An American Crime
Encyclopedia
An American Crime is a 2007 American crime
-drama film
starring Ellen Page
and Catherine Keener
. The film is based on the true story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens
by Indianapolis
housewife Gertrude Baniszewski
. It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
.
Because of internal problems with the film's original distributor, First Look International, the film was not released theatrically. The Showtime television network officially premiered An American Crime on May 10, 2008.
The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Emmy (both for Keener's performance) and a Writer's Guild Award.
(Catherine Keener
), and lengthy flashbacks
to the events of the previous year described by the witnesses.
16-year-old Sylvia Likens
(Ellen Page
) and her 15-year-old sister, Jenny (Hayley McFarland
), have, in the past, travelled with their parents who work on the carnival circuit, where Sylvia always felt safe riding the merry-go-round. She and Jenny now live with their mother Betty Likens (Romy Rosemont
), who recently separated from their father Lester Likens (Nick Searcy
). Betty reconciles with him and they decide to go on tour together. They agree to leave their daughters in the care of a single mother named Gertrude Baniszewski
, whose daughters the Likens girls met in church. In dire financial straits, Gertrude offers to care for their daughters for twenty dollars a week, and as their parents leave, the girls settle in with Baniszewski's six children: Paula (17), Stephanie (16), Johnny (13), Marie (12), Shirley (10), and infant son Kenny. Sylvia befriends Paula (Ari Graynor
), who confesses to Sylvia that she is pregnant by her married boyfriend—Sylvia swears not to tell. Soon after the girls' arrival, Gertrude is upset that Lester's weekly payment is late, and punishes the girls by whipping them with a belt. The payment, along with a letter from the parents, arrives shortly thereafter, but Gertrude throws the letter in the trash and says nothing to the Likens girls.
While Paula and Sylvia are out with friends, Paula's boyfriend tells her that he can no longer see her, then hits Paula when she pleads for him to stay with her. To stop the boyfriend's attack, Sylvia tells him that Paula is pregnant. Paula, furious, vows that Sylvia will pay for revealing her secret. Ricky Hobbs (Evan Peters
), a neighbor of the Baniszewskis who is attracted to Sylvia, observes the scene. Paula tearfully tells Gertrude that Sylvia has been spreading lies about her. Gertrude forces Sylvia to apologize, and has her son Johnny (Tristan Jarred) hold Sylvia so that Paula can beat her. Rumors spread around their school that Paula is pregnant. Jenny finds the letter from her parents in the garbage, prompting Sylvia to phone them. The call is cut short when they see the Baniszewski children, who tell their mother about it. Although the girls had traded bottles in for money to make the call, Gertrude believes they stole the money from her and burns Sylvia's hand with a cigarette for "stealing".
At a church lunch, Andy (James Franco
), the father of Gertrude's infant son, tells her that Sylvia has been spreading rumors that Paula is pregnant. When Sylvia returns home, Gertrude accuses her of flirting with a boy at the lunch and telling more lies about her daughter. Intending to make an example of her to her children, Gertrude forces Sylvia to insert a Coke bottle into her vagina in front of them. Gertrude then orders Johnny and Stephanie's boyfriend, Coy Hubbard (Jeremy Sumpter
), to throw her down the basement stairs, and lock her in. When Jenny asks how long Sylvia will be down there, Gertrude replies "until she learns her lesson", then tells everyone to maintain the fiction that Sylvia was sent to a juvenile detention facility.
Johnny begins to bring neighborhood children into the basement so they can join in the ongoing torture and humiliation of Sylvia begun by Gertrude and her children, assuring them that his mother said it was alright. The children visit regularly, with Gertrude's knowledge and approval, to beat Sylvia and burn her with cigarettes. Paula, feeling guilty, tells her mother she has been praying and thinks Sylvia has been punished enough, but Gertrude ignores her pleas. Their pastor visits the Baniszewski home, informing Gertrude that Paula told him she was pregnant and hinted to him about Sylvia's harsh treatment
. Gertrude reassures him that Sylvia was sent away for being a bad influence, and as the pastor leaves, she orders everyone into the basement. Straddling Sylvia on the basement floor, Gertrude begins to carve the words "I'M A PROSTITUTE AND PROUD OF IT!" on Sylvia's abdomen
with a hot needle, but is unable to continue and orders Ricky to finish the branding amid Sylvia's agonized screams
.
