The Last House on the Left (1972)
Directed by Wes Craven
I’m a little surprised it took me this long to review this movie. It is one of the movies that changed the scope of horror forever. It was extremely low budget ($87,000) and gritty as hell. Wes Craven proved in his career, that when he’s on, he’s on but when he’s off, he makes shit like My Soul to Take.
The Last House on the Left is about two girls, Mari and Phyllis going to New York to a concert, they try to score some weed and instead they’re kidnapped by a group of psychotic convicts. The girls are taken out in the woods, raped, tortured and eventually murdered by the hands of the psychos. The acts are very real feeling and disturbing. The plot is simple but the movie sticks with you. Eventually the killers’ car breaks down in front of Mari’s house, and they go in where her parents entertain them. Shortly after they arrive, the parents discover Mari and realize what has happened. Now they exact their vengeance on the killers.
The acting is decent, I suppose. Sometimes with older movies like this it is hard to judge it, especially with such a low budget. The girls are both likeable especially Mari played by Sandra Peabody, she’s sweet and kind. David Hess as Krug is just a piece of shit, you can’t wait to see him meet his comeuppance. The other characters are a little blah. The parents are typical, the dad is kind of a weak lame guy and the wife is very pretty but kind of one dimensional. Martin Kove of Karate Kid fame plays a deputy and it was funny to see him in an early role. Also uncredited, Steve Miner makes an appearance as a deputy. Miner went on to direct Friday the 13th Pt 2, which is underrated in my opinion.
The effects are pretty good, and realistic. The disemboweling scene is one that will always stick with me. One of the biggest things in this movie for me, is the music. We get a lot of odd choices, which really adds to the suspense and does a good job of counteracting the violence shown. A girl is getting beaten and stabbed, while bluegrass is playing. It is quite odd, but gives that sense of realism that many movies of this type do not have. I imagine deranged people killing someone in real life, whatever music they have on is going to be playing right?
This movie was a big deal back in the day, it grossed over 3 Million dollars. It helped pave the way for the careers of Wes Craven, Sean S Cunningham and Steve Miner, which would go on to make many great horror movies of the next decade. The movie is a little too unnerving and real at times, to be enjoyable and rewatchable. It is a good movie, but the content is disturbing. I give Last House on the Left a B.
