I admit that I've never really made a concerted effort to get to know my neighbors. The trouble, of course, is that we don't get to choose who lives next door. In an ideal world, it would be nice to live near wholesome families like the Cleavers from "Leave It to Beaver," or right down the hall from comedian Jerry Seinfeld so we could take full advantage of his endless supply of cereal. But let's be honest: Most of us just don't have that kind of luck.
Instead, we are usually left with a mix of quiet strangers, erratic night owls or people who practice the drums at 2 a.m. If you aren't a fan of your current neighbors — or simply have no idea who they are — the movies on this list serve as a chilling reminder that things can always be much worse. Each of these stories taps into a primal fear: that the people closest to us in physical proximity outside our front door might actually pose the greatest threat to our safety.
After watching any of these suspenseful flicks, you might just feel inspired to step out into the hallway, bake a batch of cookies, and get to know the folks next door a bit better. At the very least, you'll want to find out what they're up to in their spare time. You know ... just in case.
'Arlington Road'
What makes "Arlington Road" stand out so much is the seemingly innocent nature of the couple next door. The film begins with a chaotic scene in which college professor Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) rescues a severely injured boy, Brady Lang (Mason Gamble), walking bloody down the road. After rushing him to the hospital, Michael meets the boy's parents, Cheryl (Joan Cusack) and Oliver Lang (Tim Robbins), and discovers they are his new neighbors.
Michael, his young son, Grant (Spencer Treat Clark), and his girlfriend, Brooke (Hope Davis), quickly become close friends with the family. But as Michael gets closer, he begins to suspect Oliver of orchestrating dangerous domestic terrorism. What makes the situation so complex is that Michael comes across as deeply paranoid, driven by his academic work teaching courses on American extremist groups and the painful loss of his wife to a botched FBI raid. When he inches closer to the truth, everything he knows and everyone he loves are put on the line. By the way, keep an eye out for an extra-creepy Joan Cusack, who manages to exude her usual warm friendliness in an absolutely unsettling way.
'The Ones Below'
Jealousy can cause a devastating rift between people, whether in a friendship, a workplace, a romantic relationship, or among neighbors. "The Ones Below" focuses on the lives of a suburban couple, Kate (Clémence Poésy) and Jon (David Morrissey). They decide to invite their new downstairs neighbors, Theresa (Laura Birn) and Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore), over for dinner after discovering that both women are expecting a baby.
During dinner, wine flows, secrets surface, and tension rises. A terrible accident occurs when Theresa trips down the stairs and loses her baby, creating a deep and bitter rift between the two couples. Theresa and Justin eventually move out, but Kate and Jon aren't entirely free of them. When Theresa re-enters their lives, Kate begins to feel threatened, terrified that her own baby is in grave danger. The film is a slow burner with a few unresolved loose ends, but it remains a gripping thriller about a couple who becomes a "have-not" after living next door to a "have."
'Disturbia'
Believing your neighbor is a ruthless killer hits an entirely different level of concern than being annoyed that they made too much noise on a Tuesday night. "Disturbia" is an early-aughts mystery about Kale (Shia LaBeouf), who is forced to endure a long summer of house arrest after punching his teacher. Fortunately, his cute new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), and his best friend, Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), drop by often to ease the misery of his confinement.
Alongside this restless indoor activity, news begins to circulate about a dangerous serial killer on the loose. One night, Kale spots his neighbor, Mr. Turner (David Morse), driving home in a car that looks eerily similar to the one described by the police. Unfortunately, no one believes him, forcing Kale and his friends into a frantic fight to prove that the mild-mannered man next door is actually a monster. The film serves as a clever modern nod to Hitchcock's classic "Rear Window," offering a helpful sprinkling of laughs along the way to ease the intense mystery.
'Pacific Heights'
Renting to tenants — and living right next door to them — brings about a healthy dose of complications. It's even worse when you realize your renter harbors a secret past that puts you and everyone around you at risk. The '90s thriller "Pacific Heights" showcases what happens when a young couple leases a unit to a tenant who quickly becomes far more trouble than he's worth.
In one of his darkest roles, Michael Keaton shines as the creepy tenant, Carter Hayes, who systematically terrorizes his landlords, Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) and Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith). Unfortunately, strict local tenant laws prevent them from simply kicking him out. That doesn't stop them from fighting back and, not surprisingly, it prompts Carter to fight back twice as hard. If you've ever considered becoming a landlord or renting out a spare room, this is one horror story you'll want to watch first.
'The 4th Floor'
The ominous apartment building itself adds to the spooky ambiance of this obscure late-'90s flick. In "The Fourth Floor," Jane Emelin (Juliette Lewis) moves into her late grandmother's spacious, rent-controlled apartment, much to the dismay of her controlling boyfriend, Greg Harrison (William Hurt). Upon moving in, Jane meets the strange cast of characters living in the building, including a creepy busybody named Martha, played by the remarkable Shelley Duvall.
However, it's the mysterious individual living directly below Jane with whom she starts having real trouble, beginning with a hostile note on her door complaining about her noisy move-in. The harassment rapidly escalates when Jane's locks are tampered with and she finds a swarm of maggots in her bathtub. Worse still, she can never seem to catch her neighbor face-to-face to confront the situation head-on, triggering an escalating and truly bizarre conflict.
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