The House Next Door (TV 2006)

Walker Kennedy and his wife Col are a happy, voluntarily childless suburban couple. Then the thing they fear the most happens: part of their green surrounding is turned into a building site... See full summary »

Director:

Jeff Woolnough

Writers:

Suzette Couture, Anne Rivers Siddons (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Lara Flynn Boyle, Colin Ferguson, Noam Jenkins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Col Kennedy
Colin Ferguson	...	Walker
Noam Jenkins	...	Norman Greene
Julie Stewart	...	Anita
Heather Hanson	...	Claire
Charlotte Sullivan	...	Pie Harrelson
Natalie Lisinska	...	Eloise
Heidi von Palleske	...	Virginia Guthrie
Aidan Devine	...	Buck
Stephen Amell	...	Buddy Harrelson
Peter MacNeill
Mark-Paul Gosselaar	...	Kim
Emma Campbell	...	Suzannah Greene
Niamh Wilson	...	Belinda Greene
Scott Gibson	...	Roger

Storyline

Walker Kennedy and his wife Col are a happy, voluntarily childless suburban couple. Then the thing they fear the most happens: part of their green surrounding is turned into a building site, for what turns out to be the widely acclaimed first house built by attractive, brilliant, obsessively devoted architect Kim (30), who has a short affair with Col. Kim is even enchanted by his own house, just like everyone else. However each subsequent couple that moves into the house soon turns nasty, never staying for long, ending in tears and/or blood. When Kim finally buys it with his wife, Col who believes he somehow curses all his buildings insists it's time to deal with him, permanently.

---

Plot Keywords:

architect | curse | suburbia | towel | urination | 

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Official Sites:

Lifetime TV

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

A szomszéd ház rejtélye

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Muse Entertainment Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Before the woman get thrown down the stairs, she looks into the camera.

User Reviews

There goes the neighborhood! A good psychological thriller based on the famous novel.

After too many years of waiting, Anne Rivers Siddons' noted 1979 book "The House Next Door" has finally been filmed. The result veers a bit from the novel which, especially in the first story of the trilogy is understandable if unsatisfying as it's a TV film, the whole of which is absorbing and actually very good, just not as great as the book, one of Stephen King's favorites and one of mine as well.

With more running time and fewer constraints as a theatrical release, all the richness inherent in the original three-part story of the ominous ultramodern house could have been explored and nurtured, especially the climactic revelation near the very end.

Still, the whole cast does well in this thoughtful tale of mindless malevolence. There are a few unnecessary cheap shocks but the growing atmosphere of dread is well developed. Actually, one of the most disturbing scenes involves an abstract painting of the house by its next-door amateur-artist neighbor who is trying to visualize its corruption on canvas.

Be sure to read the great novel.