Last House on the Left (1972)

Future Nightmare creator and Scream weaver Wes Craven's film debut is a primitive little production that rises above its cut-rate production values and hazy, grainy patina via its grimly affecting portrait of human evil infiltrating a middle-class household. The story is adapted from Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, but the film has more in common with Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs as it charts the descent of a harmless married couple into methodical killers. A quartet of criminals--a distorted version of the nuclear family--kidnaps a pair of teenage girls and proceeds to ravage, rape, torture, and finally brutally murder them in the woods, unwittingly within walking distance of their rural home. The killers take refuge in the girls' own home, but when the parents discover just who they are and what they've done, they plot violent retribution.

Along with George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Craven helped redefine American horror with this debut--all three movies portray modern society crumbling into madness and horror. But, unlike his fellow directors, Craven gives his film an uncomfortable verisimilitude, setting it squarely in the heartland of modern America. While at times it's awkward and inconsistent, with distracting comic interludes, his handling of the brutal horror scenes is unsettling, and the death of the daughter is an unexpectedly quiet and lyrical moment. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Gritty, violent, brutal...This is how it's done!

I think it would be worth mentioning that I'm really not much of a Craven fan, at least to distinguish the fact that I'm not just writing this review to counter act the plethora of negative reviews here. This film of his however, The Last House on the Left, definetly has something to it. Raw, gritty, and primitive, this low budget revenge tale has a feel more disturbingly real than a good percentage of horror/exploitation flicks out there.

Two teen girls head out to see a concert and have some fun on a seedy side of town. When they try to score some grass, they get more than they bargained for when they are abducted by a band of four sleazy, drug addicted murderers. When the gang experiences some car troubles, they run off into the nearby woods where they proceed to torture, rape, and murder the two young girls. Upon taking refuge with a couple in a home across from the woods, they ironically discover that the house belongs to one of the victims they just murdered, and the couple are her parents. When the victim's parents stumble upon the truth about who these people are and what they've done, they exact revenge.

The murder scenes, for the time, are quite intense here. The killers torture, humiliate, and slaughter the two young women in an extremely ruthless and merciless fashion without a hint of remorse (three out of the four of them anyway). The sheer ignorance and lack of concern towards right and wrong demonstrated by the killers makes it all the more disturbing as they administer slow and grueling torture on the girls, and the murders themselves aren't exactly quick and painless. The gritty look and feel just makes the whole film seem much more realistic, almost as if you were a fly on the wall witnessing these atrocities first hand.

One thing I feel is necessary to comment on is the music score for this movie, which ranges from weird psychedelic music to uptempo piano music that borders on being comedic. The music is so bizarre here, it's actually difficult to decipher whether or not it was intended to be funny or if they were actually serious. Either way it does end up being rather humorous, but unfortunately it begins grate on the nerves as well as take away from the feel. Another aspect of the movie that contrasts very hard against the rest is a series of comic relief scenes involving two police officers as they travel on foot when their car runs out of gas. You end up with the very strange mix of disturbing murder sequences, and corny knee-slappers courtesy of a goofy cop duo.

Overall it's quite an effective movie, and although it may come across as dated to a jaded horror fan, it has definetly retained a lot of power for being 30 plus years old. Although I enjoyed it, The Last House on the Left is not a fun movie by any stretch. However it should be seen at least once if you're a horror or exploitation fan. Oh, and could somebody tell me why the movie is called The Last House on the Left?.. July 19, 2008

The Lame House on the Left

I know a lot of people who love this movie and swear its the best thing since Suspiria. NOT TRUE!! At least in my humble opinion. I watched it when it came on demand (cable people know) and I am so glad I did not waste my money on this ridiculous movie.

Two idiot girls are chased and raped and everything else by these dumb convicts. Unless I am wrong, and believe me, I tried to give it a fair chance and watched it twice, I just don't see what all the fuss is about. Proven by the fact that every used dvd store in my area has a hundred copies. Don't waste your money unless you like low budget torture movies with a ridiculous plot. July 14, 2008

Last House on the Left

The movie was recommended to us and was a huge disappointment. It was definitely a B rated movie. The music DID not fit with the plot or the scenes. We ended up selling it to the person who recommended it. May 10, 2008

snuff anyone?

Snuff flick...
The chic that gets it with a knife slowly by the tree is hot. May 9, 2008

Very disturbing, sick & sadistic torture movie

This ranks right up there with I Spit On Your Grave. I can't conceive how some fans of cult/horror films would possibly find something like this entertaining & want to put it in their collections.
It is NOT entertaining or enjoyable in the least. Almost an hour & a half of two young women being raped & tortured by pathetic scumbags is not my idea of a good movie. It is unnerving, unsettling & very sad. I would have given it zero stars if I could, but that wasn't an option, I guess. I strongly recommend not buying this film, it is well beyond redemption. In any case, don't say you weren't warned. April 29, 2008

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