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THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (2007) Director: Gregory Wilson. Hacktors: William Atherton, Blanche Baker, Blythe Auffarth. Rating/5: The lowdown: Many wondered how Jack Ketchum's disturbing novel might translate to the big screen. Director Gregory Wilson provides the answer: pretty much intact. Which is admirable, given that this is a tale of severe child abuse in the 1950s, told sensitively but unflinchingly. Good points: While Slasherama has no problem with the so-called 'torture porn' phase of horror, it would have felt wrong for The Girl Next Door to sit comfortably on the shelf next to Hostel Part II. Thankfully, it doesn't, for one reason: class. Extremely well-made, from direction and production design, right down to the excellent (and largely child) actors, it manages to present horrendous happenings in a stylish fashion. And while the vast majority of the cast acquit themselves well, Blanche Baker is incredible as the downright sick-and-twisted Aunt Ruth, who lets her kids drink beer and teaches them that girls are play-things to be dominated and humiliated. Bad points: Very few. Perhaps the pace will be too slow for some viewers, but the brooding is all part of The Girl Next Door's horrible appeal. This isn't a pretty movie - more a painful glimpse at an occasional reality. It's often very disquieting, watching young actors in the vicinity of a naked, bound woman, but Slasherama is sure that the film-makers were responsible at all times. DVD Details: An audio commentary with Wilson, producer Andrew van den Houten and producer/cinematographer William M. Miller, Audio commentary with Ketchum, Farrands and Nutman, The Making Of The Girl Next Door doc, cast and crew interviews, the theatrical trailer and the DVD-ROM screenplay by Fangoria scribe Phillip Nutman. Overall: Stephen King has described The Girl Next Door as "the Dark Side Of The Moon version of Stand By Me". That's just about all you need to know. Gird yourself and take a look, despite yourself. Release Date: The Girl Next Door is out on DVD now in the US. [Check it out at Amazon US] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present