves an imposing presence here. Troy is ominous and unpredictable. Additionally, he comes across as overly entitled and revels in making others feel ill at ease. The discomfort he elicits in those around him is palpable to the audience, serving to amplify the tension exponentially. He is the personification of nearly every negative stereotype associated with redneck culture. And on top of that, he’s a violent sociopath. Quite the imposing presence, indeed.
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Performances aside, The Neighbor proves to be atmospheric and unnerving in its most effective moments. Dunstan’s creeping camerawork accentuates the more harrowing scenes, giving the impression that something unsavory is lurking around every corner. One stellar example of this occurs when John is searching Troy’s house following Rosie’s abduction. The palpable sense of dread is further underscored by the discordant wailing sounds that serve as musical accompaniment.
Though that one scene is a standout, it’s far from the only intense sequence in the film. The entire ordeal is steeped in an air of suspense that builds to a crescendo in the third act. The final 20 minutes are comprised of a series of daring escape attempts and cat-and-mouse chase scenes that leave the viewer with precious little time to catch their breath. With a lean 84-minute runtime and action that unfolds at a breakneck pace, there’s never a dull moment.
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While The Neighbor is filled to the brim with thrills and chills, it isn’t quite as firmly rooted in the horror genre as some of Melton and Dunstan’s other offerings. There are, however, still plenty of grotesque sights to see. And given that the effects work was overseen by none other than Robert Kurtzman, all depictions of onscreen carnage are seamlessly executed and convincingly rendered.
On the whole, The Neighbor is a suspenseful effort that kept me on the edge of my seat. The core cast turns in solid performances and the entire affair feels vaguely reminiscent of The Collector series. If you’re game to check the film out, you’re in luck. The Neighbor is streaming for free via Vudu, as of the publication of this post.
That’s all for this installment of The Overlooked Motel. If you want to chat more about under-seen and underrated films, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter, Threads, or Instagram @FunWithHorror.
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