This week sees the release of Wild Canaries, an indie caper that takes cues from Woody Allen with a millennial romantic comedy at its core. A young Brooklyn couple find themselves tangled in investigating the possible murder of their elderly neighbour. Barri, the unemployed wife of the duo is quickly unraveling, even resorting to wearing a bucket hat, trenchcoat and large shades to assist in creating her own IRL version of Serial. Noah, played by the film’s writer and director Lawrence Michael Levine, is the more cynical half that hopes their unassuming neighbour isn’t capable of murder. The film is high on charm, lovably imperfect characters and rounded out by a bouncy dub reggae score. Neighbours are a complicated lot, and often the subject of film. Let's revisit some classic movies about the people that live above, below, or too close for comfort to all of us.

SISTERS (1973)

Sisters ranks high among fans of Brian de Palma as the director’s ode to Hitchcock or early Polanski films perfected with his own stylistic lens. When reporter Grace Collier witnesses a murder in her apartment building she breaks rule number one of the hood: NO SNITCHING. Since she recently wrote an article about police brutality the cops are all “Bitch please!” and not interested in solving the the case or even acknowledging that a crime took place. What unfolds is part Rear Window with a freakish twist involving conjoined twins and the incomparable character actor William Finley. So I’m pretty much telling you its flawless. Sisters is like a perfect episode of The Twilight Zone, especially since it takes place on Staten Island, an area most New Yorkers can’t place on a map and that I always assumed was only inhabited by midgets.

On a scale from conjoined twin neighbours that you never see to the neighbour you witness getting homicidal: 2/10

If Grace could have just minded her damn business she might not be in this position. Just sayin. Close your blinds and keep it moving!

THE ONE I LOVE (2014)

A relationship on the rocks transports a couple to a countryside retreat suggested by their therapist, Sam Malone from Cheers. The cottage is not only idyllic but possibly an alternate reality involving better versions of themselves that live in the guest house next door. On a side note, never listen to Ted Danson. I don't know if its his delivery or that mane of lush immaculate white hair but the guy just cannot be trusted. The One I Love feels reminiscent of  themes seen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and makes us question what if what you really wanted in your mate was just a few footsteps away? The premise allows each person to really examine what went wrong and what is right about them as a couple and The One I Love is an otherworldly love story with real deal dialogue for the cynical romantic.

On a scale from secluded Airbnb to clones of yourself living next door: 3/10

This is a Groupon getaway email that I would probably delete because shit just might get too real with the #bae and sometimes ignorance is bliss.

THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE (1976)

The title says it all. An unusual movie about a creepy little girl. Jodie Foster, tiny adult human fresh off her role of tiny fashion hooker in Taxi Driver plays Rynn Jacobs, a teenager who lives with her parents. Sounds pretty chill right? Yet since her neighbours haven't seen her parents in a long time they are all suspicious of a Weekend at Bernie’s type of situation. Everyone wants to know where the fuck they are and are always popping in on Rynn demanding answers. One of the strangest things about this movie is how almost all of the adults are predatory or meddling with Rynn’s idyllic parent free existence. Leave Rynn alone! What teenager hasn’t dreamed of living on their own? An uncomfortable supporting role from Martin Sheen elevates this overlooked movie. Conclusion: At any given moment there could be weird kids living next door with their dead parents in the basement.

On a scale from quiet dead neighbour to bitchy neighbour who is all up in your business: 4/10

Though imagining a dead body taking a dirt nap in a nearby apartment is awful, Rynn and her only friend, a boy magician friend are pretty harmless. Do you Rynn, do you.

MOMMY (2014)

Xavier Dolan creates movies about families that make you feel better about your own situation. One of his first films I Killed My Mother was at times hard to watch, a gut punch of a movie about a twat of a teenager and his tense relationship with his single mother. The premise was interesting but their constant shrill screaming at one another made me watch forty percent of this on mute with subtitles. In Mommy he casts the same mother in Anne Doval, here playing recent widow Diana, trying to live with her unpredictable, and sometimes violet 15 year old son Steve. The woman deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for putting up with his shit and parts of the movie serve as an unintended ad for birth control. They are alone in their own crazy universe until a curious neighbour, Kyla, agrees to help Diana. When I see a disaster I tend to move away from it, others, I guess are compelled to run towards the crazy. Dolan's film's are art house takes on dissecting the family dynamic. At the very least you reflect upon your past offenses and think "That time I told my mom that she was the worst wasn't really that bad".

From living in a quiet suburb to living next door to a teenage maniac: 4/10

As with Sisters we think Kyla the neighbour created her own problems when joining this broken family. Everyone loves a project but that's what those pottery painting classes are for hunty.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

Goth teen dream Edward Scissorhands is a just a little bit different than his neighbours. His lonely existence is interrupted one day by an Avon lady Peg (movie mom of my dreams, Dianne Wiest) that quickly becomes his hype man. She turns Edward from social experiment to the only guy in the neighbourhood that can turn your hedge into a majestic animal worthy of NatGeo’s Instagram feed or get your hair laid for the Gods. The boy makes Vidal Sassoon look like a Hair Cuttery apprentice and along the way charms his skeptical suburban neighbours and even a reluctant Kim Boggs (Winona Ryder at her most washed out hair combination ever). Its a lovely story painted in a pastel palette reminiscent of a box of Ladurée macaroons and perfectly accented by Colleen Atwood’s on point costume design.

