The 'Burbs (1989)

Gremlins (1984) guru Joe Dante explores the dark secrets hiding behind the white picket fence in his zany horror comedy The 'burbs (1989). Tom Hanks stars as well-meaning suburbanite Ray Peterson, a square professional whose world takes a strange tilt with the arrival of his ornery neighbors. At first the Klopeks just seem like harmless oddballs, but as Peterson pokes around, he decides that he’s stumbled across a dangerous clutch of cannibals. Dante’s flick functions as a fun PG-rated send-up of middle-class mores, but it does make room for titillation––particularly when co-star Wendy Schaal struts onscreen.