Things that were wrong in AAC

1. In the movie, The next door neighboor didn't have the name Mrs. Vermillion and she was much older than the real Vermillion lady.

2. The real Paula was a cruel, sadistic and hateful person, like her mother, but this movie doesn't portray her that way.

3. Gertrude didn't seem as evil in this version as she was in real life either.

4. Some of the characters didn't have their actual names. (The reason for this was explained so it doesn't bother me.)

5. The house looked a lot cleaner than what I've read that it looked like.

6. Her parents visited her and Jenny while they lived at Gertrude's house, but in the movie, it didn't show them visiting the girls at all.

If anyone else wants to add more to this, please do. I'm sure there are more things that are totally different from the real case.

Very good thread...

7. They did not show the level of poverty, that the family was living in.

8. The children had a nice room.

9. Ricky Hobbs was not attracted to Sylvia.

10. The only time Gert tried to help Sylvia was when she tried to feed her a few times, and this ended in more abuse, because Sylvia could not sleep.

11. Paula was the ringleader in the house and most likely abused the other children as well.

Also, in one scene Johnny is wearing converse, I'm not sure if this counts but I found it interesting.

I think the movie altogether paints the Bans in a different light. I think it was too inaccurate.
AAC makes Paula out to be one of the good guys, and even Gertie. In fact, no one is really labeled the bad guy in this movie. Also, everyone is portrayed and speaks like a stereotypical southern boy or southern belle in this film. People in Indiana don't have that much of a twang in their voice.

That's how Hollywood portrays people in the Midwest, especially in the 60s.
But it's a good movie either way, the music is just haunting.

Welcome to the forum Ann. Thank you for joining us. I agree about the music. I remember how creepy that song they played...I think it is called down town and they slammed the door on the kids in the room. That freaked me out. It still does just thinking about it.

broommy wrote:

Welcome to the forum Ann.  Thank you for joining us.  I agree about the music.  I remember how creepy that song they played...I think it is called down town and they slammed the door on the kids in the room.  That freaked me out.  It still does just thinking about it.

yeah, that is pretty freaky. They were having fun with pillow fights and then the camera zooms out and the door shuts by itself. With that scene, they were trying to point out how the fun she was having wouldn't last.

broommy wrote:

Welcome to the forum Ann.  Thank you for joining us.  I agree about the music.  I remember how creepy that song they played...I think it is called down town and they slammed the door on the kids in the room.  That freaked me out.  It still does just thinking about it.

Thanks, broommy!
Actually I'm Heidi from the sylvialikens.com boards, lol.

That scene in particular was freaky. Plus the music (Yes, and it's "Downtown", a hit in 1964 by Petula Clark. Wonder if Sylvia had been a fan of that song as well, or if it was just chosen as an era song) just added to the atmosphere.

Have you seen Girl Interrupted? That song is on that movie. That is another creepy ass movie, so I have always had a weird feeling about that song. I read the book for Girl Interrupted, and they exaggerate the story a lot in the film.

I never saw Girl Interrupted. What is it about?

Chartreuse wrote:

1. In the movie, The next door neighboor didn't have the name Mrs. Vermillion and she was much older than the real Vermillion lady.

2. The real Paula was a cruel, sadistic and hateful person, like her mother, but this movie doesn't portray her that way.

3. Gertrude didn't seem as evil in this version as she was in real life either.

4. Some of the characters didn't have their actual names. (The reason for this was explained so it doesn't bother me.)

5. The house looked a lot cleaner than what I've read that it looked like.

6. Her parents visited her and Jenny while they lived at Gertrude's house, but in the movie, it didn't show them visiting the girls at all.

If anyone else wants to add more to this, please do. I'm sure there are more things that are totally different from the real case.

- The movie left out a lot of the abuse that occurred. For example, never mentioned the scalding baths.
- It said nothing about the letters that Gertie forced Sylvia to write to her parents.
And I wonder why the director never consulted or discussed with any member of the Likens family before making the film. I have at least not heard anything else.

I don't remember in the film they mentioned brothers n the other sister.. I only thought there was Sylvia n jenny xx

One thing that also struck me besides the differences mentioned, is how dirty and small the basement really was in the crime photos. It was very small and filthy, I don't know how they kept two dogs down there along with Sylvia.  How any living creature, and even Sylvia stood it is beyond me.  I would have gone mad from claustrophobia.

The one in the movie is large and clean, almost big enough to roller skate in.  That wasn't how it was at all.

broommy wrote:

10. The only time Gert tried to help Sylvia was when she tried to feed her a few times, and this ended in more abuse, because Sylvia could not sleep.

You must have meant "eat" here? It made ​​me a little confused.

Some other things:

- AAC did not mention the public health nurse Barbara Sanders, who visited the house once but took no further action.
- John B Jr was tall and strong for his age what I know. In the film, he is small and looks frail.
- When Sylvia died, she had sores in the face and her lips were shredded, but in AAC her face looks undamaged.

Exactly. Her lips were shredded, she was very thin, her face was swollen with black eyes, and possibly even a broken nose. Her hair was messy and dirty from running sores they had inflicted on her.

I could go on and on, but you all get the picture.

This is why as bad as "The Girl Next Door" was it more accurately portrayed the abuse and damage even if it did go to far in one scene.

I know. All it showed were bruised legs in one scene when the kids were hitting and kicking her. Then in the dream sequence, all it showed were those words on her stomach. It obviously didn't show all of the abuse. I hate seeing torture abuse. I honestly can't stand it because I'm a very happy person so watching depressing stuff really sickens me.