''Naboer'' ( en, Next Door, italic=yes) is a

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, directed by

Pål Sletaune Pål Sletaune (born 4 March 1960) is a Norwegian film director and photographer. His films include '' Junk Mail'', '' Naboer'' and '' The Monitor''. He was awarded the Amanda Award in 1997, and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award in 2020. Early life ...

. In the movie, the protagonist John ( Kristoffer Joner) is drawn into a violent, sexual game by his two beautiful female neighbours. ''Naboer'' received an over-18

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

in Norway, which had only happened to four Norwegian movies before. Upon release it was well received by critics. Sletaune stated "I worked hard with Kristoffer Joner to make the character into something which would interest the audience".

Plot

The main character, John (played by Kristoffer Joner), has just been dumped by his girlfriend Ingrid ( Anna Bache-Wiig). He then becomes acquainted with his next-door neighbours, the beautiful sisters Anne ( Cecilie Mosli) and Kim (

Julia Schacht Julia Elise Schacht (born 13 July 1982) is a Norwegian actress, born on the island of Helgøya in the lake Mjøsa. Biography Schacht was educated at Oslo National Academy of the Arts and Nordic Institute of Stage and Studio. She had her début ...

). The sisters know a strange amount of detail about him and it soon becomes clear that he is being entrapped in a twisted, psychological game.

Cast

Production

The movie was highly anticipated in Norway, particularly because of certain scenes with highly violent and sexual content. For its cinematic review, ''Naboer'' received an over-18 rating, which had only happened to four Norwegian movies before, namely

Pål Bang-Hansen Pål Bang-Hansen (29 July 1937 – 25 March 2010) was a Norwegian actor, film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is particularly known as a television personality and film expert at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, leading the te ...

's ''Douglas'' in 1970, Per Blom's ''Mother's house'' in 1974, Lasse Glomm's ''Stop it!'' in 1980 and Svend Wam's ''

Hotel St. Pauli ''Hotel St. Pauli'' is a 1988 Norwegian drama film by Svend Wam, based upon the novel ''Jord!'' by Erland Kiøsterud. The movie is set in Copenhagen, Hamburg and the roads in between. It is about sex and violence in the Hamburg red light distri ...

'' in 1987.

Reception

At the time, Norwegian reviewers were highly positive to the movie. Jon Selås, writing for ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'', gave the movie six out of six points. Selås called Joner's performance the best of his career. ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

'''s Inger Bentzrud called the movie "intelligent", and gave it five out of six points. The movie was seen by 108,096 people in Norway. Internationally,

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

appreciated "the brilliant art direction and a gift for tension" but criticised the "classic misogynist panic" of the ending. The Cineuropa review praised the "excellent cinematography, production design and a haunting score". Adrian Wootton commented that ''Naboer'' was "very high quality film-making and a roller coaster ride that you are unlikely to forget". As of 2019, ''Naboer'' consistently features in top ten lists of Scandinavian horror films.

Box office

The film took $1,277,769 worldwide after its release in 2005. When it was re-released in 2006, it took $19,677.

Awards

* Kristoffer Joner won the 2005 Amanda Award for best actor at the Norwegian International Film Festival * The film won the 2005 Méliès d'Argent award from the Cinénygma Luxembourt International Film Festival and received a Special Mention from Jury of Grand Prix Cinénygma. *Young European Jury Award at 2006

Rouen Nordic Film Festival The Rouen Nordic Film Festival (french: Festival du Cinéma Nordique) was a film festival hold in Rouen, France for screening and competition films made in Nordic and Baltic countries, the Netherlands and Belgium. In December 2010, the organisers ...

*Black Tulip Award at the 2006

Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival The Imagine Film Festival, formerly Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (AFFF), also known as Imagine Fantastic Film Festival or simply Imagine, is an annual film festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The festival was created in 1991 as the Amsterda ...

References

External links

* *{{Amg movie, 330706, Next Door 2005 films 2000s thriller films 2000s Norwegian-language films Swedish thriller films Norwegian thriller films Danish thriller films Films directed by Pål Sletaune 2000s Swedish films