There are many who will watch this expecting a full out horror or exploitation film. It is neither of those but a strong thriller based on real events. It takes place in 1958 which follows the nightmarish story of two adolescent girls, who upon losing their parents in an accident, are forced to stay with their Aunt Ruth. A witness to this is young David who lives next door and develops feelings for one of the girls named Meg. Meg and her younger sister, Susan, who's legs are in metal slings, are routinely abused by their Aunt Ruth and three cousins. Finally Meg is accused falsely of being a whore and tied up in the basement where she is raped, beaten and worse (you'll see) by aunt Ruth and willing cousins. David witnesses a lot of this cruelness but his disinterested parents don't really buy his stories. Meg is played very effectively by Blythe Auffarth and Blanche Baker is very memorable as Aunt Ruth, who plays the role not as a wild psychopath, but with subtlety as a woman who believes what she's doing is right. Anybody watching this should hate her and if you find yourself taking sides with her, please see a shrink. I haven't disliked a woman in a film this much since nurse Rachet in One Flew Over The Cuccoo's Nest. Although the movie is graphic, as it should be, it is not overdone. This movie shows what could happen if situations like this are ignored for too long and how it effects children. Good Stuff!
Review of The Girl Next Door
