Review - The Last House On The Left

The Last House On The Left was filmed and released in 1972 and has become a milestone in film history. It was the very first film ever written/directed by the legendary Wes Craven. It was rather controversial to audiences in the 1970s and, in fact, still is.

37 years later it has been remade and directed by Dennis Illiadis. Unlike many film remakes this one may be deemed more authentic since it's approved, and indeed produced by Craven. In many ways this review concerns both versions.

Last House is a very unique story because it doesn't exactly deal with good vs bad. Rather it's a story that is based on an uncomfortable combination of the two. There are the 'bad' guys: a very weird-disfunctional kinda family. Then there are the 'good' guys: a very wealthy and proper family with a father/husband who's a doctor. I believe the main reason that this story has always been unpleasant for audiences is because it illustrates vividly how alike all people are. We naturally like to think that people are different and that there are 'good' people and 'bad' people. However, Last House suggests that people are closer to being alike. This is hard for many people to think about. Most people like to think they are good and could never succumb to the hideous level of 'bad' people. Yet that's what the 'good' people in Last House seem to do. The motivation may come across as different but the end result is the same.

I was intrigued by the audience that I shared the theatre with. The were all abhorred by the acts that the 'bad people' did to the 'good' people. But then they cheered on the 'good' people when they performed similar acts on the 'bad people'. That's Craven's point in this story. The 'bad' people do bad things but are YOU really any different?

Other quick comments. The original version was filmed much like a documentary. That's not really the case in the remake but there are certainly moments where the new one feels like a 1970s movie. In my opinion the new version doesn't match the level of intensity in the original.

I'm giving this movie a Rent It rating since I'm trying to get tougher on my ratings. Overall it doesn't offer a whole lot more than the original. If you are serious fan of Wes Craven then you'll probably wanna go see this movie now. And try to observe the reactions of the other people in the theatre with you...

Last House On The Left - RENT IT