10. Disturbia (2007)
Heavily inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’sRear Window,Disturbiafeatures a young Shia LaBeouf in its starring role.
After assaulting a teacher, Kale (played Shia LaBeouf) is placed on house arrest. In order to stave off boredom—because his television and PlayStation are confiscated—he starts spying on his neighbors with binoculars.
Not exactly cool, but I suppose it helps pass the time. Yet, in doing so, he falls in love with a beautiful new neighbor and discovers that adifferentneighbor might actually be a serial killer…
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9. Neighbors (2014)
Seth Rogen and Zac Efron teamed up forNeighbors, a movie about what happens when a frat house moves next door to a regular couple who have just had their first child.
While the couple is originally hesitant about having a frat house as neighbors, they slowly begin to come around to the idea—especially after they’re invited to party with the fraternity.
However, when their relationship sours, it leads to a series of elaborate pranks that make for some great wacky comedy.
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8. The ‘Burbs (1989)
It’s not all that unusual for your neighbors to be frat boys, pretty girls, and even serial killers. But what about Satanists?
If you’ve ever wondered what that would look like and how that’d play out, you might want to check outThe ‘Burbs.
Tom Hanks stars as Ray Peterson in this laugh-out-loud comedy that’s mixed with a bit of family-friendly horror. It’s certainly one of the better comedies to come out of the 1980s and worth checking out!
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7. The Girl Next Door (2004)
Here’s a thought experiment: do you think a Christian would rather live next door to a Satanist or to a porn star?
That’s the jump-off point forThe Girl Next Door, in which a boy falls in love with his new neighbor but struggles with her risqué past. How will he handle that aspect of her history? Can it work?
Honestly, it’s a pretty stupid question that demonstrates the hypocrisy inherent in the film’s underlying message: a girl can only be looked at by me, not by everybody else.
After all, the boys spend the entire time ogling her and yet find it morally questionable that she’s been in adult films.
But despite the film’s double standards and prominent male gaze,The Girl Next Dooris a surprisingly fun movie with a coming-of-age tale wrapped up in the premise of a salacious neighbor.
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6. Everything Must Go (2010)
Will Ferrell is best known for doing goofy and absurd comedies with an emphasis on the surreal. Between films likeAnchorman,Zoolander, andStep Brothers, he certainly has a style.
So you can imagine the public’s confusion when Will Ferrell starred inEverything Must Go, a mature and understated movie about the different phases of life that we pass through.
Is this the same actor who played Ricky Bobby inTalladega Nightsand Jackie Moon inSemi-Pro? Yes, it is!
And while it’s not the kind of film that will appeal to everyone,Everything Must Gois an insightful watch that provides a glimpse into the value of the support network that neighbors can provide.
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5. Fright Night (1985)
So far we’ve seen Satanists, murderers, and porn stars as possible neighbors. Now we move into the realm of vampires.
InFright Night, we watch a teenage boy Jerry as he grows increasingly convinced that his next door neighbor is a vampire.
When no one believes him, he takes it upon himself to stop his blood-sucking neighbor before it’s too late.
Fright Nightwas one of the first horror movies to really lean into the idea of neighbors being deadly inhuman creatures—and it works!
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4. The Lives of Others (2006)
While this one isn’t necessarily a horror movie,The Lives of Othersis certainly a horrifying story that makes you think.
Set just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the film follows a rigid Stasi agent who’s tasked with finding evidence against a certain playwright. He’s placed in a building with a wiretap as he listens in on the life of his suspect and his girlfriend.
While he may not be a neighbor in the traditional sense, Gerd Wiesler definitely lives as one: just beyond the wall, within earshot of their every word and move.
The Lives of Othersexamines the complications and attachments that can occur when you engage in parasocial relationships.
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3. Gran Torino (2008)
WithGran Torino, Clint Eastwood didn’t just direct—he starred as a snarling, sneering Korean War veteran in a village full of Koreans.
What follows isn’t your typical Eastwood outing. Rather,Gran Torinois a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be a community. What is the basis of the relationships we make? Why are they important?
As Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski goes up against thugs in his neighborhood, we’re presented with answers to those questions.
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2. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Ah, back to more Satanists as neighbors. WithRosemary’s Baby, Roman Polanski directed one of the best films of his career.
It follows Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse, who finds strange things happening in her apartment complex.
More and more disturbing things follow, including suicides, mysterious deaths, and a strange sex scene that will haunt you forever.
Rosemary’s Babywent on to inspire countless imitators, but it’s still the creepiest and most chilling movie about neighbors for me.
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1. Rear Window (1954)
While the aforementionedRosemary’s Babycreeps me out the most, no one can deny that it—and many other films after it—would’ve even been possible if it weren’t forRear Window.
Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece was created during his prolific 1950s. This one follows a man with a broken leg who kills time by spying on his neighbors with a telescopic camera. Sound familiar?
During all of his spying, he begins to suspect that something sinister is happening across the way—and as he investigates, the whole ordeal lands him in trouble of the most deadly kind.
Rear Windowis the film that made everyone look at their neighbors differently, which is why it earns top spot on our list.
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