The Girl Next Door (2007 film)
"Jack Ketchums The Girl Next Door" (also known as "Jack Ketchum's Evil") is a 2007 American horror film directed by Gregory M. Wilson from a screenplay by Daniel Farrands and Philip Nutman. It is based on Jack Ketchum's 1989 novel of the same name, which was inspired by the real-life murder of Sylvia Likens, to whom the movie is dedicated. Plot. In 2007, David Moran witnesses a man hit and run by a car in New York City. He responds to the situation and tries to resuscitate the victim. That evening , he reflects on his past in the summer of 1958, when he meets his first teenage crush, Meg Loughlin. Meg and her disabled sister Susan have lost their parents in a car accident and are now living with their aunt, Ruth Chandler, and her sons, Willie, Ralphie, and Donny. Ruth freely allows her sons' young friends, including David, to her house, where she entertains them and offers them beer and cigarettes. Meanwhile, Ruth starves Meg, subjects her to misogynistic lectures, and accuses her of being a whore while her children listen. After an incident when Meg hits Ralphie when he  inappropriately touches her, Ruth strips and spanks Susan for being a "conniver," forcing Meg to watch. Ruth then confiscates Meg's ring necklace that she had received from her mother. Meg reports the abuse to a local police officer named Officer Jennings, but law enforcement does not criminally charge Ruth. As punishment, Ruth and her sons bind Meg in the basement and torment her, strip her, and then leave her overnight, hanging by the arms from the rafters. She eventually becomes dehydrated and is unable to even eat the dry toast Ruth tries to feed her. Ruth again spanks Susan 's bare bottom as punishment for Meg. With Ruth's approval, the neighborhood children visit the Chandler residence to tie, beat, burn and cut Meg for fun. Ruth cauterizes the wounds Meg receives with cigarettes. David tries to tell his parents but is unable to do so. Officer Jennings checks in once more, answering a call about Meg being used as a "punching bag". Before answering the door, Ruth threatens to kill Meg and David if they make a noise in the basement. While Ruth and her sons are upstairs and convince Officer Jennings that they were simply roughhousing, David  loosens Meg's bindings and tells her to escape that night, even offering to leave money for her in the woods. She is unsuccessful. David returns to the Chandler house and is guided to the basement, where Meg is being raped by Willie. Donny also wishes to rape Meg, but Ruth dismisses his volunteer because she thinks it is incest for him to "skinny dip in his brother's scum". Ralphie then suggests to Ruth that she should "cut" Meg so that she'll be known as a whore. Ruth agrees and carves the words "I FUCK, FUCK ME" on  Meg's abdomen with a heated bobby pin. After that, she soon taunts Meg, gloating about how she will never be with a man. Ruth then decides to perform a clitorectomy to remove Meg's sexual desire. David attempts to leave and get help, but is chased by the boys who stop him on the stairs and tie him up. They kick him in his private before turning their attention back to Meg. Bound to the floor, David is forced to watch Ruth burn Meg's clitoris with a blowtorch. Later in the day, David awakes still on the basement  floor. He frees himself from his bindings and finds Susan sitting with an unconscious Meg. Susan tells David that Meg failed to escape because she was caught trying to take Susan with her. She blames herself for telling Meg about Ruth molesting her, which made Meg hesitant to escape alone. David plans their escape, and lights a fire in the basement. As Ruth enters, David beats her to death with Susan's crutch. Ruth's sons also arrive in the basement with Willie trying to stab David with a knife and Donny mourning Ruth's death. Officer Jennings intervenes and  arrests the Chandler boys. The police take Susan from the basement so that she can testify in court and leave Meg with David. David takes the ring necklace back from Ruth and returns it to Meg. With the last of her energy, Meg thanks David for what he has done and tells him she loves him before finally dying from her injuries. Back in 2007, the adult David reflects on how his past still haunts him to the present day. However, as Meg taught him, "It's what you do last that counts." Cast. Additionally, Mark Margolis portrays the homeless  man struck by a vehicle at the beginning of the film and Peter Stickles portrays an EMT. Jack Ketchum, the author of the novel that the film is based on, appears as a carnival worker. Production. Blythe Auffarth asserted all the scenes in which she is hung up and blindfolded was wearing for her. "It's extremely humiliating and it's a little bit scary being so without control. It's scary being helpless and it's humiliating hanging and dangling there, and it's even more petrifying to have your senses taken away from you," she said. Reception. On  Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 15 critics, with an average rating of 6.1/10. Metacritic gives the film a score of 29% based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Stephen King said about the film, "The first authentically shocking American film I've seen since "" over 20 years ago. If you are easily disturbed, you should not watch this movie. If, on the other hand, you are prepared for a long look into hell, suburban style, "The Girl Next Door" will not disappoint. This is the dark-side-of-the -moon version of "Stand by Me"."