Movies That Will Make You Scared of Your Neighbors

 

Based on their observations, humans tend to make up stories or narratives about people they see but do not know. Every cranky neighbor must be a serial killer and every house with drawn curtains must be hiding something.

This is such a tendency that it also is great fodder for movies. Here is my list of the top ten movies that will make you scared of your neighbors! If you did not already think horror was behind the picket fence, you will after watching these movies!

Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock 

Rear Window features a man in a wheelchair who is housebound due to a leg injury, and he observes his neighbors from his rear window and witnesses a murder. Many films have copied the same formula or come up with unnerving plots that have the audience questioning how well they know the person next door.

The ‘Burbs (1989)

Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) lives on a quiet suburban street. He and a few of his neighbors become suspicious of the Klopeks, the new eccentric family on the block, when their long-time neighbor, Walter, goes missing. Ray delivers one of the most terrific monologues of all time, questioning whether they are the lunatics and not the Klopeks.

The Woman in the Window (2021)

Anna Fox (Amy Adams) lives alone, suffers from agoraphobia, and takes her medication with alcohol. One day, she observes the Russell family move across the street from her. After befriending Jane Russell (Julianne Moore), Anna witnesses her murder and suspects her husband is the culprit. A fresh take on Rear Window, this movie ups the stakes by cleverly questioning Anna’s sanity when a different woman introduces herself as Jane Russell. 

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) move into their first home. Their next-door neighbor, Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson), a Black cop, seems bothered by their interracial marriage. Their awkward exchanges turn hostile when Abel does everything he can to make them feel unwanted in his neighborhood.

Disturbia (2007)

Seventeen-year-old Kale Brecht (Shia Labeouf) has trouble coping with his father’s sudden death. Placed under house arrest for the summer for assaulting a teacher, it isn’t long before he’s bored out of his mind. Kale then starts observing his neighbors and suspects one of them is a serial killer.

The Voyeurs (2021)

When a young couple, Pippa (Sydney Sweeney) and Thomas (Justice Smith), move in together, they become enthralled with the lives of another young couple across the street. But when fun curiosity turns into an unhealthy obsession, Pippa makes the mistake of becoming involved in the young couple’s lives. This is a movie that questions the voyeuristic habits of modern society and how technology makes it easier to infringe upon someone else’s private life.

The Resident (2011)

Juliet Devereau (Hilary Swank) moves into a spacious new apartment after filing for divorce from her cheating husband. She is attracted to her new landlord, Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). But when Juliet tells Max she’s still in love with her husband, he does not handle the rejection well, revealing his true colors. As he gets bolder in his transgressions, Juliet learns that the quietest neighbors sometimes have the darkest intentions.

1BR (2019)

A young woman rents an apartment in a lovely complex. Everyone is friendly and helpful, but Sarah (Nicole Brydon Bloom) lies about not having pets and sneaks in her cat. Her idyllic surroundings turn sinister the night someone kills her beloved pet. This movie puts a terrifying spin on life in a community.

No One Gets Out Alive (2021)

Ambar (Cristina Rodlo), a young, undocumented immigrant, leaves Mexico and moves to the US. She takes up a room in a run-down boarding house for women, but her humble abode is haunted, and the owners hide a terrible secret in the basement. Tackling the topic of illegal immigration and the uncertainty and fear migrants face in a new country; this movie takes that idea to a terrifying extreme.

House at the End of the Street (2012)

Sarah Cassidy (Elisabeth Shue) and her daughter, Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence), move into a beautiful new rental house. The house next door was the scene of a double murder where a mentally ill girl killed both her parents. And her older brother now lives in the house. This movie explores mental illness themes, the lasting effects of childhood trauma, and the lengths people will go to keep a semblance of sanity.

Stir of Echoes (1999)

Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a regular joe living with his wife, Maggie, and their young son, Jake. Unbeknownst to his parents, Jake talks with an entity present in the house they rent from a friend and neighbor. But after Tom gets hypnotized at a party, he sees the ghost who has been communicating with his son. He concludes that it’s not the ghost in his house that he should be afraid of, but rather the people in his neighborhood.