The Girl Next Door

2007 • 91 minutes

About this movie

In a quiet suburban town in the summer of 1958, two recently orphaned sisters are placed in the care of their mentally unstable Aunt Ruth (Emmy®-Award-winner Blanche Baker of HOLOCAUST). But Ruth's depraved sense of discipline will soon lead to unspeakable acts of abuse and torture that involve her young sons, the neighborhood children, and one 12-year-old boy whose life will be changed forever. William Atherton (DIE HARD), Catherine Mary Stewart (NIGHT OF THE COMET), and Grant Show (MELROSE PLACE) co-star in this devastating drama adapted from the controversial best seller by Jack Ketchum.

Ratings and reviews

This movie really depressed me. After watching I could not stop thinking about the cruel and horrific things that were done to this poor girl. True or not it is a movie I would never watch again nor would I recommend it to anyone else. The acting, directing, etc. were fine. It's the storyline that makes it such a depressing movie. Watch at your own risk.

This movie upsets me and it hurts me at the same time. It was really good acting, and this movie just made me tear up so badly. I cried so hard at the end. I really wish she had a happy ending, and I cannot believe a mother would let her kids abuse this poor girl like that, and she has the nerve to watch and not care, I really disliked the Aunt. Nobody deserves to be treated this way.....

The movie itself gets its idea from the brutal acts done against Sylvia likens. It of course has its own spin on things (different names) and different abusive acts. Though the acting was great and directed well, I will never watch it again as it saddened and angered me...even well after the movie was even over