This Controversial Genre-Defying Horror Film Is One of Jodie Foster’s Most Underrated Movies
1976 was a prolific and memorable year for Jodie Foster, as the child actor gained fame for her roles in Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone, and Freaky Friday.
Taxi Driver, in particular, saw huge success and was an impressive platform for Foster to showcase her skills in more mature roles as she entered adolescence, playing a child forced into sex work opposite Robert De Niro.
These three juggernaut films, which earned an array of awards, completely dominated her filmography that year, leaving The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane lost in their huge shadows.
This genre-defying film is often overlooked, even though it has one of Foster’s more prolonged and powerful performances that betrays how well she commands the screen.
While Foster’s successful year has contributed to its underrated quality, the film was controversial upon its release, specifically because of how it treated children in its narrative and themes.
Despite this, director Nicolas Gessner’s film is more than deserving of attention, not just for the clever way it evades being defined by a genre, but for the riveting performances from Foster and Michael Sheen.
