tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post5737691833740873122..comments2024-03-17T01:11:01.276-05:00Comments on The Girl Who Loves Horror: The Girl Next Door - a descent into HellMichele (TheGirlWhoLovesHorror)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03309044766117909683noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post-17079901735150172522015-09-13T07:31:34.155-05:002015-09-13T07:31:34.155-05:00I watched this film almost by accident - kept want...I watched this film almost by accident - kept wanting to turn it off but kept on hoping the young man-boy David would rescue Sylvia, so I hung on. I knew nothing of the actual case beforehand. <br /><br />I think it was important to know David's age - it was not quite clear to me in the film. Was he about 12 years? Ketchum has invented the character of the boy David I suppose to make a 'story' - real life is often not enough of a 'story' in and of itself. In reality, nobody helped Sylvia, she was let down by everyone.<br /><br />David gives us hope Sylvia will be rescued by him or he will tell his parents - he sort of acts as our conscience too as we try to understand the conflicted situation of this young man-boy. <br /><br />But it doesn't quite work as we do end up being at the least terribly disappointed in David and maybe even angry like the reviewer when of course all our anger should be directed at Gertrude B. and the other older boys and girls. <br /><br />David's psychology as portrayed in the film was simply not coherent for me. By his age (12?) most kids have a very clear understanding of right and wrong, He adored Sylvia, his mother seemed like a lovely woman - why did he not immediately report the abuse to her once it escalated to the scenes in the cellar? Because of his loyalty to his friends? No, because he had already begun to see what they and their mother were like and clearly found them not to his liking. It didn't make sense. Why did he keep going back to the cellar? Was he morbidly fascinated or did he think he could lessen Sylvia's torture by being there? This was not clear to me although I might have missed something. By the time he decides to act, it is too late.<br /><br />The other problem with the film was that it was unadulterated horror with no clear understanding of what drove Gertrude B. to behave as she did. She almost became a caricature - like Cruella De Ville. What sort of person was she prior to this tragedy? She was a man-hater, this was made evident; but she also indulged her own sons. Was torturing Sylvia and allowing and encouraging her boys to join in her way of keeping her boys in her thrall? Did she hate Sylvia for her burgeoning sexuality? <br /><br />Having said that, the film was gripping because one wondered how far the protagonists would go with their torturing and whether they would end up killing her as they did or getting caught before that happened. <br /><br />The film showed not the horrors of war but totally gratuitous abuse of another human being which actually happened and most of us cannot understand this. That is why I would have liked more psychological background, to help me at least make some sense of the violence.<br /><br />And these cases continue to happen in real-time!<br /><br />barbafahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06763599102232882397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post-60370840490747850752012-07-11T10:02:43.680-05:002012-07-11T10:02:43.680-05:00Gertrude was the worst, and I give you credit for ...Gertrude was the worst, and I give you credit for mentioning Albert Fish is well. However, you may want to read or watch documentaries on Shelly Knotek. As far as I am concerned, she is a close 2nd to Gertrude.Cjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post-25409684404806740912011-09-02T21:24:06.020-05:002011-09-02T21:24:06.020-05:00Beautiful post.
I will read Ketchum's book rig...Beautiful post.<br />I will read Ketchum's book right away. In fact, I'm gonna Amazon it right now.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517857978576422454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post-1002332498282392872010-12-18T05:13:21.749-06:002010-12-18T05:13:21.749-06:00Hello!
As girl, what are you feeling, when burn a...Hello!<br /><br />As girl, what are you feeling, when burn away Meg's clit?<br /><br />My girlfriend close her legs and crying... I'm too...<br /><br />This is not a zombie horror, this is real...CLudwnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post-56963688324795003682010-11-19T03:44:20.077-06:002010-11-19T03:44:20.077-06:00Interesting article, added his blog to FavoritesInteresting article, added his blog to Favoritesorder viagra onlinehttp://www.aiesec.fi/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7459781420607928525.post-24562548277383063122010-06-10T10:03:52.346-05:002010-06-10T10:03:52.346-05:00I think you've gotten to the real point of wha...I think you've gotten to the real point of what makes stories like poor Sylvia Likens' so mesmerizing, even in the face of how abhorrent the crimes are--- "there is no psychological evaluation out there to read that says, 'This is why I hurt Sylvia.' "<br /><br />We can't grasp the minds of other people, even in trivial matters. And when people's actions are so terrifyingly incomprehensible, the fact that we cannot access their thoughts and motivations (or--even more disturbingly--that there may not be any conscious thought or reason for the actions at all) is the real source of horror. <br /><br />Great post!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027484241702168515noreply@blogger.com