Girl Next Door Ready to Roll

By Jon Condit
July 13th, 2006

After years of suffering in turnaround and slipping through the hands of those who didn’t have the balls to see the film made as it should be, ModernCine has finally nabbed the rights to Jack Ketchum’s seminal novel, The Girl Next Door and plans to roll on the film right away.

Fangoria got the scoop yesterday that Home Invasion director Gregory Wilson, a protégé of Spike Lee, is set to helm the film with Mae Whitman (pictured, of Independence Day) set to start in the titular role. For those familiar with the story, the role of Aunt Ruth has been filled by Blanche Baker, an actress who has not done a lot of noticeable work over the years but did have a memorable turn in Sixteen Candles back in the day.

If the name ModernCine doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry. To date the only genre film they’ve done is Headspace (review), which is still waiting for some kind of DVD release here. The film will be shot from the script by Phil Nutman and Dan Farrands, which one of our UK reporters reviewed for you here, a very good sign that they’re going to do a solid job. They’ve also said that the film will take place in the same time frame as it does in the book, which is certainly one of the most important aspects of the story.

And in case you've forgotten, this actual adaptation of The Girl Next Door will be getting made at the same times as The Basement, a thriller announced a while back starring Hard Candy star Ellen Page that is based on the true story from which Ketchum was inspired to write Girl. Should make for some interesting screenings, that’s for sure.

- Johnny Butane