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 Next Door? I've been sitting in front of my computer screen for the last thirty minutes, knowing that I have to write something about this film but unable to do so. How can I write about the shocking nature of this film, about the brutality of human nature, the sickening imagery of a young and innocent girl forced to suffer and die to appease the demons of an insane woman? I know not the words needed to describe this film, but I will do my best none the less.
Let in 1958 in suburban America, The Girl Next Door tells the story of two newly orphaned girls, Meig and Susan (who is afflicted with polio and uses leg braces to walk) who are sent to live with their Aunt Ruth after their parents are killed in an accident. David, a young boy who lives in the house next door, takes an immediate liking to her and is thrilled to learn that he'll be able to see her every day. If one is unfamiliar with the themes of this film when they start watching it, you might mistake it at first for something along the lines of My Dog Skip, a coming of age story set in the 50's about a boy and his friends discovering all life has to offer. The contrast between the opening ten to twenty minutes and the rest of the film is probably the most powerful aspect of the film. The children go from stealing dirty magazines from their parents and thinking fondly about what it might be like to see a real woman, the next they are torturing and raping a young girl who has done nothing to deserve their hatred and scorn.
From the very beginning it is clear that Aunt Ruth has a strange dislike for these two girls. It begins simple enough with Ruth verbally abusing Meig and her sister for being too "lady like" and calling her a whore for making an oil painting for David, but quickly evolves into something far more sinister. David, as a close friend to Ruth's sons, has ample access to the house and witnesses first hand the brutality of Ruth when she hangs Meig by her arms from the ceiling and leaves her there to suffer all night.
There are many themes that are worth looking at in this film. One is the sense of helplessness that David feels when all the adults he knows have either turned a blind eye to the abuse, want only to mind their own business, or are active participants of the torture. David seems to be the only person in the film that knows exactly what is happening and knows it's wrong, and yet does nothing to stop it. I do not want to excuse his actions at all; after all how long can someone ignore the actions of evil without turning into a monster themselves? But it isn't hard to understand why he allowed the abuse to continue; in his mind there was nothing he could have done. For children, especially those of his age (thirteen) adults represent authority, to be respected and obeyed. But even when Ruth's actions become too much for him to ignore, his parents either ignore him or tell him to mind his own business, and the police don't take his warning seriously. Peer pressure also is a major factor in how David decides to act. His best friends not only know about what is going on, but enthusiastically take part in it as well. There are few things more disturbing then a group of young children, ages eight to fourteen, boys and girls, attentively watching the oldest amongst them rape and cut a defenseless girl while sipping on a bottle of root beer. Even the youngest amongst them would like nothing more then to cut Meig with a knife to mark her as the "whore" Ruth believes she is. These children are David's best friends, kids he's known forever and grew up with. How can he turn on them?
But as I said before, I don't want to excuse David's actions. If fact many times I found myself pleading with David to do something, anything, to make it stop. "You know what's right David" I'd find myself saying, "you have to do something, and you know it." Regardless of the peer pressure, regardless of his authority figures refusal to intervene, David is still the only person in the film with a sense of right wrong; it is his responsibility to do something.
This is not a film for everyone. Although most of the abuse is done off camera and is implied rather then shown, the graphic nature of this film is truly horrifying. I could barely finish this film, and I normally have a very strong stomach. Evil is hard to confront, most people would rather turn their backs and pretend it doesn't exist, so when it is presented in such clear and unmistakable terms, such as in this film, its devastating to its viewers. The Girl Next Door is not a snuff film; it is a dark and unforgiving look into the dark side of American suburbia. Watch at your own risk.
Replay value; low.
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