When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.
This story takes place in a typical American neighborhood, when some new neighbors come to live in the house next to Ray Peterson. These new people are really strange; nobody has ever seen them, their house is a real mess, and during the night you can hear weird noises from their basement. The only thing they know is their name: Klopeks. One day Walter (an old man of the neighborhood) suddenly disappears and everyone starts to suspect the Klopeks...Written by
Chris Makrozahopoulos <makzax@hotmail.com>
The film's Universal studio logo sequence seen at the start of the film was an animated variation of the one used during the period the picture was made. See more »
Goofs
Walter rides home in a car with different license plates on the front and the back. See more »
Quotes
Ricky:
Ya know, did you ever see the movie "The Sentinel," Mr Peterson? It's about the old guy who owns the apartment which is kinda like the, uh, gateway to hell.
Ray Peterson:
No, I, I didn't see that.
Ricky:
Well, I was doin' some thinkin' and you know, being that their last house burned down and all, it's like maybe, somebody left the gate open.
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the end of the Universal Studios logo, the camera zooms into Earth and to where the film takes place. At the end of the film, the effect is played in reverse. See more »
Alternate Versions
To receive a PG certificate UK cinema and video versions were cut by 26 secs to remove some of the images that Ray sees when he's watching the TV. Notably scenes from Race with the Devil, The Exorcist, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2(the last two were banned in the UK at the time). The cuts were restored in 2004 and the certificate upgraded to a '12'. See more »
QUESTA O QUELLA
From Verdi's Rigoletto
Written by Giuseppe Verdi (uncredited)
Performed by Enrico Caruso
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc. Special Markets Division See more »
I generally do not like the movie format and category of the black comedy. Usually, they become so dark that they cease to be funny or entertaining to me...a good example of this is "War of the Roses". There have been some that I enjoyed though and this is one of them. I usually like the ones that only really edge towards the dark side a bit and I would say this one does that. It kind of goes into horror at times, but still remains funny unlike another black horror/comedy "Parents" with Randy Quaid. This film features a new family moving into a very old and not so attractive house. These newcomers are under immediate scrutiny and suspicion as they move in the middle of the night, do not do anything to really fix up the place, and are generally strange looking when some of the people in the neighborhood pay them a visit. Tom Hanks character is not really suspicious at first till his crazy neighbor and a paranoid one convince there is something up with the new family in the burbs. You get many funny scenes as these guys try to find proof that the new family is as strange as they look and are in fact up to something as the poodle a man who lives in the neighborhood shows up dirty and the neighbor ends up missing. The movie plays out rather good and is funny for the most part, at times it becomes a bit to dark as most black comedies tend to do. The cast is very funny and I think this is like the only movie I have seen Carrie Fisher in besides the Star Wars trilogy. Bruce Dern to me steals the show in terms of comedy followed by the neighbor who deduces the bone is human. Not sure of his name or any other movies he has done prior to or since this one. Even Corey Feldman does a rather good job. So all in all this is a nice trip to the burbs.
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I generally do not like the movie format and category of the black comedy. Usually, they become so dark that they cease to be funny or entertaining to me...a good example of this is "War of the Roses". There have been some that I enjoyed though and this is one of them. I usually like the ones that only really edge towards the dark side a bit and I would say this one does that. It kind of goes into horror at times, but still remains funny unlike another black horror/comedy "Parents" with Randy Quaid. This film features a new family moving into a very old and not so attractive house. These newcomers are under immediate scrutiny and suspicion as they move in the middle of the night, do not do anything to really fix up the place, and are generally strange looking when some of the people in the neighborhood pay them a visit. Tom Hanks character is not really suspicious at first till his crazy neighbor and a paranoid one convince there is something up with the new family in the burbs. You get many funny scenes as these guys try to find proof that the new family is as strange as they look and are in fact up to something as the poodle a man who lives in the neighborhood shows up dirty and the neighbor ends up missing. The movie plays out rather good and is funny for the most part, at times it becomes a bit to dark as most black comedies tend to do. The cast is very funny and I think this is like the only movie I have seen Carrie Fisher in besides the Star Wars trilogy. Bruce Dern to me steals the show in terms of comedy followed by the neighbor who deduces the bone is human. Not sure of his name or any other movies he has done prior to or since this one. Even Corey Feldman does a rather good job. So all in all this is a nice trip to the burbs.