50 Worst Movie Neighbours
Don't lend them any sugar...
Richard Straker and Kurt Barlow - Salems Lot (1979)
The Neighbour: A newcomer to Jerusalem’s Lot, antiques dealer Richard Straker (James Mason) takes out a lease on the town’s abandoned hilltop mansion for both he and his suspiciously absent friend, Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder).
Why They’re The Worst: The antique business is a cover, a sham to mask their true agenda - turning the townspeople into vampires by Barlow, an ancient bloodsucker.
Joyce - Edward Scissorhands (1990)
The Neighbour: Busty temptress Joyce (Kathy Baker) wastes little time in getting to know the Boggs’ family’s new addition; Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp), even offering him the opportunity to go into business with her.
Why They’re The Worst: When Joyce doesn’t get what she wants (a compliant Edward, who’ll “service” her) she throws a hissy fit (she reports back to the townsfolk that he attempted to rape her.) A neighbour you’d constantly be wary of; did she really want me to mow the lawn or was that a euphemism?...
Ted Maltin - Jingle All The Way (1996)
The Neighbour: An obnoxious specimen, Ted (Phil Hartman) resides next door to Howard (Arnold Schwarzenegger) with whom he shares a tumultuous neighbourly bond. His goody two shoes persona borders on irritating as he tries to prove he’s a better father by lavishing his son with glamourous Christmas gifts.
Why They’re The Worst: He steals Howard’s favourite Christmas tradition - placing the star atop the tree before landing a smooch on the man’s wife.
Dick and Jane Harper - Fun With Dick and Jane (2005)
The Neighbour: Vice President of media corporation Globodyne, Dick (Jim Carrey) finds himself jobless the same day his wife, Jane (Tea Leoni) quits hers. On the verge of eviction, the two turn to a life of crime to pave their way.
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Why They’re The Worst: In an attempt to assuage his wife’s downtrodden feelings towards their poverty, Dick nabs turf from his neighbours lawns to spruce up their own. What he creates is a street with patchy grass and pissed-off locals.
Katie and Robbie - Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
The Neighbour: Robbie’s (Brady Allen) only a kid, but he’s darned spooky - crawling into bed with his neighbour Alex (Kathryn Newton), and talking to imaginary people. And his mother? Katie’s (Katie Featherston) not been herself for a while...
Why They’re The Worst: They’re possessed! The black magic iterations witnessed in previous Paranormal outings this time spills over into those in the close vicinity. Meaning no-one is safe from the demon Toby.
The Applegates - Meet The Applegates (1990)
The Neighbour: A group of giant Praying Mantises pose as a clean-cut family of four and move to suburban Ohio in order to blow up a local nuclear plant rendering the planet free of humans.
Why They’re The Worst: Summers would be hell. You’d be unable to put up fly catchers in case you caught Great Auntie Applegate during a visit.
Beverly Sutphin - Serial Mom (1994)
The Neighbour: An upstanding citizen with an impeccable moral code, Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) is the picture of apple-pie Americana. A dentist husband, two loving children and a fondness for recycling, she appears to be the ideal neighbour.
Why They’re The Worst: ... but she ain’t. She’ll murder anyone who rubs her up the wrong way. Stolen parking spaces, harsh words - all perfect fodder to guarantee your place six feet under.
Thomas Kub - Project X (2012)
The Neighbour: An unpopular high school kid, Thomas (Thomas Mann) is the kind of boy you’d take home to meet the parents. Quiet, unassuming, probably a virgin.
Why They’re The Worst: Along with his buddies Costa and J.B. he chucks a gargantuan house party, resulting in a full SWAT team making an appearance as well as an insane drug dealer setting fire to cars with a flame thrower.
Charlie - Columbus Circle (2010)
The Neighbour: A long-con man, Charlie (Jason Lee) spies an opportunity and seizes it, particularly when he and his girlfriend collaborate on doing the dirty on their new reclusive neighbour, Abigail (Selma Blair.)
Why They’re The Worst: As if beating his girlfriend wasn’t bad enough, the fights are part of an elaborate scheme to swindle Abigail out of her vast fortune.
And he kills a load of people unnecessarily, too.
Amy - Compulsion (2013)
The Neighbour: In this remake of the South Korean flick, 301, 302 , Heather Graham’s obsessive home chef, Amy, spends her days planning meals for her unappreciative beau down to the last detail - often wandering into Lynchian cooking show segment daydreams.
Why They’re The Worst: When Saffron (Carrie-Anne Moss) moves in across the hall, Amy refuses to stop creating elaborate culinary dishes so begins palming them off on her unwilling neighbour. Relentlessly so.
Gem Seddon is 12DOVE's west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.
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