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Blythe Auffarth, Daniel Manche, William Atherton, Blanche Baker, Grant Show ... see more see more... , Catherine Mary Stewart , Kevin Chamberlin , Austin Williams , Madeline Taylor , Graham Patrick Martin , Benjamin Ross Kaplan

Based on the harrowing best-seller by author Jack Ketchum, director Gregory Wilson's The Girl Next Door presents a fictionalized account of the shocking ordeal endured by Sylvia Likens -- an innocent ... read more read more...Indiana teen who was systematically tortured, raped, and murdered by a suburban divorcée and a group of neighborhood children in 1965. Shortly after losing their parents in a deadly car accident, Meg Laughlin (Blythe Auffarth) and her younger sister, Susan (Madeline Taylor), are sent to live in the Indiana home of Ruth Chandler (Blanche Baker) and her three sons, Willie (Graham Patrick Martin), Donny (Benjamin Ross Kaplan), and Ralphie (Austin Williams). Upon arriving in the quiet suburban neighborhood, Meg quickly forges a warm bond with local neighbor boy David Moran (Daniel Manche). Strangely, Ruth seems to harbor some sort of unknown grudge against her pretty young charge, and it isn't long before events in the Chandler home begin to take an ominous turn. Now, as Ruth Chandler begins her slow descent into madness, the basement of a typical middle-class home is about to become the scene of a crime that would shock and repulse an entire nation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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64% liked it

5,837 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

15 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Gregory Wilson

Release Date: October 3, 2007

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DVD Release Date: December 4, 2007

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Stats: 1,152 reviews

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The Girl Next Door The Girl Next Door The Girl Next Door (2007) Blythe Auffarth as Meg Loughlin The Girl Next Door (2007) Madeline Taylor as (Susan Loughlin)
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Flixster Reviews (1,152)

  • 76Majikat
    March 10, 2012
    76Majikat
    The strange thing about this film is that the acting (particularly from the main character) didn't start off great, but it does improve through the film. It's shocking that this was a true story and actions that took place are truly disturbing.
  • theunknownhobo
    July 17, 2011
    theunknownhobo
    I watched this movie after I saw it on a list of the most disturbing movies ever made and although it was definatly not Disney I think my expecations were built higher than the film actually delivered. Still it was worth the watch and a good movie to have on DVD to scare your sli... read moreghtly harder to bore friends on movie night.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    July 15, 2010
    FiLmCrAzY
    its really sad that this movie is based on a true story but this movie jus irritated me! the portrayal of characters werejust annoying and i felt more frustrated then any other emotion! this movie failed ithink to capture the emotion that this actual story deserves!
  • briandeguelle
    March 31, 2010
    briandeguelle
    Starts off innocently like a nice time warp back to the 50's but after awhile it turn nasty. A great movie with a hard to watch story line and wont be to everyone's taste.The direction is good and it could of been more graphic but it was't and some things left to your own mind...... read more...which can be worst.The Two leads are fantastic and watch able,
    There is another movie dealing with the same story called American crime which deals with the true life story that this was based on and is worth checking out too.
    But this one is so worth your time and effort so check out this one first.;
  • Beefy
    December 25, 2008
    Beefy
    After all the hype, I couldn't help but be disappointed. But it's not all my fault. The film feels like a TV movie with f-bombs. Even the depravity feels somehow sterilized.

    The young lady playing Meg cannot be faulted, she was quite good given what little she had to work w... read moreith. And it was a hoot to see Blanche Baker again for the first time (for me anyways) since Sixteen Candles.

    I know the film/book was based on true events, and that knowledge helps the film to a point. Alas, it ultimately comes across more as an interesting curio rather than a compelling film. While I felt sorry for Meg, I never took her plight seriously.
  • Stinger839
    July 6, 2008
    Stinger839
    A truly scary serious drama. Between the kids' acting and the timeless villainess of Ruth, this is a definite keeper. It's real, it's brutal, and it's well paced. There are a few plot holes, but that may have been lack of attention span on my part, in which case the detail was to... read moreo subtle but some of the plot clumsiness is intentional (SPOILER: Who sent the main character that painting? is the biggest hole). I was also sickened by the forced sentimentality of the girl's death; it just ruined what could have been otherwise a hard and sickening scene. SPOILER OVER

    Overall, a great realistic depiction of derangement and child torture. The Ruth character is truly tops, and this movie needs to be seen just to experience her insanity.