Late one night, Paula helps Sylvia escape by carrying her up the basement stairs and out of the house. Awakened by one of the Baniszewski girls, Gertrude tries to prevent the escape, but Paula stops her. Ricky finds Sylvia and drives her to her parents, who are horrified at their daughter's condition. Sylvia and her parents go immediately to the Baniszewski household to make sure that Jenny is safe. Sylvia walks into the house and sees her own lifeless body lying on the floor with Stephanie leaning over it screaming that she is not breathing. As she stands watching this, Sylvia closes her eyes and vanishes, revealing her escape and return to be only her vivid hallucination
just before dying. While Gertrude continues to insist that Sylvia is faking, Ricky calls the police. As they arrive, Jenny approaches one of the officers, saying "Get me out of here and I'll tell you everything".
On the witness stand, Jenny tells the prosecutor that Sylvia never did anything to Gertrude, Paula, or anyone else, and adds that Gertrude had threatened her with the same treatment her sister received if she did not keep quiet about it. After denying that she did anything wrong, and blaming the torture and death of Sylvia on her children and their friends, Gertrude is found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. As Sylvia's narration details the punishment of some of her abusers, Gertrude sits alone in her prison cell. In her imagination she sees a vision of Sylvia silently looking back at her. Gertrude tries to speak, but is unable to get the words out, and the image vanishes.
In a deserted carnival, Sylvia rides a merry-go-round; the one place she always felt safe.
took place in 2006 (40 years after the court case of the crime). Most of the cast were completely unaware of the real Likens murder until after they read the script, which was based largely on actual court transcripts from the case. Catherine Keener
originally turned down the role of Gertrude Baniszewski; however, after she could not get the story out of her head, she met with director Tommy O'Haver
and agreed to do the film. Ellen Page was the only choice to play Sylvia Likens.
, based on 12 reviews. Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times
called the film, "...one of the best television movies to appear in years" and praised Catherine Keener
's potrayel of Gertrude Baniszewski
.
(based on the acclaimed novel
by Jack Ketchum
) was also produced in 2007. Directed by Gregory Wilson, it stars Blanche Baker
as the torturer and Blythe Auffarth
as the tortured girl. The film was released in December 2007 to mostly positive reviews.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
-drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring Ellen Page
Ellen Page
Ellen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
and Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
. The film is based on the true story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens
Sylvia Likens
Sylvia Marie Likens was an American murder victim from Indiana. She was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski , Gertrude's children, and other young people from their neighborhood...
by Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
housewife Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Nadine Baniszewski , also known as Gertrude Wright and Nadine van Fossan, was an Indiana divorcée who, with the aid of most of her own children and neighborhood children, such as Ricky Hobbs and Coy Hubbard, oversaw and facilitated the prolonged torture, mutilation, and eventual murder of...
. It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
.
Because of internal problems with the film's original distributor, First Look International, the film was not released theatrically. The Showtime television network officially premiered An American Crime on May 10, 2008.
The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Emmy (both for Keener's performance) and a Writer's Guild Award.
Plot
An American Crime alternates between the 1966 trial of Gertrude BaniszewskiGertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Nadine Baniszewski , also known as Gertrude Wright and Nadine van Fossan, was an Indiana divorcée who, with the aid of most of her own children and neighborhood children, such as Ricky Hobbs and Coy Hubbard, oversaw and facilitated the prolonged torture, mutilation, and eventual murder of...
(Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
), and lengthy flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to the events of the previous year described by the witnesses.
16-year-old Sylvia Likens
Sylvia Likens
Sylvia Marie Likens was an American murder victim from Indiana. She was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski , Gertrude's children, and other young people from their neighborhood...