On a scale from reclusive inventor that lives in a mansion nearby to having a Scissor-handed roommate: 10/10

This is a dope neighbour to have in your back pocket as everyone knows a good hairdresser is priceless. And who could not love Edward? This is prime Johnny Depp in one of his most lovable roles before he tried to shell us shit sandwiches like Mortdecai.

THE SENTINEL (1977)

In the hierarchy of bad neighbours, having masturbating yogis and a blind priest that is guarding the gates of hell, which also happens to be your apartment building is pretty shitty. When Allison, a young model with her own past demons moves into a Brooklyn brownstone her problem is not exorbitant rents or noisy hipsters, its a parade of kooky neighbours that may or may not be real and Father Halloran, a reclusive blind priest that inhabits the floor upstairs. Sinister dreams and attending a birthday party for a cat are only the beginning of Allison's troubles in everyone's favorite borough. This movie was made in the 70s so we don’t even get to indulge in liking the cat birthday party photos on Instagram and we also never see her taking advantage of the areas many coffee shops or tight brunch spots so in my opinion she should just move back to Manhattan. There’s also a small supporting role from a hunky young Jeff Goldblum. Conclusion: If you find a fully furnished apartment listed for $400 in Brooklyn assume there is a catch.

On a scale from religious old lady neighbour to straight up demons living upstairs: 8/10

First of all, this apartment is too big for one person Allison! You should have settled for a well lit studio or a junior one bedroom dummy.

CANDYMAN (1992)

Growing up in a city I was always reassured that horror movie monsters like Jason Vorhees and Freddy Kruger couldn’t reach me because they only inhabited the suburbs, and wouldn’t dare set foot in the hood. Then in 1992 Clive Barker fucked up my whole theory by releasing Candyman and bringing the first movie boogeyman to the inner city. In the film, a Chicago housing project is haunted by the urban legend of Candyman, a dangerous tall figure with a hook for a hand that is summoned when you say his name three times in a mirror. No thank you,.I’ll take the drug dealers and the streets littered with garbage instead of conjuring this guy. I will say however, Candyman’s long lady like fur coat is really on point with this androgyny trend that is flooding the Fall runways.

On a scale from friendly crackhead that lives in your hallway to possible serial killer with a hook hand: 10/10

I would singlehandedly burn down this housing project before I'd call Candyman my neighbour.

LET THE FIRE BURN (2013)

In the Spring of 1985 Philadelphia was rocked by a dispute between a bunch of hippy liberationists and their innocent neighbours. MOVE, a group that doesn’t want to be called a cult but had some very cult like tendencies, set up their crude residence in a residential area of West Philadelphia. It resembled a crude tree house with bull horns that blasted their manifestos at all hours and definitely took a big shit on everyone’s property values in the area. The group's many wandering naked children (who did not attend school), raw sewage (they weren’t hip to the whole indoor plumbing game) and their general odd behavior started a war between the neighbours. Then the city stepped in and dropped a bomb on their house. You know, what any rational person would do. Yes, an actual small bomb. Yes, its insane. And yes, its true. Watch this movie when you want to feel better about your neighbour who leaves his shoes or recycling in the hallway. It could always be worse my friend.

On a scale from hippy stoner neighbour that offers you pot brownies to an aggressive cult that gets your house blown up: 10/10

This story is SO unbelievable. The MOVE bombing destroyed many other homes in the area of people that were just trying to live and not be a part of this counter culture movement. Not groovy at all.

ONIBABA (1964)

Onibaba is a Japanese horror movie full of folklore, dramatic lighting and one very large pair of eyebrows that are most definitely not on fleek. After a soldier is drafted into Japan’s civil war, his mother and wife are left behind to survive without a breadwinner. The two women begin hunting fallen samurais and hawking their armor and belongings for food. There are heavy undertones of jealousy between the mother in law and the soldier's wife, and I kept hoping the movie would crescendo with the daughter in law triumphing by  holding down this evil woman and maniacally plucking her angry eyebrows. Instead we're treated to a classy black and white movie about revenge, a dish best served with a kabuki mask and a drum filled score.

On a scale from living in the Japanese countryside alone to battling your mother in law who is also your neighbour: 7/10

Do. Not. Want. Who wants to live in the plains of Japan’s countryside with your man’s mom. Move to Tokyo, now!

EATING RAOUL (1982)

This black comedy centers around a New York couple that find themselves plagued by raised rents and a building that is recently overrun with horny swingers. When one of said swingers, who feel more like zombies from The Walking Dead being led by their boners, tries to rape the wife of this couple they accidentally murder him with a frying pan. But after a few quick calculations they decide to turn the accident into an enterprise to save their apartment, start their dream restaurant and get rid of a few “sex crazed maniacs” along the way. “Do you realise that we have made almost a thousand dollars in two days, tax free, just by killing people?” is a direct quote from my life, ahem, I mean this movie. Since its the early 80s we’re beat over the head with a lot of schlocky grandpa jokes about sex, lube, golden showers, and orgies but it still remains a clever classic of indie New York cinema.

On a scale from dominatrix next door to extra handsy swingers that attack you every time you answer the door for takeout: 8/10

The neighbours in this movie are like creatures in a video game that keep reappearing so I sympathise with this couple. Your apartment should be your sanctuary to eat Thai food, watch 30Rock reruns in your underwear and not be molested by the man from 2B in corduroy bell bottoms.