Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door

Pros: Great cast, great script, great direction.

Cons: Very intense and disturbing.

The Bottom Line: The best horror film of 2007.

Review: If I were a quote-whore film critic, I’d undoubtedly start talking about the cinematic adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s novel The Girl Next Door as the “feel bad movie of the year”. Not since Gaspar Noe’s soul-crushing Irreversible ...

Pros: extremely disturbing but true account, Baker was terrifying

Cons: ...

The Bottom Line:
"Hallelujah, hallelujah
God bless the child who suffers"
~Shania Twain

Review: Today I had the unfortunate experience of watching The Girl Next Door which was adapted to screen by Daniel Farrands & Philip Nutman from the book by Jack Ketchum. This is a surrealistic take on a coming of age movie like Stand By Me ...

Pros: Acting.
Very creepy.
True to story.

Cons: Ending.
Characters too one dimensinal.

The Bottom Line: Although this is not a movie for a lot of people, it is still worth seeing for those with the stomach to stand it.

Review: WARNING, contains spoilers. Who is worse; the abuser who uses their position of power to torture and maim innocent people, or the person who sits idly by and allows the abuse to continue? How can I possibly review a movie like The Girl ...

Pros: Gut wrenching horror.

Cons: Not for youngsters at all.

The Bottom Line: Gut wrenching horror that says yes this can happen in your neighborhood.

Review: It seems that a large number of movie goers are fans of the horror genre. Theatres fill when the exploits of Michael Meyers, Leatherface or Jason Vorhees arrive. These movies are all known as horror films, but in fact they offer more fantasy than actual ...

Pros: Lead actor Manche does a nice job, cinematography has moments

Cons: Direction, dialog, acting, lack of conclusion, bookend effect that adds nothing, character depth, motivation

The Bottom Line: Dark story of crushed innocence w/o reason. Not for children. I even felt bad for the children actors, as wretched as they were, for having to be part of this.

Review: When I first heard someone mention "The Girl Next Door," I mistakenly thought of the somewhat amusing "Risky Business" clone and Elisha Cuthbert vehicle of the same name. Now that I've seen this version, I sort of wish I'd remained mistaken. ...

Pros: Looks good, Manche is a good lead.

Cons: Auffarth is awful, lacks emotion and "teeth," supposed to be disturbing but isn't...

The Bottom Line: The Girl Next Door is a fantastic book. The film adaptation is terrible. It lacks all the things that I loved in Ketchum's original text.

Review: I've never been shy about admitting to enjoying films and books with very dark themes. I love reading nasty, disgusting, and amoral horror. I also can't help but enjoy similar things in movies. A few weeks back I read The Girl Next Door by Jack ...