(Ellen Page
Ellen Page
Ellen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
) and her 15-year-old sister, Jenny (Hayley McFarland
Hayley McFarland
Hayley McFarland is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She recently portrayed the character Emily Lightman on the television program, Lie to Me.-Biography:...
), have, in the past, travelled with their parents who work on the carnival circuit, where Sylvia always felt safe riding the merry-go-round. She and Jenny now live with their mother Betty Likens (Romy Rosemont
Romy Rosemont
Romy Rosemont is a television actress who has appeared in multiple TV series, including Shark, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Prison Break and Private Practice. She got her break in 2010, playing Carole Hudson in the musical series Glee...
), who recently separated from their father Lester Likens (Nick Searcy
Nick Searcy
Nick Searcy is an American actor who currently portrays Chief DeputyUnited States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's Justified. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as Deke Slayton....
). Betty reconciles with him and they decide to go on tour together. They agree to leave their daughters in the care of a single mother named Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Nadine Baniszewski , also known as Gertrude Wright and Nadine van Fossan, was an Indiana divorcée who, with the aid of most of her own children and neighborhood children, such as Ricky Hobbs and Coy Hubbard, oversaw and facilitated the prolonged torture, mutilation, and eventual murder of...
, whose daughters the Likens girls met in church. In dire financial straits, Gertrude offers to care for their daughters for twenty dollars a week, and as their parents leave, the girls settle in with Baniszewski's six children: Paula (17), Stephanie (16), Johnny (13), Marie (12), Shirley (10), and infant son Kenny. Sylvia befriends Paula (Ari Graynor
Ari Graynor
Ariel Geltman Graynor, better known as Ari Graynor, is an American actress.-Life and career:Graynor was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was raised in a Jewish family and attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Trinity College, in Hartford,...
), who confesses to Sylvia that she is pregnant by her married boyfriend—Sylvia swears not to tell. Soon after the girls' arrival, Gertrude is upset that Lester's weekly payment is late, and punishes the girls by whipping them with a belt. The payment, along with a letter from the parents, arrives shortly thereafter, but Gertrude throws the letter in the trash and says nothing to the Likens girls.
While Paula and Sylvia are out with friends, Paula's boyfriend tells her that he can no longer see her, then hits Paula when she pleads for him to stay with her. To stop the boyfriend's attack, Sylvia tells him that Paula is pregnant. Paula, furious, vows that Sylvia will pay for revealing her secret. Ricky Hobbs (Evan Peters
Evan Peters
Evan Peters is an American actor, best known for his roles as Tate Langdon in American Horror Story, Jesse Varon in the ABC TV series Invasion and as Cooper Day in The Days, also on ABC. He also had a recurring role in Disney Channel's show Phil of the Future as Phil's geeky friend Seth...
), a neighbor of the Baniszewskis who is attracted to Sylvia, observes the scene. Paula tearfully tells Gertrude that Sylvia has been spreading lies about her. Gertrude forces Sylvia to apologize, and has her son Johnny (Tristan Jarred) hold Sylvia so that Paula can beat her. Rumors spread around their school that Paula is pregnant. Jenny finds the letter from her parents in the garbage, prompting Sylvia to phone them. The call is cut short when they see the Baniszewski children, who tell their mother about it. Although the girls had traded bottles in for money to make the call, Gertrude believes they stole the money from her and burns Sylvia's hand with a cigarette for "stealing".
At a church lunch, Andy (James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
), the father of Gertrude's infant son, tells her that Sylvia has been spreading rumors that Paula is pregnant. When Sylvia returns home, Gertrude accuses her of flirting with a boy at the lunch and telling more lies about her daughter. Intending to make an example of her to her children, Gertrude forces Sylvia to insert a Coke bottle into her vagina in front of them. Gertrude then orders Johnny and Stephanie's boyfriend, Coy Hubbard (Jeremy Sumpter
Jeremy Sumpter
Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 live action film Peter Pan and the recurring role of J. D. McCoy in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights...
