The Last House On The Left

Starring: Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, Martin Kove
Written by: Wes Craven
Directed by: Wes Craven
Year: 1972

Rating: * 1/2 Stars   +    (Fan Bonus 1/2)  Total:  * *

Wes Craven, best known for his Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream franchises, makes his directorial debut with The Last House On The Left.

This extreme low budget horror film effectively showcases the raw, naked ugliness of violence. Unfortunately, sloppy editing and amateur storytelling mar what should stand along side other cult horror classics like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead.

The plot revolves around two teenage girls, one celebrating her 17th birthday. On the way to a rock concert, these rural teenagers stop in the big city to score some marijuana. There, they run into a group of deranged, escaped convicts where they are tortured, kidnapped, raped, and murdered. The twist in the story is where the convicts, needing shelter for the night, come across a house owned by a doctor and his wife who take them in for the night. By coincidence, they are the parents of the murdered teenager, and exact revenge upon them.

On paper, the plot sounds solid, and is actually a tweaking on Wes Craven's part to Igmar Bergman's Virgin Spring. Sadly, this film fails for a number of reasons, notably for its radical shifts in establishing atmosphere. Enter the Sheriff and his Deputy. While the convicts and their victims abandon their car and march off into the woods, the law officers stop by the car thinking someone has broken down. Without investigating, they assume the owner is off to a local station and they continue on. Later, having learned of the escaped convicts and what car they were last seen in, they race back to that spot on the road near the forest. From this point the audience is treated to one sick and cruel act after another visited upon these poor girls by the four kidnappers. The cops, which should offer some semblance of hope for the audience that they might get there in time, do not. Instead, the Sheriff and Deputy become comedic relief as they treat us to one slapstick scene after another. They run out of gas, start walking, get punked out by a group of teenagers, and fall off the roof of a truck carrying chickens. And while we're treated to one grotesque scene after another, they get offset by these two pulling off a Skipper and Gilligan routine. While some directors insert moments of comedy in their films to lighten the tension, this approach fails because the severity of the drama is insulted by the retarded nature of the "would be heroes."

The film also takes a few leaps of faith in connecting its dots. Consider for example the scene where the Mother, in the middle of the night, grows suspicious of their guests and peeks in their suitcase. She sees an article of clothing with blood on it. Suddenly the next thing we see is her and her husband racing into the woods to the very spot where their daughters body lays beside the pond. Wait, is this the same daughter that was shot 3 times and drowned in the middle of the pond? When and how did she get on the shore? Why are her clothes clean from all the muck and sludge of the pond? How did the parents know exactly where to find her in the woods in the middle of the night? And did you notice when they ran out of the house onto the street, the house is actually the last on the right?

The dynamic of the Mother and Father is interesting. Two very open minded people, they display a kindness and openness that you rarely see today. The fact that they open their homes to strangers without question is how Wes illustrates their altruistic nature. So consider the dramatic fall from grace they take on a personal level to take a murderous revenge on those who brutally assaulted their daughter. Where this dynamic fails is the absurd and calculating way the father goes about setting booby traps while his wife performs oral sex on one of the assailants. Granted, what she did at the end was hardcore, but realistically, wouldn't any parent having seen their daughter in this condition, just go upstairs and kill them in a blind rage while they slept?

In 2009, a remake was made and it certainly fixed these nagging problems. I dare say this was one of those remakes that improves upon the original in every way possible. Still, the original is Wes Craven's accidental hit. If you've never seen the film, your hands will be over your face. Partially for the shock value, partially cause you're embarrassed.

SEE THE TRAILER: The Last House On The Left