The Girl Next Door (2007 film)
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| Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door | |
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| Directed by | Gregory M. Wilson |
| Produced by | Andrew van den Houten William M. Miller |
| Written by | Daniel Farrands Philip Nutman |
| Narrated by | William Atherton |
| Starring | Blythe Auffarth Daniel Manche Blanche Baker Catherine Mary Stewart |
| Music by | Ryan Shore |
| Cinematography | William M. Miller |
| Editing by | M.J. Fiore |
| Distributed by | Modernciné Starz Home Entertainment (Region 1 DVD) |
| Release date(s) | 4 December 2007 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Girl Next Door is a 2007 film adaptation of the 1989 novel The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. It is loosely based on the true story of the murder of Sylvia Likens.
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[edit] Story
The story viewed through the eyes of the teenager David Moran (Daniel Manche) follows the fate of sisters Meg (Blythe Auffarth) and Susan Loughlin (Madeline Taylor), who become his new neighbors in 1950s USA. After an accident in which the sisters' parents were killed, they move to their aunt's house.
The aunt, Ruth Chandler (Blanche Baker), and her three sons live without a father, who ran away. The alcoholic Ruth soon starts to abuse the sisters, which ends with physical torture and sexual abuse of Meg imprisoned in the basement. Other children from the neighborhood join in the torture and do not report the crime.
[edit] Reception
As of April 2008, rating at IMDB was 7.2 from about 2,050 votes.[1] Reviews from critics were generally positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 62% "Fresh" rating.
Stephen King said about the movie, "The first authentically shocking American film I've seen since Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer over 20 years ago. If you are easily disturbed, you should not watch this movie. If, on the other hand, you are prepared for a long look into hell, suburban style, The Girl Next Door will not disappoint. This is the dark-side-of-the-moon version of Stand By Me."[2]
