Rear Window is a Slow Burn Thriller that Will Fill You With Fear

 

Credit to ‘Rear Window’: A Classic Murder Mystery and Strangely Timeless Exploration of Isolation — Bloody Disgusting

I have been constantly told by many horror fans on social media, that I should check out an Alfred Hitchcock film called Rear Window. I was finally able to watch the film when I realized that the film was added to Shudder for the month of October. I thought watching this movie was the perfect time to check it out, because I needed a major distraction. 

I was hit with a horrible stomach bug this weekend, and I needed a great film to make me forget the pain I was currently experiencing in the pit of my stomach. Once I started watching this film, I was HOOKED. 

I think this is one of the best thriller films I have ever watched in my life. 

Rear Window follows the story of a man who finds out that one of his neighbors killed his wife. 

Credit to How Did “Rear Window” Choreograph the Actions of All its Actors Across Such a Large Set? | Read | The Take

A man named Jeff is currently recovering from some type of accident, and he is confined to a wheelchair for the time being. He finds a way to spend his time by watching his neighbors from his apartment window, but he ends up witnessing something that is so freaking scary. 

He finds out that one of his neighbors possibly murdered his wife. He ends up becoming obsessed by this spectacle, becoming determined to find any single shred of evidence to take down his neighbor. His girlfriend, Lisa, was against this crazy idea at first, but once she sees something creepy through the window of their neighbor, she decides to become Jeff’s sidekick. 

Jeff tries to get a detective to help him with the case, but since there is no actual proof of the neighbor’s possible murder, no arrest can be made. Jeff becomes desperate, and decides to enlist the help of Lisa, and a friend who looks after him, named Stella. 

This leads to a tense third act that made my heart stop. 

The neighbor fights back once he realizes that Jeff is trying to turn him in. 

Credit to Rear Window | Worldly & Wiley

Once Jeff, his wife, and the rest of the neighborhood learn that a dog was murdered by the neighbor for trying to dig into the garden, Jeff decides to have his two sidekicks check out the specific spot that the dog was trying to dig up. When Jeff provides a distraction at night to make sure the neighbor won’t witness their plan, Stella and Lisa go during the night with a shovel to dig up the garden. 

The duo don’t find anything, and Lisa makes the risky decision to go up to the neighbor’s apartment, to search for any evidence. Jeff and Stella go into panic mode when the neighbor returns, and he attempts to harm Lisa. Jeff calls the police to have them arrest Lisa, in order to save her. Lisa secretly had one piece of evidence with her, that she shows to Jeff and Stella:

The wedding ring that belonged to the neighbor’s wife. 

This realization leads to the neighbor looking up, and finding that Jeff has been the one watching him the whole time. 

This part honestly scared me. The way that this scene was executed was done so well!

Jeff tells Stella to get out of the apartment, knowing that the neighbor will be coming for him. The neighbor breaks into his apartment, and Jeff uses a camera to flash him multiple times to prevent him from attacking him. The neighbor lunges himself at Jeff, and while Jeff is trying to fend him off, the neighbor dangles him from the window, attempting to kill him. 

And he does this, while the authorities are about to arrive to Jeff’s apartment!

I think the neighbor by then didn’t give a damn, and wanted to end the man that led to his demise. 

Luckily, Jeff is saved by two cops who catch him when he falls from the window. The neighbor is captured, and Lisa embraces Jeff, happy that he is alive. 

The film ends with Jeff sleeping, both of his legs now in casts, as Lisa sits next to him, reading a magazine, the couple in pure bliss. 

I loved this film. 

There was also a lot to this film that I really enjoyed as well, and it had to do with the background characters/neighbors. We got to witness other stories through Jeff’s eyes, and even they went through their own stories, and each of them are also getting their own happy endings toward the end of the film. 

I thought this was one of most creative ways to film a movie. I love it when films do unique things like this with their stories, and it definitely made the movie even more special!