Audience Member
Adele (Erin Wilhelmi) is the girl of the title, a lonely teenager caring for her agoraphobic aunt Dora (Susan Kellerman, who played Latka's mom on Taxi), a woman who won't even leave her room and only leaves messages slid under her door. However, Adele's life changes when she meets her exact opposite, Beth (Quinn Shephard), whose behaviors and mannerisms she begins to absorb.
The problem is that Beth convinced Adele to slowly begin buying cheaper versions of her food and eventually her heart medicine, which kills her. Adele takes her green ring and calls for an ambulance. She's sure that Beth loves her after a moment of brief passion, so she leaves the jewlery for her, but it isn't taken. Despondent, she starts selling all of her aunt's belongings and frequenting bars, followed by Beth, who of course is in no way what she appears.
Obviously, this movie's poster is based on The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane and this aims for the same 70s feel. Throw in a flipflopped Vestron logo in the beginning and the mood of films we adore from that era — Brownrigg, Let's Scare Jessica to Death — and this is what I want more of in today's horror: an understanding of what has worked and a build toward something new. Sure, the end is a bit abrupt and you can see it coming, but director and writer A.D. Calvo is someone more than worth watching. The lookbook for his next film, Here Comes the Night, proves that he's absolutely on the right wavelength and I can't wait.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
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Audience Member
This movie has some positives ie the atmosphere it creates, but unfortunately fails at too many things to be successful. And the ending is pretty ambiguous. The most I can gather from it is that Beth was a ghost or witch, who has the ability to stay young by befriending others and stealing their "energy", turning them into agoraphobes. Beth likely did this initially to Aunt Dora, then to Adele, and will likely target Adele's sister Dory next. But what I couldn't figure out was what the jewellery had to do with anything, and what the purpose of Aunt Dora's ghost was. Hence I felt it was a bit too ambiguous for my liking. And I'm a fan of Lynch movies that are open to interpretation... but they at least give you many positives to enjoy along the way to the conclusion. Whereas this film failed to provide those positives to me. It was too slow for me, even for a drama, and the climax wasn't worth the investment to get there. And the horror here is very very light and only comes mildly into play in act 3. But I'm sure people who value atmosphere much more than me will find the beauty in this film that I failed to see. I would definitely not rec this movie.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
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Audience Member
3/5
Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl is another kind attempt to extend horror through the vintage and the dramatic, with not everything clicking at the end.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
My feelings are all over the place on this one. Partly because it almost feels like I just watched 2 separate movies - 1 of 50 minutes and 1 of 26 minutes. They feel completely separate and the thread that is supposed to connect them is not apparent enough (in my opinion) to keep it all together. The first 50 minutes is more thriller, heavy with emotional and sensual angst - then suddenly the last 20 minutes it turns into a completely different movie, a supernatural horror that startles and takes you out of that emotional story. Looking back, it can be pieced together, but does not flow naturally. My main grievance, where I feel they could have tied it all together, is the complete lack of character motive for Beth and her change of attitude around that point. Had there been an explanation or reasoning for it, perhaps that could have strung the two ends together. I wouldn't say this is bad, but I will probably never watch it again. It's far too frustrating; you never get to see the ending to the first part and then you get the ending to what feels like a different movie.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
Full Review
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