There are multiple references to an impending "demolition" of a home that is being refurbished by architect Brent Keller for his neighbors, Brent and Casey Hest. But the neighbor's secret is that he is really trying to demolish their family.
In "My Neighbor's Secret," there were exceptionally well developed characters. Brent is a successful architect whose wife Gretchen is murdered in what appears to be a robbery. Dr. Jason Hest is a successful physician and university lecturer. Casey Hest is a bestselling writer of fiction, specializing in romances like "Ghosts of Amherst" and "Barcelona Summer." Their young son Austin is an aspiring soccer player.
While it is revealed early in the film that Brent hired a hit man to murder his wife, the filmmakers sustained interest in the strange cat-and-mouse game Brent is playing with the Hest family.
There were some effective directorial choices with oblique camera angles, atmospheric location footage, and select moments of the deranged Brent fantasizing out loud as he is spying on the Casey and Jason through the cameras he installed in their home. He evidently was raised by an authoritarian father who once broke his leg. Brent has been acting out ever since.
The film is anchored by Casey and Jason, who have such a strong bond in their marriage that not even a sophisticated schemer like Brent can destroy their relationship. While the film's denouement was somewhat disappointing in focusing on Casey's nightmare, she is nonetheless consoled by the people are most important in her life, Jason and Austin. They know how to avoid a demolition derby.
In "My Neighbor's Secret," there were exceptionally well developed characters. Brent is a successful architect whose wife Gretchen is murdered in what appears to be a robbery. Dr. Jason Hest is a successful physician and university lecturer. Casey Hest is a bestselling writer of fiction, specializing in romances like "Ghosts of Amherst" and "Barcelona Summer." Their young son Austin is an aspiring soccer player.
While it is revealed early in the film that Brent hired a hit man to murder his wife, the filmmakers sustained interest in the strange cat-and-mouse game Brent is playing with the Hest family.
There were some effective directorial choices with oblique camera angles, atmospheric location footage, and select moments of the deranged Brent fantasizing out loud as he is spying on the Casey and Jason through the cameras he installed in their home. He evidently was raised by an authoritarian father who once broke his leg. Brent has been acting out ever since.
The film is anchored by Casey and Jason, who have such a strong bond in their marriage that not even a sophisticated schemer like Brent can destroy their relationship. While the film's denouement was somewhat disappointing in focusing on Casey's nightmare, she is nonetheless consoled by the people are most important in her life, Jason and Austin. They know how to avoid a demolition derby.