Director – Deon Taylor (Dead Tone, Nite Tales: The Movie)
Starring – Mike Epps (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Hangover), Katt Williams (Scary Movie V, Friday After Next), and Lil Duval (Meet the Blacks, Scary Movie V)
Release Date – 2021
Rating – 2.5/5
I’m grateful for any film that is able to be released in 2021. With the pandemic entering another phase it’s highly unlikely that we will see the quantity of movies that we were accustomed to any time soon. So, when I get something in now to review I think how fortunate it is that a movie was able to be made during this whole mess.
A week or so ago I received a package for the release of The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 which included a shirt, copy of the movie, popcorn and candy, and Ciroc. It was all housed inside of a bad ass coffin. It was the coolest package I had ever received which made me excited to check it out. I had never seen Meet the Blacks but I was looking forward to checking out this follow up.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows Carl Black (Epps) who survived the events of the first film and has now wrote a book about them. However, he has ran through all his money and is pinched to write a new novel. Uninspired and at his wit’s end he finds himself suspecting his new neighbor is a vampire after Cronut (Lil Duval) suggests it. Cronut is correct and soon Carl and his rag tag team of neighbors is forced to fight the neighbor and his horde of undead lackys. **Spoiler Alert**
I was sold on the movie by the film’s classic styled poster and Katt Williams playing a vampire. However, the movie was very unoriginal and the humor was extremely forced. I did like it a little more than the two Boo films but that’s not saying much.
The acting in this one is alright. The characters are exaggerated but not in a fun way. A good bit of the cast appeared in some of the Scary Movie films and the characters reminded me a lot of those. Some high energy and serious dedication but the humor doesn’t find it’s mark. With that being said, Rico could have been the center of the film. His personality and awkwardness reminded me a lot of the characters from a Chris Seaver film and that’s something I could really get behind.
The story for this one is predictable but has some pretty fun moments. The movie is painfully mediocre but the atmosphere and scenery is perfect for a late night monster movie or something to spin as you wait for Halloween. It’s not really scary and the humor misses at least 90% of the time but it does have some fun moments regardless of how bitter I sound in this review.
Finally, don’t expect a bloodbath with this one. The film doesn’t really feature practical effects but you can expect to see some visual effects. Some are solid enough but others are laughable. It’s shocking how uneven the visual effects are. Overall, The House Next Door is a movie that has phenomenal atmosphere and sets but the story is lacking. It deserves at least one watch but don’t expect a film that will stick with you.
