Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door DVD

...to something worse. Based on Jack Ketchum's bestselling novel by the same name and sourced from true events The Girl Next Door is a disturbing ride.

Few people who have seen The Girl Next Door has left without being disturbed, it's incredibly heartbreaking stuff to watch; made more disturbing my its excellent storytelling that shows this horrific tale coming from a time of relative innocence. There are few movies based in the 1950's ...
...And the film's opening moments lure you into a real false sense of security; you really think that this is going to be a relatively jolly movie with a firm centrepiece. I personally avoided the content of reviews for the movie focusing on the ratings alone, and it was rated incredibly highly by most online movie resources, and despite seeing the words disturbing and horrific I was fooled into thinking that this was going to be a nice movie.
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This year started disturbingly with a movie called The Girl Next Door, don't go thinking I have softened up by watching a romcom, although I have had my moments. This is not the 2004 movie starring Elisha Cuthbert, but something far darker.

Starting with a feel of Stephen Kings IT or Stand By Me, actor William Atherton (Hindenberg)tries to save a man on New York's busy streets; in doing so he is given the opportunity to reminisce on his past. Back in the 1950's young David now played by Daniel Manche is enjoying a bright summer day by a river catching crayfish. His joviality is heightened by the arrival of Meg (Blythe Auffarth) a slightly older girl with a charming manner about her. Captivated by both her smile and an unusual scar caused in a car accident David foresees this as being a summer like no other.

David was right in one sense but while he predicted a summer of fun and perhaps romance what he got was a summer of fear. A childhood game finds brother, sisters and friends playing a game of truth or dare, this game of borderline sexual discovery may lead to the unlucky victim being "touched up", but secretly despite their objections they all want to be the unlucky one. But this game spirals out of control when Meg and her sister Susan are found guilty of an offence, and alarmingly their aunt, whom they have been living with becomes involved in this game of erotic discovery.

Pushing the boundaries to disturbing new levels, the game turns to torture and rape, and then to something worse. Based on Jack Ketchum's bestselling novel by the same name and sourced from true events The Girl Next Door is a disturbing ride.

Few people who have seen The Girl Next Door has left without being disturbed, it's incredibly heartbreaking stuff to watch; made more disturbing my its excellent storytelling that shows this horrific tale coming from a time of relative innocence. There are few movies based in the 1950's that get bleak, let alone as dark as this movie. And the film's opening moments lure you into a real false sense of security; you really think that this is going to be a relatively jolly movie with a firm centrepiece. I personally avoided the content of reviews for the movie focusing on the ratings alone, and it was rated incredibly highly by most online movie resources, and despite seeing the words disturbing and horrific I was fooled into thinking that this was going to be a nice movie.

It takes a lot to drive emotion from me, but when I get some feelings from a movie I'm not too scared to let people know. I felt the effect of this movie to the pit of my stomach, so much so that I actually felt really ill. Now this is no horror movie, and certainly no gore film, in fact other than a little inappropriate touching you see very little, every aspect of this story from a sickening perspective is all done in the mind, it's all about the suggestion rather than the actual acts.

For once I find myself concerned over the child actors involved in this movie, most of whom were aged between 10-15 years of age. Because while this is a movie and actors are usually prepared for this sort of thing, I can't figure how any of the ten child actors could go away without being scarred by the film; I can only imagine and hope that there was a psychiatrist or some sort of councillor on hand to help them. I certainly as a viewer felt that I needed to talk to someone after simply watching the movie.

We are reminded daily of similar atrocities the names Ian Brady, Fred West, and Ian Huntley all spring to mind, each of them having a strong minded and actively involved (to a degree that I guess we will never really know) woman behind them; and that's what makes this so disturbing, the movies abuser or at least the person who holds the cards is a woman. I always find it hard to believe that someone capable of bringing life into the world, this Aunt is also a mother could be capable of harming life, certainly to this extent.

The Aunt is horrible and played by Blanche Baker the daughter of 50's sex symbol Carroll Baker (a nod is given to this relationship during the movie); you come away from the film hating the actress (because of her excellent and hard edged portrayal) as much as the character whom she plays. It is a truly magnificent performance, and had the movie been given more support certainly one capable of winning an Oscar.

On a sad note this is a movie that needs to be seen, but it's a pretty low budget affair with no UK release currently scheduled and minimal theatrical screenings around the world this is the sort of movie that will pop out on DVD, and sink shortly after to bargain bins without nobody ever knowing the power this movie holds. This is a horrible, horrible movie but it's addictive and compulsive viewing, it also teaches you to react on instinct, a fact that if anyone in the movie had picked up on then less damage could have occurred.

Spencer Hawken 01/08 

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