Suburbanite (2016) – a weirdly familiar serenade to suburb anxiety

Alright now, I caught Suburbanite back at Stockholm Film Festival in ’16, in one of those small cramped screening rooms where you’re squished between someone loudly munching popcorn and someone whispering “fan vilken konstig film” (“damn, what a weird movie”) every five minutes. Good times, I guess.

Anyway, Clayne Crawford—who you probably recognize from the Lethal Weapon series remake or Rectify—he’s front and center here, perfectly cast as Mack, an ordinary dude whose life is basically a beige IKEA couch—comfy but painfully dull. Until one day, Angela Bettis (horror fans know her well from May) drops into his well-trimmed lawn-life, kick-starting all sorts of suburban paranoia and anxiety. Director Andy Lohrenz (nope, I’d never heard of him either) has clearly binged way too much David Lynch, channeling a kinda ironic weirdness I couldn’t quite place. But hell, it keeps you watching.

What I definitly loved was the atmosphere of unease—think of it like midsummer afton at your in-laws’ summerhouse, cosy on the surface but hiding something awkwardly unsettling beneath the grill sausages. Lohrenz nails that tension, specially when the neighbors start throwing shade, smiling in that creepy Svensson style—”man kände igen sig”, as we Swedes like to say.

Is this a perfect movie? Nej för fan (“hell no”)! Sometimes it’s too bizarre, some plot-threads hanging looser than my old ABBA t-shirt. But there’s a burning honesty behind Mack’s suburban freak-out. Who hasn’t felt trapped sometimes, staring at those gosh-darned hedges and wondering if Johnny-next-door might be a psycho?

Funny thing, after the screening I caught myself eyeing my own neighbour suspiciously—for days. And Björn, if you’re reading this, sorry mate—it wasn’t personal. Blame Suburbanite.

So give it a go if you feel brave. But don’t blame me if you start doubting the intentions of friendly weekend grillmästare across the lawn. You’ve been warned!

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