The Last House on the Left (1972)

Powerful

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I have seen this movie before a few times, and didn't think much of it but recently, I've become obsessed with it. Like, it's REALLY grown on me. I think I love it. I love the look of the 1970's. It's pretty tame and cheesy by today's horror movie standards, but that's what makes it so great and part of its charm. One minute, something terrible is happening, like forced rape or being stabbed to death, then the next, it's about two clumsy cops trying to find a ride. So, I bought the beautiful epic set by Arrow Video and I'm happy to see that Wes Craven's masterpiece directorial debut has received the Royal Treatment. There are three cuts of the film, which I watched all of them in one sitting. I wanted to see the differences and have it memorized before I re-watched the 2009 remake. (After watching the remake, I still love the original better. It's so iconic and an important piece of American horror cinema) The film is about 17 year old Mari Collingwood, who is about to go see a rock concert with her best friend, Phyllis. Mari is about to celebrate her Birthday. While she's gone, her parents, Estelle and Dr. John Collingwood prepare a Birthday party for her. While searching for some marijuana before the concert, the girls run into Krug Stillo, his son Junior, Fred 'Weasel' Podowski and the sexy but deadly Sadie. They take them into the woods and begin to sexually, psychologically, mentally, and emotionally torture them. The rape scene might've been pretty brutal back in the day, but the one figured in the remake is more graphic. By an amazing turn of events, Krug and company happen to seek refuge at the home of Mari's parents. When they find out who they are and what they've done, the parents will do the unthinkable to seek justice for their daughter. The parents become almost as psychotic as the bad guys, and that's something that fascinates me. In the beginning, they are normal boring parents, then later, the father is setting up traps and whipping out a chainsaw. To avoid fainting, keep repeating, It's only a movie, only a movie, only a movie, only a movie! I highly recommend THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT!!!

Thriller ?! For movie to be a thriller it must have plot, suspense, tension, mystery, something... This movie is linear, predictable, vulgar simple... but Craven was able to do something I never seen before - he made explicit and credible scenes of rape, torture and brutal violence boring, without any tension and without leaving any impression on viewer. Horror ?! The only scary thing in this movie is fact that it is scary stupid. Disgusting - yes, but there's no trace of horror or thriller. Acting and directing irresistibly reminds of low-budget porn. And scenes of nature followed by pleasant, even merrily music definitely don't contribute to tension, but departing this movie from genres it should represent even more.I didn't rate it 1/10 only because it was inspired by Bergman and because I did succeed to watch it till the end without my brain leaking through my ears.

During the early 70's, exploitation films began to run the gamut of seedy, dilapidated theaters that were sprawled throughout cities. Featuring an extremely low budget, exploitation films captured an essence of the culture, one that began to emerge after the death of the late 60's summer of love. When The Last House on the Left was introduced to the public, it was advertised with the tagline "to avoid fainting, keep repeating it's only a movie…it's only a movie." What Wes Craven presents to the audience with his first feature length film is a tacky, ultra-violent, and ultimately unnecessary foray into exploitation cinema, yet one that is sickeningly satisfying, helping change the face of cinema forever.Quickly establishing itself as a film with little morals, but with the potential for values, The Last House on the Left opens with the loving and caring family of the Collingwoods, whose house rests with woods on each side. On the eve of their daughter Mari's (Sandra Cassel) 17th birthday, her parents agree to let her attend a concert in the city with her friend Phyllis (Lucy Graham). Attempting to score some weed after the show, Phyllis encounters Junior (Marc Sheffler), the son of newly escaped convict Krug (David Hess), who has holed up in an apartment building along with fellow fugitives Sadie (Jeramie Rain) and Fred "Weasel" Podowski (Fred Lincoln). What follows is exactly what the films tagline wants you to begin repeating to yourself, "it's only a movie…it's only a movie." Produced by Sean S. Cunningham, who would later direct one of the most quintessential slasher films of our time with Friday the 13th, The Last House on the Left is filmed with the exact low budget graininess that other exploitation films of its time are. One defining difference Wes Craven gives it is an immense sense of well being, established by the blossoming friendship of Mari and Phyllis. While I've certainly never discussed my newly developed testicles or how my body has really filled out over the past season with anyone, watching it being discussed by the two establishes innocence, one that only a woman and possibly her parents could truly feel. This innocence, aided by the loving care of Mr. and Mrs. Collingwood builds us up for the inevitable drop that comes with the young women encountering the gang of fugitives.What Wes Craven seems to labor too intensively on amidst the rape, torture, and ultra-violence is the supposed necessity to lighten the mood whenever the camera shifts away from the perversion in the woods. Given the seriousness and gravity of what is laid out in front of us, the film becomes less exploitative than it does tacky with the goofy, Three Stooge like behavior of the bumbling law men, played by Marshall Anker and Martin Kove. Mixed between cuts of oral rape, dismemberment, and shootings is a score, with pieces provided by David Hess himself, that detaches us from what has burrowed deep within our core, coming off like a B.J. Thomas mock.While remaining unnecessary with its representation of violence towards women, its poorly timed comedic cuts, and its misguided musical choice, The Last House on the Left has remained as significant as it did when it first hit low budget cinema in 1972. It's ability to stick with you long after the credits have rolled is a true testament to the strength and passion of its creators, playing as a true labor of love rather than a simple shock piece. What Wes Craven and Sean S. Cunningham have provided stands not only as a staple in exploitation cinema, but as a milestone in horror, paving the way for years of gore, screams, and macabre.

It's Mari Collingwood's 17th birthday. She and her friend Phyllis Stone go to NYC for a concert. They try to buy some weed but are kidnapped and raped by a gang of criminals. They are stuff in the car trunk and driven to the woods near Mari's home. The girls are tortured and killed. The gang ends up coincidentally at the Collingwood home while the bumbling local cops struggle to track the gang down.This is definitely an exploitation film. I'm sure it was derided by the critics at the time. Some of those exploitation parts are actually the best parts of the movie. Being forced to pee in her pants is a compelling scene. The rest of the movie is amateurish, silly and simply bad. The comic stuff with the cops is groan-worthy. The coincidence of running into the Collingwood home is ridiculous and unnecessary. The gang could have gotten the address from Mari. The overall need to create a peaceful happy tone while counteracting it with the brutal violence does not come off well. Then there is the killing of the girls which splits the movie in two. The second half fades and the intensity never fully recovers. It's one of Wes Craven's first and it's at the level of a good student film.