Good Neighbors (2011)

67% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
36% of users liked it
(1,821 ratings)

Neighbors Spencer (Scott Speedman) and Louise (Emily Hampshire) have bonded over their fascination with a recent string of murders terrorizing their community. When a new tenant named Victor (Jay Baruchel) arrives in the building, all three quickly hit it off. But as they soon discover, each of them… More Neighbors Spencer (Scott Speedman) and Louise (Emily Hampshire) have bonded over their fascination with a recent string of murders terrorizing their community. When a new tenant named Victor (Jay Baruchel) arrives in the building, all three quickly hit it off. But as they soon discover, each of them has their own dark secret. As the violence outside mounts, the city retreats indoors for safety. But the more time these three spend together in their apartment building, the clearer it becomes that what they once thought of as a safe haven is as dangerous as any outside terrors they could imagine. Smart dialogue, strong performances and jarring thrills give this film all the elements of a great mystery. -- (C) Magnolia

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Jacob Tierney
Written By: Jacob Tierney
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jul 29, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Sep 27, 2011
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Working from a 1982 novel set in Quebec City, director-writer Jacob Tierney provides enough thrills and surprises, even a little satire, to keep viewers' attention.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Swerving from bland to brutal, endearingly coy to shockingly explicit, the Canadian import "Good Neighbors" finds pitch-black comedy among white-bread lives.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
An agreeably sick little movie about a serial killer, a bunch of cats and the uneasy tenants of a Montreal apartment complex.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
Good Neighbors is a hotbed of twisted ideas with a straightforward yet novel approach to the Gothic horror in the hearts of mistakenly everyday people.
Michelle Orange, Village Voice
Tierney offers what preparations he can for the offbeat darkness to come, but at least one part of the perfect, triple-crossing crime that plays out is so black you may want to wear shades.
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
There's clear evidence that Tierney is maturing as a filmmaker, but he's not there yet, despite having the talents of Baruchel and Hampshire on his side.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
A sneakily absorbing indie thriller.
John Blahnik, New York Press
Thankfully Tierney saves the film from becoming a prosaic whodunit by casually revealing the murder's identity 40 minutes in, forcing Good Neighbors to succeed as all films should, through character and style.
Pam Grady, Boxoffice Magazine
Inspired pitch-black humor and a crackerjack ensemble.
David Noh, Film Journal International
For sheer, absurd gruesomeness, one stomach-turning scene in this obnoxious, uninvolving Canadian thriller could win 2011's prize.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
desperately in need of a more refined directorial palette
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
There's enough creepy tension and nefarious deeds afoot to make for a really suspenseful short film, but even at just 96 minutes, Good Neighbors outstays its welcome.
Paul Schrodt, Slant Magazine
The tone of the film is off-key from the beginning, a fact that's not helped by the presence of Speedman, onetime Felicity heartthrob.
Alison Willmore, AV Club
Good Neighbors is a darkly comedic thriller with echoes of Shallow Grave and an undercurrent of repressed Canadian rage, and though it comes to an anticlimactic end, it manages a lot with a slow build of unease.
Sam Adams, Time Out New York
It's blackhearted fun, but eventually the spurt runs dry, and all that's left is a pallid corpse.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
Writer/director Jacob Tierney is spun dizzy by the complex narrative of deceptions and confessions, laboring over moody particulars while the tension gradually dries up.
Ethan Alter, Television Without Pity
A solid, respectable genre piece that should play extra well when watched late one night in your own one or two-bedroom high-rise dwelling.
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
'Good Neighbors' borders on a beneficial near amateurishness as it picks up headway to finish with a rare satisfactory twist and undeclared future.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
An effective noirish drama of three neighbors with hidden, violent flaws

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Melvin W

Spencer: Why do you think you're so interested in this stuff? "You never know who's living right next door." Good Neighbors is not the best of suspense thrillers. For one, it lacks suspense for 90 percent of the runtime. The other thing is that it can't… More
Spencer: Why do you think you're so interested in this stuff? "You never know who's living right next door." Good Neighbors is not the best of suspense thrillers. For one, it lacks suspense for 90 percent of the runtime. The other thing is that it can't decide whether to be too subtle or too gruesome. So it goes for a subtle blandness for the first part of the movie and then begins to throw some pretty morbid stuff at the viewer as it goes. I wasn't expecting some of the graphic violence this film showed halfway through. Violence isn't something that phases me as a moviegoer; it's just that this had a feel of a subtle film, not an in your face one. The story takes place in Canada in the midst of many killings at the hand of some serial killer. Victor moves into an apartment where he meets Louise and Spencer. Louise has a weird dependence on her cats and Spencer is wheelchair bound. The three have dinner and become friends to a certain extent. Then a bunch of crap happens that we aren't suppose to expect, but we kind of do anyway. It's not badly made. It looks pretty good and the cast isn't too bad. Nothing about the movie screams terrible, but nothing about it stands out to the point where I'd want to ever watch it again, or would even recommend to anyone to watch once. It's a decent enough effort though.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Scott Speedman, Emily Hampshire, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Diane D'Aquila, Xavier Dolan, Clara Furey, Kaniehtiio Horn, Gary Farmer, Jacob Tierney, Pat Kiely Director: Jacob Tierney Summary: In an apartment complex nestled in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce… More
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Scott Speedman, Emily Hampshire, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Diane D'Aquila, Xavier Dolan, Clara Furey, Kaniehtiio Horn, Gary Farmer, Jacob Tierney, Pat Kiely Director: Jacob Tierney Summary: In an apartment complex nestled in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood, everyone is nervous with a serial killer on the loose. Meanwhile, waitress Louise (Emily Hampshire) and widower Spencer (Scott Speedman) bond with new resident Victor (Jay Baruchel), which could prove dangerous. Staying alive may well mean figuring out who to trust. Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky) writes and directs this mystery thriller. My Thoughts: "The movie is a quirky thriller. The characters are very odd and strange all in their own respective ways. There is no surprise in the film, it kind of gives itself away. Louise's obsession with the cats is crossing the line of creepy in this odd thriller. Although I enjoyed the weirdness of the film, I do wish it played out differently. I know the ending is suppose to leave you wondering and thinking, but I would have liked to see more."
Christopher H

Good Neighbors convinces the viewer that they have the plot figured out, then finds a unique way to completely turn that plot on itself. If Hitchcock would have ever made a film completely stacked full of McGuffins, this would have been it. Scott Speedman and Emily Hampshire have a… More
Good Neighbors convinces the viewer that they have the plot figured out, then finds a unique way to completely turn that plot on itself. If Hitchcock would have ever made a film completely stacked full of McGuffins, this would have been it. Scott Speedman and Emily Hampshire have a comfortable presence on-screen and take this film from potentially campy to intriguing and bitter.