), to throw her down the basement stairs, and lock her in. When Jenny asks how long Sylvia will be down there, Gertrude replies "until she learns her lesson", then tells everyone to maintain the fiction that Sylvia was sent to a juvenile detention facility.
Johnny begins to bring neighborhood children into the basement so they can join in the ongoing torture and humiliation of Sylvia begun by Gertrude and her children, assuring them that his mother said it was alright. The children visit regularly, with Gertrude's knowledge and approval, to beat Sylvia and burn her with cigarettes. Paula, feeling guilty, tells her mother she has been praying and thinks Sylvia has been punished enough, but Gertrude ignores her pleas. Their pastor visits the Baniszewski home, informing Gertrude that Paula told him she was pregnant and hinted to him about Sylvia's harsh treatment
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. Gertrude reassures him that Sylvia was sent away for being a bad influence, and as the pastor leaves, she orders everyone into the basement. Straddling Sylvia on the basement floor, Gertrude begins to carve the words "I'M A PROSTITUTE AND PROUD OF IT!" on Sylvia's abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
with a hot needle, but is unable to continue and orders Ricky to finish the branding amid Sylvia's agonized screams
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
.
Late one night, Paula helps Sylvia escape by carrying her up the basement stairs and out of the house. Awakened by one of the Baniszewski girls, Gertrude tries to prevent the escape, but Paula stops her. Ricky finds Sylvia and drives her to her parents, who are horrified at their daughter's condition. Sylvia and her parents go immediately to the Baniszewski household to make sure that Jenny is safe. Sylvia walks into the house and sees her own lifeless body lying on the floor with Stephanie leaning over it screaming that she is not breathing. As she stands watching this, Sylvia closes her eyes and vanishes, revealing her escape and return to be only her vivid hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
just before dying. While Gertrude continues to insist that Sylvia is faking, Ricky calls the police. As they arrive, Jenny approaches one of the officers, saying "Get me out of here and I'll tell you everything".
On the witness stand, Jenny tells the prosecutor that Sylvia never did anything to Gertrude, Paula, or anyone else, and adds that Gertrude had threatened her with the same treatment her sister received if she did not keep quiet about it. After denying that she did anything wrong, and blaming the torture and death of Sylvia on her children and their friends, Gertrude is found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. As Sylvia's narration details the punishment of some of her abusers, Gertrude sits alone in her prison cell. In her imagination she sees a vision of Sylvia silently looking back at her. Gertrude tries to speak, but is unable to get the words out, and the image vanishes.
In a deserted carnival, Sylvia rides a merry-go-round; the one place she always felt safe.
Cast
- Ellen PageEllen PageEllen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
as Sylvia LikensSylvia LikensSylvia Marie Likens was an American murder victim from Indiana. She was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski , Gertrude's children, and other young people from their neighborhood... - Catherine KeenerCatherine KeenerCatherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
as Gertrude BaniszewskiGertrude BaniszewskiGertrude Nadine Baniszewski , also known as Gertrude Wright and Nadine van Fossan, was an Indiana divorcée who, with the aid of most of her own children and neighborhood children, such as Ricky Hobbs and Coy Hubbard, oversaw and facilitated the prolonged torture, mutilation, and eventual murder of... - Hayley McFarlandHayley McFarlandHayley McFarland is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She recently portrayed the character Emily Lightman on the television program, Lie to Me.-Biography:...
as Jennifer Faye "Jenny" Likens - Ari GraynorAri GraynorAriel Geltman Graynor, better known as Ari Graynor, is an American actress.-Life and career:Graynor was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was raised in a Jewish family and attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Trinity College, in Hartford,...
as Paula Baniszewski - Scout Taylor-ComptonScout Taylor-ComptonScout Taylor-Compton is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in numerous small television roles and in feature films that range from dramas to those in the horror genre....
