By Hannah DiPilato
Last week, Girl starring Bella Thorne was released to select theaters and VOD platforms. The psycho-thriller movie has gained mixed reviews so far with a 4.8 out of 10 on IMDb and a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film was directed and written by Chad Faust and stars Faust, along with Thorne and Mickey Rourke. Thorne stars the main character known as Girl, who returns to her hometown for the first time since she was kicked out of her house by her father at age six. She comes prepared with a plan to get revenge on her abusive father. Upon arrival, she discovers that someone has reached him first and finds him dead.
Determined to find out what happened to her father and fueled by rage, Girl ignores the advice of her mother to get out of the small town. Instead, she makes it her responsibility to find out who was responsible for the murder of her dad. Armed with her father’s old hatchet throughout the movie, Girl sets out for revenge and answers and it seems nothing will stop her from getting them.
She comes into contact with a lot of interesting characters along her journey through the small, rural town. She meets a friendly bartender, played by Glen Gould, a kind prostitute, played by Lanette Ware, and Faust’s character, a mysterious charmer. Rourke plays the local sheriff, who seems suspicious from the start.
As the story progresses, we learn the sheriff and the charmer are working together to find a large sum of money that Girl’s father supposedly hid. With the suspension that Girl now possess the money, it’s clear why she becomes the target. The storyline goes into a whirlwind of family secrets and drama that Girl discovers throughout her investigative journey. The movie plays on themes of poverty, abuse and trauma.
The movie is reminiscent of the 2005 film House of Wax and also has similarities to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror series. Thorne does an impeccable job portraying the character of Girl and used a realistic southern accent to add to Girl’s persona. Thorne isn’t one to shy away from big roles and Girl is the actress’s fourth appearance in a feature film for 2020.
The film is available on Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play and Amazon Prime Video for $6.99. The thriller is an hour and thirty-two minutes of plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
Thorne is continuously making a name for herself in Hollywood. Her first Hollywood appearances took place on ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money and NBC’s My Own Worst Enemy. She then took on a lead role in 2010 as Cece in the Disney Channel show Shake It Up. Thorne is continuing her career and has been featured in many new TV shows and movies after her success as Cece. In 2018 she starred alongside Patrick Schwarzenegger in Midnight Sun, a moving teen romance movie. She has also taken on roles in The Babysitter, Blended and The Duff.
