The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

Jodie Foster plays the title character, a reclusive, fiercely self-reliant teenager who lives alone in her father's house. When visitors call, Foster explains that her father is away on business. He's away, all right. . .far, far, away. And Foster, determined not to lose her independence, will go to any lengths to protect her secret, a fact that nosy neighbor Alexis Smith learns to her regret. A new danger to Foster's well-being looms in the form of pedophile Martin Sheen, who schemes to place the girl in a compromising position. Offering a helping hand to Foster is misfit teenager (Scott Jacoby). The beauty of The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is that, every time you think you've got things figured out, the filmmakers throw another spanner into the works. Based on a novel by Laird Koenig, Little Girl etc is a must-see for anyone who thinks that there's no such thing as an intelligent horror film. — Hal Erickson

AMG Review:
An interesting little oddball chiller about a young girl (Jodie Foster) who lives alone with a dark secret. Social workers and all manner of concerned adults stop by to find out why no one ever sees her parents, and much of the film is spent exploring her daily existence bearing the burden of this subterfuge. Of course, many of those who come to visit her never leave the house again, and it all seems to have something to do with whoever - or whatever - is in the cellar. Martin Sheen, in a quietly chilling performance, plays a strange young man with an unusual interest in young girls who stops by to hit on her every so often. Foster is superb as usual, and this is the perfect film for those interested in contemporary scares without buckets of scarlet. — Robert Firsching