as Stephanie Baniszewski - Nick SearcyNick SearcyNick Searcy is an American actor who currently portrays Chief DeputyUnited States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's Justified. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as Deke Slayton....
as Lester Likens - Romy RosemontRomy RosemontRomy Rosemont is a television actress who has appeared in multiple TV series, including Shark, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Prison Break and Private Practice. She got her break in 2010, playing Carole Hudson in the musical series Glee...
as Betty Likens - Brian GeraghtyBrian GeraghtyBrian Timothy Geraghty is an American film and television actor, best known for his role in the Academy Award winning film The Hurt Locker.-Early life:Geraghty was born in Toms River Township, New Jersey, and is of Irish ancestry...
as Bradley - Michael Welch as Teddy Lewis
- Evan PetersEvan PetersEvan Peters is an American actor, best known for his roles as Tate Langdon in American Horror Story, Jesse Varon in the ABC TV series Invasion and as Cooper Day in The Days, also on ABC. He also had a recurring role in Disney Channel's show Phil of the Future as Phil's geeky friend Seth...
as Ricky Hobbs - James FrancoJames FrancoJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
as Andy - Jeremy SumpterJeremy SumpterJeremy Robert Myron Sumpter is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 live action film Peter Pan and the recurring role of J. D. McCoy in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights...
as Coy Hubbard - Tristan Jarred as Johnny Baniszewski
- Hannah Leigh Dworkin as Shirley Baniszewski
- Carlie Westerman as Marie Baniszewski
- Bradley WhitfordBradley WhitfordBradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
as Prosecutor Leroy K. New - Michael O'KeefeMichael O'KeefeMichael Raymond O'Keefe is an American film and television actor.- Early life :O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as...
as Reverend Bill Collier
Production
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
took place in 2006 (40 years after the court case of the crime). Most of the cast were completely unaware of the real Likens murder until after they read the script, which was based largely on actual court transcripts from the case. Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
originally turned down the role of Gertrude Baniszewski; however, after she could not get the story out of her head, she met with director Tommy O'Haver
Tommy O'Haver
Tommy O'Haver is an American film director and screenwriter. He grew up in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism and Comparative Literature. During the mid-nineties, he attended the MFA Film program at the University of...
and agreed to do the film. Ellen Page was the only choice to play Sylvia Likens.
Critical reception
The film received generally negative reviews, currently holding a 25% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 12 reviews. Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film, "...one of the best television movies to appear in years" and praised Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
's potrayel of Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Nadine Baniszewski , also known as Gertrude Wright and Nadine van Fossan, was an Indiana divorcée who, with the aid of most of her own children and neighborhood children, such as Ricky Hobbs and Coy Hubbard, oversaw and facilitated the prolonged torture, mutilation, and eventual murder of...
.
Likens-based films
Another film inspired by the Likens tragedy, The Girl Next DoorThe Girl Next Door (2007 film)
The Girl Next Door is a 2007 horror film adaptation of the 1989 novel of the same name by Jack Ketchum. The film is loosely based on true events surrounding the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Gertrude Baniszewski during the summer of 1965.-Plot:...
(based on the acclaimed novel
The Girl Next Door (novel)
The Girl Next Door was written by author Jack Ketchum in 1989. It is loosely based on the true story of the murder of Sylvia Likens in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1965.-Synopsis:...
by Jack Ketchum
Jack Ketchum
Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for American author Dallas Mayr . He is the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, including The Girl Next Door and Red...
) was also produced in 2007. Directed by Gregory Wilson, it stars Blanche Baker
Blanche Baker
-Personal life:Born Blanche Garfein in New York City, she is the daughter of actress Carroll Baker and director Jack Garfein. She attended Wellesley College from 1974 until 1976.-Career:...
as the torturer and Blythe Auffarth
Blythe Auffarth
Blythe Auffarth is an American actress, perhaps best known for starring in The Girl Next Door.-Filmography:-TV Filmography:-Video Game Filmography:-External links:...
as the tortured girl. The film was released in December 2007 to mostly positive reviews.