Movie Review: ‘The Evil Next Door’

Review by James Lindorf

There may be no better place to set an atmospheric horror movie than in a quiet, unassuming home. Everyone has been alone in their home wondering if that sound was the wind, the building settling, or something far more sinister. Our homes are where we feel safe and where we are the most comfortable, and when that is threatened, it can send your whole world spiraling down. That is why it is the best and most frequently used horror setting. It is also precisely why writing and directing team Oskar Mellander and Tord Danielsson chose it for their feature film debut “The Evil Next Door.” Magnet Releasing will be bringing Sweden’s “The Evil Next Door” to American theaters and On-Demand platforms on June 25th, 2021.

Everything is changing for Shirin. She is moving, she just got married to Fredrik, and she is now a stepmother to his son Lucas. The new home seems to be the perfect place for them to grow into a family. When Fredrik leaves for work, Shirin begins to hear strange noises. They are not caused by inclement weather or subpar contracting; the noises are coming from the uninhabited side of the duplex. The noises could be chalked up to an animal making itself at home, but that wouldn’t solve the mystery of who is Lucas’ new friend.

This tried-and-true plot is horror 101 at this point, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t be effective if it is done well. Mellander and Danielsson did well in amping up the story in a couple of ways. First, they start with a cold open, a woman and her child Kim have been living in the duplex, and something evil is attacking them. Their story ends with Kim being lost to the other side. This adds tension from the outset as we know what fate awaits the young family, and the fun is seeing how things progress to that disastrous moment. The second thing they do is provide one of the most beloved horror elements, a creepy kid.

While the directors did add a little of their spice to the film, it’s basically like adding a new cheese to your mac and cheese recipe. The base is excellent and has been for generations. The new cheese lends a barely perceptible little zing but is far from a reinvention or anything to get too excited by. “The Evil Next Door” has a few minor issues. They should have done a find all for “Shirin screams” and deleted twenty-five percent of the screaming and replaced it with a different reaction. The other issue is the CGI work on the ghosts. It works great for the quick atmospheric bits, but the longer they are on screen, the worse it gets. The result is a bit like what you’d see if they tried to CGI Golem for “Lord of the Rings” in 1994.

Mellander and Danielsson should be incredibly proud of “The Evil Next Door.” It is generally a success in the three P’s, plot, performances, and pacing. If a director nails those three things, complaints will be few and far between. If they gain confidence from the quality of this product and use that to add more flair to their next script, they could have bright futures ahead of them. If not, they may end up living in a haunted duplex because no one ever hires them again. “The Evil Next Door” is a three out of 5 for solidly nailing basics. However, its lack of creativity makes it too predictable, resulting in a struggle to maintain full attention.

Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Director: Oskar Mellander, Tord Danielsson
Producer: Gila Bergqvist Ulfung
Writer: Oskar Mellander, Tord Danielsson
Release Date: June 25th, 2021
Runtime: 1h 28m