One man's quiet suburban life takes a sickening lurch for the worse when a young couple move into the deserted house next door. From the word go it is obvious these are not the quiet professional types who *should* be living in such a nice street. As more and more unbelievable events unfold, our hero starts to question his own sanity... and those of his family.
Acting
Belushi's physical descent into madness is art.
Direction
Avildsen treats sitcom premise like psychological horror.
Writing
Lampoon novel adapted by the guy who wrote M*A*S*H.
Director
John G. Avildsen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Belushi and Aykroyd fought over roles—Belushi wanted Vic, the chaos agent. Studio insisted he play the repressed straight man as punishment for his drug issues.
This bombed so hard it killed the Lampoon film brand until Vacation. Audiences wanted Animal House, got Buñuel in cul-de-sac drag.
US