    "So Fucked Up" highlight: any of Ruth's dialogue
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 22, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    Not to be confused with the delightful rom-com of the same name this is an entirely different film. Sick, sadistic and mind numbingly horrific are just a few words to describe the acts that happen in this film but not the film itself. Gore hounds may be dissapointed by the decisi... read moreon to keep the acts a little less graphic than say Saw or Hostel but it certainly makes for a harder hit. Based on a true story this amplifies the fact that crimes of this nature have always happened and evil really can lurk anywhere. A bit short and doesn't get to the root of certain issues, this is still a brave and brilliant film.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    January 23, 2008
    cancercapricorn2002
    This a film that is based on the case of Sylvia Likens and the book by Jack Ketchum. His book is one of the few books I've ever read that was hard to finish because I was so disturbed by it. Even more so when I knew it was based on actual events. I heard the book was going to mad... read moree into a film and I said it was not possible, but the film was made and it turns out to be a good adaptation of the book but its a film thats very hard to watch. The movie is low budget, as something containing this subject matter could never get the big budget glossy treatment, but cast and crew have done a great job. So technically despite the low budget everything is top notch, which makes what goes on even more disturbing. And like I said the fact that it is true. I don't really feel the need to give the plot rundown. You can read about the case online and figure out for yourself if you want to see the film
    but as I stated before, be warned This is a very difficult watch. Not because it's a bad movie, because it's a good one. It's not anyone's idea of entertainment but I do think movies like this should be made, if not done in an exploitive way, which is what I think the filmmakers have managed to avoid here.
  • thefog1331
    December 4, 2007
    thefog1331
    Call it morbid curiosity or masochism but I had to see the adaptation of the one of the very few novels to really disturb me. The film wasn't as much but it was enough. It's brutal and sad (I admit I teared up near the end) and all the worse that it was based on a true story. I ... read morecan't rave Blythe Auffarth enough for taking on such a tough role.
  • fb100002023516744
    June 7, 2011
    fb100002023516744
    This is no horror movie...This is just plain disturbing, sad, upsetting. No sweet\nice teenage girl should be tortured this badly by her own family. Although i have to give credit for the outstanding acting from the mom and because Jack Ketchum directed it. Another thing is that ... read moreit is based on true events...which is pretty horrible.

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Critic Reviews

Nick Pinkerton
October 16, 2007
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice

Beneath the 1950's seemingly placid exterior of Ozzie and Harriet normalcy, there were -- brace yourself! -- sinister undercurrents at work. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
October 5, 2007
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

There's little reason to see the movie. Unless, of course, you get off on watching the sexual exploitation of underage girls. Full Review

Neil Genzlinger
October 5, 2007
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times

The kind of movie that makes you wish you could rinse your brain in bleach, to wash all traces of it from your memory. Full Review

Lucius Gore
June 25, 2008
Lucius Gore, ESplatter

If you are easily disturbed, you should not watch this movie. Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.
December 4, 2007
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

Words simply don't do it justice; it's a masterpiece, and I'll never be able to see it again... Full Review

Kam Williams
October 16, 2007
Kam Williams, Leader Newspapers, New Jersey

A super-realistic horror flick that's so relentlessly-disturbing it's likely to trigger debate as to whether the filmmaker might have left too little to the imagination. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
October 7, 2007
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

It's a dark, harsh and sometimes powerfully unpleasant film, but it's also one that's made with a lot of care and craftsmanship. Full Review

Maitland McDonagh
October 5, 2007
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide

Based on Jack Ketchum's deeply disturbing novel, Gregory Wilson's film explores the dark bond between an embittered housewife and a group of apparently ordinary suburban teenagers that leads to tortur... Full Review

Pam Grady
October 5, 2007
Pam Grady, Reel.com

To say the film is disconcerting is an understatement.

Rob Humanick
October 3, 2007
Rob Humanick, Slant Magazine

Like some demented cross between a Norman Rockwell painting and an Eli Roth film. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Ruth Chandler: One sound down here and I promise I'll kill the both of you. Not just punish you, kill you. Dead.
    • Adult David: You think you know about pain? Talk to my second wife. When she was nineteen she got between a couple of fighting cats, and one of them went at her, climbed her like a tree, tore gashes out of her thighs and breasts and belly that you can still see today. She got thirty stitches and a fever that lasted for days. My second wife says that's pain. She doesn't know shit, that woman.
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The Girl Next Door Trivia

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