I'd Keep On Driving Right Past The Last House On The Left
Written: Sep 17 '09
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: It ends
Cons: Grossly violent. A few tremendously disturbing scenes.
The Bottom Line: The Last House Of The Left is a terrible film that doesn't need to be viewed by anyone.
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| chad8246's Full Review: The Last House on the Left |
Horror films are definitely not my cup of tea. In fact, I don't really like tea either. But, I do enjoy thrillers/suspense films. Sure the scope of thrillers/suspense flicks is pretty large, while horror films are very specific except for the Scream series. So, when I see something that seems to merge the two (or is it three?) styles, I'm somewhat intrigued.
I vaguely remember seeing previews for The Last House On The Left when it first entered theaters. I did think the premise seemed interesting, but basically forgot about it until recently when I was visiting the video store. The summary seemed just as I had thought...still interesting. But, was it a horror film or a thriller? I quickly realized that it was a remake of Wes Craven's original 1972 release. This scared me as it seemed the film would focus more on the horror aspect rather than the preferred thriller aspect. Little did I know that it would be part of the recently created genre of torture porn.
The plot of The Last House On The Left is relatively standard. A nice suburban family travels to their lake house for some rest and relaxation. Once they arrive at the house, the daughter Mari (Sara Paxton), takes the car into the city to visit her friend, Paige (Martha Maclsaac). She promises to call her mom (Monica Potter) to let her know she's safe. When they finally do talk, the cell phone magically malfunctions as she lets her mom know that she's going to spend the night in the city with Paige.
While Mari is hanging out with Paige at her convenience store job, a customer named Justin (Spencer Treat Clark) offers them some pot which they are eager to sample. They arrive at his hotel room and begin having a good time. But, soon after, three fugitives arrive and the havoc begins. The group is made up of Justin's father, Krug (Garrett Dillahunt), his uncle Francis (Aaron Paul) and his father's girlfriend Sadie (Riki Lindome). The girls immediately realize something isn't quite right and Paige attempts to escape to no avail. The crew assembles in Mari's SUV and begins their escape.
While in the SUV, Mari attacks Sadie with a car lighter which results in brutal car crash. Miraculously, everyone survives. And, right here is where the movie becomes more disturbing than I thought was possible. A series of events causes the three fugitives to arrive at Mari's home where her parents soon realize they are dealing with cold blooded killers. I'll leave the details out, but needless to say, the resulting showdowns are brutal, violent, gross and gratuitous.
I think it's important to point out that I do not have a weak stomach. I can handle most things I see on television or in movies. Granted, if I saw some of those things in real life, I probably couldn't handle it. But, on the screen, I have no problem. However, there are so many things in The Last House On The Left that left me totally disgusted. The violence is nauseating. There is an extended rape scene that offered nothing to the plot and didn't advance the story line. It was simply included to shock. There could be an argument made that it functions as character development, but that's simply not true. The rapist is a bad guy and we know that from virtually the first moment he appears on screen. Showing the rape flat out offers nothing.
There is also plenty of other violence in the film that is unnecessary. Yes, the second half of the film functions as a revenge film, but the ways that everyone meets there respective dooms are just outrageous and done for shock value. When a gunshot would do, the filmmakers opt to go with an ax to the head or an arm in the garbage disposal. It's torture porn at its worst and I wish Saw had never been made. What started out as an entertaining sociological thriller morphed into a series of increasingly violent pictures that apparently have influenced countless directors and filmmakers. With The Last House On The Left, director Dennis Iliadis and writers Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth continue with that disturbing trend.
The violence in The Last House On The Left isn't the only problem with the film. The plot is boring and nothing that we haven't seen before. Sadly, there appears to have been some changes made in this version and from what I've read about the original, all of those changes have been to the detriment of the remake. There's something to be said for movies made in the 1970s and their generally downbeat endings. In many cases, those ending add to the power of the film. But, in today's day and age, we've got to have the "Hollywood ending." And, in the case here, it only makes the film worse.
The acting in The Last House On The Left is average at best. The major players, Mari (Sara Paxton), her mom (Monica Potter) and her dad (Tony Goldwyn) are all fine. The criminals are also just as average. The only exception would be Garrett Dillahunt's portrayal of Krug. He's quite good as the creepy and degenerate killer. It is painful to watch both Clark and Maclsaac struggle through the film as Justin and Paige respectively. They are barely believable in their roles. Luckily, the acting doesn't bog down they picture too much. The violence and script do that just fine.
The DVD release of The Last House On The Left does not offer much to the viewer. You have the option of watching the original rated R theatrical version of the film. Or, you can opt for the unrated version. There are a few deleted scenes on the disc as well as short featurette about the making of the film. It would have been nice to have some sort of comparison between the remake and the original or even Wes Craven's thought about the update. But, sadly, there is none. Of course, having those items wouldn't have made a difference in the quality of the DVD.
I think my opinion about The Last House On The Left is pretty clear at this point. If you managed to read this far and not get the idea, let me make it painfully obvious. There really is no reason for you to watch this film. If you like horror movies, there are plenty of better ones. If you like thrillers, there are countless other you'll enjoy more and if it's a revenge flick you're looking to watch, you can easily do better. The film isn't worth your time. It's overly violent, grotesque and disgusting and painful to watch. Stay far away!!
Recommended:
No
Movie Mood: Scary Movie
Worst Part of this Film: Everything
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Epinions.com ID:
chad8246
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Location: Houston, Texas
Reviews written: 225
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Lousy Smarch weather!
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