cinema history class: the little girl who lived down the lane

Session: Bring Your Own Movie Month, Week 1 (Me)
Movie: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Directed by Nicolas Gessner

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Plot:
A secretive teenage girl, just trying to mind her own damn business, piques the curiosity and concern of various townsfolk. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Sometime in the mid 1980's -- I forget the exact year -- I was pulling an all-nighter for a differential equations exam. Sometime in the wee hours I took a break and turned on the TV. A movie -- The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane -- was starting. I had never heard of it before, but that first scene was engrossing enough that I stayed with it. And it stayed with me. For years and years I remembered the film. Not in its entirety, but certain pivotal scenes. And the ending. I didn't watch it again, but these scenes were burned into my memory.

Last year, during lockdown,  I streamed it. It was just as engrossing and good as I recalled. And that was when I decided to bring it for BYOM month. Little Girl is a small but powerful movie. The screenplay was adapted from a stage script (via a novelization. As a result, there is a small cast -- only five roles of any substance, and there are never more than three of them together. But the dialogue is lean and efficient -- and sharp. It's not really a horror movie -- more of a psychological thriller. And it does thrill.

The rest of the class received the movie quite well. There were some concerns over some plot points, but nothing that anyone seemed to feel ruined the movie.

Ratings

Bob: 9.0

Christina: 9.3

Dave: 9.5
Joe: 10
Keith: 9.5