You know who gets a bad rap in movies? Cats. When was the last time that you saw a cat as a hero? In movies, cats either belong to crazy old ladies, or, more often, they leap out of the darkness in horror movies, creating cheap scares. (Personally, I've never seen a cat do anything like that.) While dogs are always loyal companions or heroes, cats are background players at best. The Canadian thriller Good Neighbors does some unusual things, but having cats in a positive light may be the most unique aspect of this odd little movie.

Good Neighbors is set in snowy Montreal. Victor (Jay Baruchel), a school teacher, has just moved into an apartment building, where he meets his new neighbors, Spencer (Scott Speedman) and Louise (Emily Hampshire). Spencer, having been in a car accident which claimed his wife, is confined to a wheelchair and never leaves his apartment. He is moody and only confides in Louise. Louise is fairly cut off as well, as her two cats are her best friends. There have been three murders in the area, and Louise, convinced that a serial killer is on the loose, scours newspapers for information about the killings. When one of her co-workers is killed, Louise becomes more determined to get information and she feels that the police aren't taking things seriously. Victor agrees to walk Louise home from work every night and he begins to fall for her, but she remains distant. As the winter drags on, the three neighbors begin to learn more and more about one another, and it becomes clear that everyone has secrets.

First of all, let me say this, if you haven't seen the trailer for Good Neighbors and you have any urge to see the movie, AVOID THE TRAILER, as it spoils one of the movie's biggest twists. I would be hard-pressed to think of another recent film where the preview ruined the entire movie that way that this one did. Bad move, Magnolia. So, having said that, it's very difficult for me to evaluate the movie as a thriller. If I hadn't known the twist, I can only imagine that the movie would have seemed infinitely better.

I can, however, comment on the rest of the movie. Good Neighbors is too scattered for its own good. It could have either been about a neighborhood living in fear of a serial killer or about a tenant adjusting to a new life in a quirky apartment building. The blending of the two simply doesn't work. The serial killer story eventually does develop...sort of, but it's never clear. In the beginning, it's interesting that Louise seems more concerned than everyone else, but this wears thin and while the killer's identity is shocking, it doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the film.

The story of the three tenants doesn't work either. The script by Director Jacob Tierney, from a novel by Chrystine Brouillet, decides to exclude us from the characters thoughts and motivations. As with the serial killer angle, this works well at first, as we are trying to figure these characters out, but as time goes on, we want to have an idea of what someone is thinking, and the movie never lets us very far below the surface. Victor seems pretty obvious, but is he as clueless as he appears? We learn the most about Spencer, but still get little insight. Louise remains the most inscrutable, and, in the end, it seems that all she really cares about are cats. The movie also takes some odd detours concerning the few other tenants in the building. One gets the feeling that these side-trips felt more organic in the book.

By extending its reach too far, Good Neighbors squanders good opportunities. If the movie had focused on Victor's experience of moving into a new building and dealing with new neighbors in a neighborhood which may have a killer on the loose, it could have been a nice portrait of anxiety and alienation. The movie appears to be moving in that direction, as much is made about English speaking vs. French speaking in Montreal, but a true portrait of what it's like to be an outsider never emerges. Good Neighbors feels more like a work in progress than a fully developed feature, but at least the three cats in the film come across as nice and loving.

Good Neighbors never explains the multitude of fish either on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no intrusive grain (even when we have a snowy white background) and no defects from the source material. This can be a dark movie at times, and the image does get a little too dark in some scenes. The colors look good and are presented naturally. The level of detail is good, as we can make out textures on objects, and the night time exterior shots show good depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which run at 48 kHz and an average of 20 Mbps. The track delivers clear dialogue and sound effects. This is a nice mix, as we get some very nice stereo and surround effects which illustrate sounds coming from other apartments, either beside or above the characters. The effects coming from the front or rear channels create a new sense of space. The subwoofer effects work well here too, as we can hear people stomping around.

The Good Neighbors Blu-ray Disc contains only a few extras. There is one DELETED SCENE which runs about 3 minutes and shows the event which put Spencer in the wheelchair. "HDNet: A Look at Good Neighbors" (5 minutes) is a very standard "making of" which is comprised mostly of clips from the movie. We get very brief comments from Director Tierney, as well as Jay Baruchel and Emily Hampshire who talk about their characters. The final extra is the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.