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The Neighbor (1993 film)

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The Neighbor
Directed byRodney Gibbons
Written byKurt Wimmer
Produced byTom Berry
StarringRod Steiger
Linda Kozlowski
CinematographyLudek Bogner
Edited byRobert E. Newton
Music byMilan Kymlicka
Production
companies
Allegro Films
Image Organization
Téléfilm Canada (produced in association with) Westwind
Distributed byAcademy Entertainment
Release date
  • November 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)
Running time
1hr 33min.
CountriesUnited States
Canada
LanguageEnglish

The Neighbor is a 1993 horror thriller film directed by Rodney Gibbons, starring Rod Steiger, Linda Kozlowski and Ron Lea.

Plot

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The film is about an aging gynecologist (Rod Steiger) with a "killer instinct"[1] who terrorizes his urban neighbors (Linda Kozlowski and Ron Lea) in a rural community in Burlington, Vermont.

Cast

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Production

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While filming, Steiger commented on his character: "He¨s a person whose acts are villainous and sad, a sick person. Otherwise, I couldn't play him. I don't know how you do a villain. But I can understand a person having the psychosis". Opining that contemporary films were "all too violent for no reason", he iterated that The Neighbor was a thriller, "not a bloodbath".[2]

Reception

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The film was not well received by critics. Dennis Schwartz considered it to have been one of Steiger's creepiest roles, believing that the poor script had rendered the role awkward and "mildly entertaining in the sense that Steiger is asked to carry the film and hams it up".[3] "Despite slick production values and some clever Hitchcockian touches, there is little to distinguish The Neighbor from formulaic made-for-TV fare", writes Cavett Binion for Allmovie, giving 3 of 5 stars.[4] Rod Steiger's performance has been described as "decent", though the movie is "extremely predictable".[5] In the Canadian press, the film was described as "an unpleasant Canadian effort" which for "some obscure reason ... made a brief pit stop in theatres last month before heading for video".[6]

References

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  1. ^ "The Neighbor". TV Guide. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Unnecessary violence in films irks Steiger". Star-Phoenix. CP. 13 November 1992. p. 61.
  3. ^ Schwartz, Dennis. "The Neighbor". Ozus' World Movie Reviews. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  4. ^ Binion, Cavett. "The Neighbor (1993) - Rodney Gibbons, Stephan Rick". Allmovie. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Dr. Gives the Needle". Themoviescene.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  6. ^ Kohanik, Eric (12 November 1993). "'Sliver' sinks Sharon Stone". The Vancouver Sun. p. 76.
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