The ‘Burbs ꙳꙳꙳꙳

“Hey, one of the Huns came out of the cave.”  Bruce Dern

“In Southeast Asia, we’d call this type of thing Bad Karma.” Bruce Dern

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. A week in Jonestown.” Carrie Fisher

The ‘Burbs is an underappreciated classic. The director, Joe Dante, managed to pull off a rare feat in Hollywood. He made a comedy/horror movie that’s not terrible. It’s not violent or gory but has the feel of an old-fashioned horror film.

Ray(Tom Hanks) fears that his new neighbors, the Klopeks, are up to no good. At the opening of the film, he wakes up and walks to the edge of his yard to investigate the strange noises coming from the Klopek’s house.

He turns and sees his militant neighbor, Rumsfield(Bruce Dern), watching him and lighting a cigar in the darkness. The theme from Patton quietly plays in the background. When Ray steps into his neighbor’s yard, a heavy wind picks up and nearly knocks him down. When he steps back into his yard, the wind stops.

The Neighborhood

The ‘Burbs never leaves its suburban setting. It’s a typical, American neighborhood(for the upper-middle class) filled with green lawns, healthy trees, and dogs that run to the neighbor’s yard to do their business.

The Klopek’s house is a decrepit, gothic mess with dying trees and a brown lawn. It is the sore eye of the neighborhood; many of you have likely experienced your own Klopek house. Hopefully, none of you are unfortunate enough to have neighbors like the Klopeks.

The Klopeks

The Klopeks are  Dr. Werner(Henry Gibson of Laugh-In fame), Hans(Courtney Gains), and Uncle Reuben(Brother Theodore). Hans is the young, skittish Klopek who’s seen driving his garbage out to the curb and beating it with a shovel.

He has beady eyes, inconsistent facial hair, and a penchant for Pinocchio fashion. His uncle Reuben is a gruff man of few words and probably the scariest of the Klopeks.

He represents the horror stereotype of the scary German, but he does it well. Dr. Werner appears amiable and witty and tries to show his neighbors that his family isn’t completely crazy. Henry Gibson is perfect as the friendly, demented doctor.

Ray’s obnoxious neighbor Art(Rick Ducommun) presses Ray to confront the Klopeks. Art is a fast-talking, heavy eating, goofball who, along with Rumsfield, tries to convince the skeptical Ray that the Klopeks are pure evil.

Although Tom Hanks is the star of the film, the supporting characters steal the show. Hanks is believable as an average family man who dislikes confrontation, but he can be whiney and overly dramatic when faced with the crisis.

I like Hanks best as a comedic actor, and in 1989, his Oscar-winning reputation had yet to materialize. He was known for Splash, Bachelor Party, Turner and Hooch, and Big, but his dramatic roles in the late 80’s received less praise or attention.

Bruce Dern plays a slightly, crazed veteran who helps Ray and Art investigate their strange, new neighbors.

He wears military fatigues throughout the course of the film and carries a night vision scope, but he’s more comical than dangerous. In one scene, while standing guard with his rifle, he falls off the roof and shoots out a car window. As a goofy Rambo, he’s hilarious in every scene.

Carol(Carrie Fisher) tries to discourage her husband from spending his vacation in the ‘burbs, and she’s the sarcastic voice of reason in the film. She loves her husband but doesn’t hesitate to point out the absurdity of his actions. Carrie Fisher is charming and funny, and although her role in the film is small, she deserves more recognition for her talent. 

The ‘Burbs is a silly film, but it’s what I consider “good” silly. The camera moves around in a grander fashion than most comedy/horror movies.

When the tension builds, the camera captures the reactions of the neighbors in extreme close-ups. After cutting between these stunned reactions, the camera falls on a close-up of Queenie the poodle. Joe Dante doesn’t take his horror too serious, and that’s good.

The slapstick, dark humor, and above-average acting help create an extremely entertaining film. There is a fair amount of 80’s cheese, mostly supplied by Corey Feldman, but it doesn’t detract from the fun.