The Last House on the Left

Lake Ends In The Road.

The Last House on the Left is directed by Dennis Iliadis and adapted to screenplay by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth from the story by Wes Craven (co-producer here). A remake of Craven’s 1972 film of the same name (itself influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring), it stars Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Spencer Treat Clark and Martha MacIsaac. Music is by John Murphy and cinematography by Sharone Meir.

During a family vacation, teenagers Mari (Paxton) and Paige (MacIsaac) are viciously set about by a gang led by recent prison escapee Krug (Dillahunt). When bad weather forces Krug’s car to career off the road, the gang, unbeknownst to them, seek refuge in the vacation home of Mari’s parents. When the parents realise what their new lodgers have done, they begin to enact bloody retribution.

It’s pointless going on about remakes of old horror films, they are here to stay and we continue to watch them in the hope that they will strike a chord with us. With The Last House on the Left, remaking it, to me at least, is understandable given the 72 film is not exactly a great classic itself. True enough to say it has that grainy grunginess that was so befitting the decade’s horror movies, marking it out as an unsettling experience without really living up to its “terrifying” reputation. In fact if you put both movies together they still wouldn’t have enough class in them to give Bergman’s movie a run for its money.

So the remake then, all glossy and big budgeted, with name actors in the principal roles, it is by definition routinely packaged for the modern day audience. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that what unfolds on that screen is challenging us, it really does do its job. The pertinent question exists, are you capable of such violence having had violence inflicted on your loved ones previously? What would you do in the same situation that Mari’s parents find themsel...

Pretty good suspense-thriller-horror with Sara Paxton, Aaron Paul, Garret Dillahunt and Tony Goldwyn giving fine performances. Can't say it was exactly 'entertaining' given the SA scene but seeing them get their comeuppance was. I've never seen Wes Craven's 1972 original so I don't know how it compares, but thought it was alright, just won't revisit outside of watching with the new commentary track on the Arrow Video release. 3.75/5

Beauty and the Beast

I admit I originally had no interest in seeing this '09 remake of 1972's "Last House on the Left," which involved the rape/murder of two girls and the ensuing wrath the parents of one of the girls (loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's "The Virgin Spring" from 1960). Why not? Because the original movie was just so dumb. I know many hail it for being "disturbing" due to the vile, sadistic villains and the humiliation, rape and gory murders -- but I didn't find it disturbing at all. Why? Because the preposterous storyline accompanied by the goofy music and bumbling cops made it impossible to take serious. Consequently, just like I don't consider the violence in, say, a Road Runner cartoon disturbing -- because it's impossible to take seriously -- so I didn't find "Last House" disturbing. Dumb? Yes. An interesting early 70's curiosity? Yes. Disturbing? No.

Apparently director Dennis Iliadis and writers Adam Alleca & Carl Ellsworth understood the blatant flaws of the original because this remake overcomes them all and is a near masterpiece of filmmaking.

Without knowing what it was, I stumbled upon this remake last summer while channel-surfing in a motel in the heart of Nebraska; the opening caught my attention and I became engrossed. About 40 minutes into the story it dawned on me that this was the remake of "Last House on the Left." Although I couldn't finish the film, the first thing I did when I got home was secure a copy for viewing.

What makes this remake so good? For one thing, the filmmaking itself is top-of-the-line -- the cinematography, music, cast, acting, mood, suspense, etc. all work together to make a superior piece of cinematic art -- yes, even though it's "just a horror flick." I was particularly impressed with the way the film juxtaposes the beauty of nature & people or family with the hideousness of human evil. Take, for example, the opening scenes of the beautiful woods & music followed by the thug's murderous escap...