One of my favorite films of all time.Art's character is bar none my favorite comic performance.The ending "it's us" monologue is historic.The soundtrack, the neighborliness, it's all just so fun and wonderful.
Cinemas
Directed by Joe Dante
The 'Burbs
A rewatchable, ensemble comedy.
Comedy
Horror
Thriller
1989
1h 42m
3.5(112k)via LetterboxdTom Hanks + 4 more
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
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Cast & crew
6What people say
there is a sequence where satanists tie Tom Hanks to a BBQ grill… god i love 80s movies
Dante's slapstick Rear Window. Understand the objection to the ending—which on its surface undermines Hanks' righteous realization that suburban conformity is much darker and weirder than any strange outsider—but even if the voyeur element isn't as strong the same is true here of Hitchcock's version imo: the fact that our hero ends up being right about his creepy neighbors doesn't really matter because whether its true or not the expression here of a truly unhinged desire for murderous cannibals to have moved in next door, under the presumption of heroically restoring "normalcy", is deeply revealing of the perverse psychology and hysteria of suburban America. Feels particularly apt in the age of QAnon.Full discussion on episode 162 of my podcast SLEAZOIDS.
Common questions
What is The 'Burbs about?+
It follows a suburban man who, along with his eccentric neighbors, becomes convinced that the strange family who just moved in next door is hiding dark, dangerous secrets.
Who directed The 'Burbs?+
Joe Dante directed the film in 1989, drawing on his background in genre filmmaking and dark comedies like Gremlins.
Is The 'Burbs a horror film?+
It is primarily a dark comedy that satirizes suburban paranoia, though it borrows heavily from horror tropes and atmosphere.
