In one of Joe Dante‘s non-Creature Features, Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher are young parents living in a seemingly idyllic suburban cul-de-sac, inhabited by suspicious busybodies. Their patriotic veteran neighbour Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) wages war on the elderly Walter (Gale Gordon) when the latter’s dog Queenie (Darla, best known for playing Precious in Silence of the Lambs) makes her regular visits to his lawn, while Rumsfield’s trophy wife Bonnie (Wendy Schaal) tries desperately to keep the peace.
When Bonnie attempts to return Queenie to her owner to find him missing, attention turns to the newest neighbours on the block, the Klopeks – rarely seen by day, and letting their house and yard grow dilapidated in contrast to the perfectly manicured and proudly painted adjoining homes. Logical explanations fall by the wayside as the free-loading and apparently unemployed Art (Rick Ducommun) posits increasingly wild theories on Walter’s disappearance and the Klopeks’ involvement, much to the amusement of home-alone teen Ricky (Corey Feldman.)
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