June 10, 2021
By Jessica Conklin
Staff Writer
If you’re in the mood for a suspenseful thriller, then the Hulu original “Girl” is for you. Released on Sept. 25, 2020, the movie takes viewers on a journey as they watch a girl trying to survive in a fictional town filled with evil. At the end, viewers will come away feeling tricked and manipulated, but in the best way, because this movie is so captivating that it will seem more like reality than fiction.
“Girl” focuses on an unnamed young adult (Bella Thorne) who plans to kill her abusive father. She soon learns that her sinister intentions will not play out. When the girl arrives at her father’s home, she finds her father already dead in his garage.
Now, this is where every plotpoint you could ever imagine goes out the window. The girl becomes infuriated that she won’t be able to kill her father herself, so she sets out to punish whoever was responsible for killing her dad.
The girl ventures down a dirt path to get to her destination. As she is walking, the town’s sheriff starts following her. She catches on to his sketchy behavior and tells him off. From the beginning, the viewer can predict he will make an appearance later in the movie. The girl does not think much of the encounter and continues down the trail.
Now, this is where every plotpoint you could ever imagine goes out the window. The girl becomes infuriated that she won’t be able to kill her father herself, so she sets out to punish whoever was responsible for killing her dad.
In her quest to find her father’s killer, the girl explores the old town bar where everyone already seems to know her. This makes her experiences in the town even more unsettling. At the local bar, the townspeople talk about her father as if he were the most famous person in the town. Her father’s popularity and the knowledge the townspeople already have about her catches her off guard.
The bar plays a key role in the movie. The girl constantly travels back there, and that is where she meets a lady named Betty. Throughout the movie, the girl gets to know Betty, who takes on a mother-like role. As Betty tells the girl stories about her father, the girl realizes she barely knew him, and her mother was keeping secrets from her.
There’s minimal background music in this film. However, there are many scenes with background noises. These creepy sounds amplify the drama to keep viewers engaged. The actors’ expressions and emotions also shine, causing viewers to quickly get attached to the girl.
The girl remains nameless throughout the movie. That raises the question: Why isn’t she ever given a name? The answer is that her father has never shared her name with the townspeople. The fact that so much is known about the girl but her name remains a mystery only serves to heighten the suspense in this one-of-a-kind thriller.
