Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » FANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘Next Door’

FANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘Next Door’

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez07/17/20223 Mins ReadUpdated:12/10/2022
Next Door - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Next Door - But Why Tho

Next Door captures an absurd and unlucky morning-after when Chan-woo wakes up to the dead body of his annoying neighbor. Directed and written by Yeom Ji-ho, Next Door is dark, sometimes humorous, and takes Murphy’s Law to the extreme.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

You see, Chan-woo (Oh Dong-min) is a bit of a failure. He’s been trying to enlist in the police academy for five years and hasn’t been able to accomplish, well, anything. When his friend offers to pay the administrative fees for his most recent application for the police academy if Chan-woo goes out to drink with him, he can’t really say no.

Soju, soju, and more soju lead Chan-woo to wake up covered in bruises, with an epic hangover and a blank space where his memories of the night before should be. Then he notices that he’s not in his apartment, and a body is lying in the middle of a pool of blood on the floor. After realizing that he’s in the home of the noisy neighbors, he finds himself trapped in their apartment. With insistent preachers and a landlady keeping in the apartment, he uses all the investigative skills he’s acquired through many failed exams to unravel the whodunnit.

Writer-director Yeom is able to craft a detailed and entertaining story that twists and turns, and he does so by focusing on primarily one location and only a handful of actors. A debut feature, Yeom manages to show the audience every painstaking detail of Chan-woo’s panic and exploration of the apartment without using heavy exposition as a crutch. In fact, by centering the audience’s knowledge around only what Chan-woo knows, the film’s mystery unfolds seamlessly with some surprises along the way that keep you invested.

Next Door has fairly serious moments, aided by a score and tense atmosphere, but it holds on tight to its darkly humorous core. By keeping that front and center, the audience is able to stick with the frantic pace that Chan-woo pushes as he questions his sanity and whether or not he killed the neighbor – or if something larger is at play.

As Chan-woo, Oh Dong-min is the perfect character to both laugh at and feel bad for as his already shitty life somehow just gets worse. Without enough money to pay an application fee and no real future unless he can file his application to the police academy before time runs out, actor Oh is a balance of ignorance and desperation that works exceptionally well for the film.

Chan-woo is a man with a lot on his mind, not many prospects, and has somehow wandered into the worst crime scene imaginable. Completely unequipped to handle the pressure, Oh’s reactions are not only funny in a black comedy way but also relatable. I mean, none of us would be as stoic as John Wick at the sight of a dead body or the prospect that we might have done it.

Next Door is a whole lot of tense fun and works from start to finish. While it offers up darkly comedic elements that almost delve into a comedy of errors, it also hits the thriller side of things well. In a tight space without fear of showcasing injuries and confusion alike, Next Door is a home run debut for Yeom Ji-ho and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Next Door screened as a part of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2022. 

Next Door
  • 8/10
    Rating - 8/10
8/10

TL;DR

Next Door is a whole lot of tense fun and works from start to finish. While it offers up darkly comedic elements that almost delve into a comedy of errors, it also hits the thriller side of things well. In a tight space without fear of showcasing injuries and confusion alike, Next Door is a home run debut for Yeom Ji-ho and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleFANTASIA FEST 2022: Folklore in Vibrant Color with ‘Inu-Oh’
Next Article REVIEW: ‘This is GWAR’ Is the Honest Story Behind a Unique Set of Artists
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 11
8.5
Anime

REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ Season 2 Episode 11 – “Hey, It’s a Kaiju”

By Allyson Johnson09/11/2025

The ragtag group faces down the mysterious kaiju in the thrilling and beautifully animated DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 11.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here