The Girl Next Door (2007)

The Girl Next Door (2007)

Directed by: Gregory Wilson
Screenplay by: Daniel Farrands and Philip Nutman

Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Running Time: 91 Minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Viewed: Owned DVD

In this town murder became the neighborhood game.

[IMDb]

Comments: This Girl Next Door certainly doesn't star Elisha Cuthbert. This film is a gut-wrenching-make-you-feel-dirty horror film about some fucked up people. Now, I've seen a lot of films like this, and a lot of them feature some campy and ridiculous plot devices that takes the viewer "out" of the seriousness of the film. None of these things are present in The Girl Next Door. The film isn't that great of a film by itself; the acting is subpar and the ending feels overly rushed. But the grittiness and nastiness of the film really keeps the viewer's eyes glued to the screen. Perhaps the reason why the film has such an effect was that Jack Ketchum's novel (the basis for this film) was based on the real-life murder of Sylvia Likens. While the film differs from this real life event, there are more shocking things that the writers and director could have included that would have made the film even more sickening (the Wikipedia page describes these events). The Girl Next Door is a painful movie to watch, and one that I can't imagine I'll be watching again any time soon.