Thy Neighbor's Wife (2001)

Director:

Jim Wynorski

Writers:

Sean O'Bannon (screenplay)
Jim Wynorski (story)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Evil comes in many forms.

Plot:

A scorned woman plots revenge for her husband's suicide by integrating herself as a housekeeper for a dysfunctional Beverly Hills family to first alienate, and then emotionally and physically destroy them.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Poison | Housekeeper | Suicide | Loss Of Husband

Cast

Kari Wuhrer	...	Ann Stewart / Anna Johnson
Jeff Trachta	...	Scott Garrett
Barbara Crampton	...	Nicole Garrett
Melissa Stone	...	Darla Garrett
Seth Adam Jones	...	David Garrett (as Seth Jones)
Jay Richardson	...	Mr. Slider
Larry Poindexter	...	Chris Stewart
John Weller	...	Travis
Peggy Trentini	...	Karina
Melissa Brasselle	...	Angela
Michael Cavanaugh	...	Ian McMillan
Betheny Zolt	...	Janelle
Nina Dafni	...	Mrs. Slider
Bill Langlois Monroe	...	Detective (as Bill Monroe)

Also Known As:

Midnight Vendetta (USA) (working title)
Poison (USA) (alternative title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and some violence.

Runtime:

92 min | Germany:89 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Phoenician Entertainment

Quotes:

Ann Stewart: That's what I'm here for. To serve you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Final Examination (2003) (V)

Standard thriller, but quite funny to watch

What we have here is a dumbed down, (seemingly) made for TV, version of the nineties thriller 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'. The main reason I saw this, aside from the fact I seem to have something of a penchant for stupid and rather dull thrillers, is the fact that it stars Kari Wuhrer. Her name might not mean a lot to a lot of people, but she's about the closest thing we've got a B-movie queen nowadays (although she really does need to get a better agent!). As mentioned, the plot pretty much rips off The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, although this time there is a different reason for revenge and the unfortunate woman at the centre has a different affliction. Wuhrer plays a woman upset after her husband killed himself due to his work colleagues. She takes it upon herself to get revenge, killing a couple of them, before posing as a maid for another. She worms her way into the family through each of the different members, all the while plotting her sweet revenge.

The thing that makes this film fun is the fact that it's completely ridiculous! The acting is terrible, and there are several sequences that are just far too convenient and/or don't make any sense at all! The film is directed by Jim Wynorski, who made Chopping Mall in 1986 before going to make a load of made for video crap, like this film. Some of the soft porn from his other films has made it into this one, and while we don't get to see much; there are plenty of breasts on display to keep things interesting. Kari Wuhrer gives by far the best performance and single handily makes the movie worth watching. She's always nice to look at, which cant really be said for the overall experience of watching this movie; but it is nice to see Re-Animator's Barbara Crampton on screen again. The plot is fairly standard stuff and although there is some attempt to build the characters, it is all a bit hard to care about. It doesn't take a genius to work out what will happen in the end, but there's plenty of laughs (for wrong reasons, mostly) on the way and while this is pretty crap, it's nice, gentle viewing and I did rather enjoy wasting time on it.