“Loathe Thy Neighbor” is a low budget Canadian indie film shot in Bruce County, Ontario.
One can’t deny certain of its comedic elements but it is more of a character study than a comedy. Deeply unhappy characters seldom craft a comedy.
City slicker Will Larkfield (Brennan Clost) inherits a farm from his father who had set himself on fire in a Toronto subway station as after all he always wanted to be the centre of attention. Will has a multitude of allergies and his arrival at the farm is marked by the non-delivery of his EpiPen to neighbour Wanda Bellerose’s apiary. Wanda (Lauren Holly) is a cranky and provocative women with nary a kind or welcoming word for Will the “yuppy”. Valerie (Brittany Raymond), Wanda’s daughter, is a kleptomaniac.
Will, Wanda and Valerie are unhappy and possibly miserable characters masking their unhappiness through burying or camouflaging it through character flaws. We obtain hints of the rationale for their underlying misery but the film fails to delve deeper than this scratch on the surface but searching for that on our part may add some attraction to the film. Why do these characters act against social norms?
Weed smoking Officer Norwood of the local constabulary and the zany delivery lady Daphne lend a comedic bent to the film.
Joe (Shaun Benson) is the somewhat eccentric sage operating like the grassy character median before the East German section of the Berlin Wall.
The miserable, jolly and the wise are the buffet table offering a bit of everything for the viewer.
And yes there is an evil and seedy corporation lurking in the fields oddly uniting these diverse characters.
So disappointing to see that $10 US bill change hands especially in this day and age of strained U.S. Canada relations! And the Americanization of “neighbor” is slap in the face to Canadian viewers?
You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLMf481wY0Q
The film is directed by Sergio Navarreta.
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film Rating 72/100.
The film has a Canada wide theatrical release 29August2025.
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