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THE GIRL NEXT DOOR / THE LOST

Jack Ketchum has written a fraction of the novels Stephen King has and, so far, only three have been made into films. King's novels are dense and largely overpopulated and the adaptations of his work that have made it to the multiplexes range from terrible (GRAVEYARD SHIFT, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, THE MANGLER), to decent (SILVER BULLET, THE DEAD ZONE), with only a few brief visits to the land of greatness in between (THE MIST, CARRIE, THE SHINING). No one will deny that Stephen King has been and still is the undisputed master of the modern horror novel, but only the diehard King fanboys will deny that Ketchum's work has made a much better transition to the big screen.

This year, two of Ketchum's most brutal stories have found their way to DVD. The first, Greg Wilson's adaptation of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, is one of the most powerful films I have ever seen, a straight kick-to-the-balls film that pulls no punches and makes no apologies for it. 91 minutes of torture for many, GIRL is a profoundly disturbing and utterly heartbreaking tale that does not cheapen its subject matter for the purpose of our pleasure. It's an ugly, depressing, and important work, one that walks that fine line between expose and exploitation, drama and horror, with such amazing ease and grace that it effects you in a way all good art should effect you, personally, emotionally, spiritually.

Orphaned after their parent's died in a car accident, Meg and her young sister, Susie, are taken in by their aunt Ruth. A single mother of three young boys, Ruth treats her children and their friends in a rather curious way, giving them cigarettes and beer, allowing them freedom to act like more like twenty-somethings rather than teenagers. None too happy about the arrival of two girls in her home, Ruth unleashes her anger on Meg. Obviously traumatized by her abandonment after her pregnancies, the presence of Meg is simply too much for Ruth and, once the blunt emotional torment no longer works, the abuse turns physical. In an attempt to save her little sister from Ruth's punishments, Meg turns to the police but finds no help. What follows is a harrowing descent into hell. Ruth has Meg taken to the basement where her boys string her up and strip her. Soon, Ruth brings her children's friends aboard. Meg's only comfort is David, our narrator, but he is unable to stop what follows.

In a genre that is notorious for trivializing the pain of others for the purpose of pleasure, Wilson's film stands out for its serious handling of rather complicated material. Inspired to take the job after reading about a case of child abuse in New York in which a young girl died at the hands of her parents, Wilson imbued this film with a sense of importance, never allowing what would often be considered exploitative (and thus marketable), to cheapen the story. The film does not make light of the abuse Meg suffers, but neither does it relish in its details. Instead of focusing on money shot special effects, Wilson trains his camera on the faces of the participants and perpetrators. Watching a group of children smiling as a helpless girl is raped or looking into the face of a grown woman, a mother, impassive as her children torture another human being, is truly chilling. The fact that this film is based on a true life case makes it even more so.

It's a common cliche of movie criticism to say that a film 'sticks with you', but in this case it's very true. Once seen, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is not easily forgotten.

Depending on who you ask, that might not be such a good thing.

THE LOST is a different beast, a film that clearly revels in its chaos.

Our main character is Ray Pye, a narcissistic sociopath who also happens to be quite the ladies man. One day while walking through the woods, Ray stumbles across a young and very naked girl. Following her back to her camp, Ray sees her with another woman and, completely misreading the situation, pegs them as lesbians. Later that day, Ray unceremoniously guns the girls down and talks his friend, Tim, and his sometimes girlfriend, Jennifer, into helping him ditch the bodies. Four years later, Ray is still a free man, the police unable to gather enough evidence to put him away, and working at his mother's hotel. Ray takes a shining to the new cleaning girl, Sally, who is sleeping with one of the two detectives that were assigned to the campers murder case, something Ray is unaware of. Ray also finds time to bed Katherine, the new girl in town, all the while stringing poor Jennifer along. Soon, Ray begins to lose his stranglehold on his friends. Sally, Jennifer, and Katherine all pull free of his orbit. Emasculated and effectively rendered impotent, Ray begins to lose hold of his violent tendencies. When he learns that Jennifer has been sleeping with Tim, Ray arms himself and sets off to teach these girls a lesson.

THE LOST has that classic Seventies feel to it, cheap, dirty, sweaty, and doused in blood. While nowhere near as thought-provoking or powerful as GIRL, THE LOST nevertheless creates a great deal of discomfort in its audience. The opening fifteen minutes set the tone of the film perfectly, starting out with a fully nude appearance by genre stalwart Misty Mundae, here acting under Erin Brown, and followed soon after by the long, protracted, and painful murder scene. Though the film puts the violence on stand-by until the last blood-soaked half hour, there's plenty of skin on display, lots of drugs and alcohol being consumed, and scene after scene of emotional tension. All would be truly lost if not for Marc Senter, who is a revelation as Ray. Bringing a great deal of charm to a pathetic, desperate, and egomaniacal monster, Senter owns the film. Even when the material calls for him to go batshit at the end, throwing tantrums and leaping from one side of the room to another, Senter manages to bring a level of reality to the role that might have been lost if another actor had stepped into those crushed beer can filled boots.

Chris Sivertson makes up for his terrible I KNOW WHO KILLED ME here, mixing disparate visual elements together to create a work that doesn't quite feel like anything I've seen in a long time. Brave and eclectic are two adjectives that fit not only his directing, but the film itself. I don't think THE LOST could have been made by a major studio. It's too weird, too unapologetic in its willingness to draw blood and bear skin to have been made that way. At a little under two hours, THE LOST might be a little too long for most people but for those craving something a little different should find it to be a pleasant surprise.