I back makeshift when it comes to the first. It's kind of terrible.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a good horror movie!

Though I'd almost classify it more as a "thriller". The fight at the end felt like it was straight out of an 80s action climax or something... I dug it

I definitely agree the acting is better than average here. One thing I liked is the little pauses and hesistations in the villains. They're screwed up, but there's a thread of conscienceness and humanity there not totally convinced with their own brutality, just under the surface.

The storyline def. is predictable and by the code, but yeah... well executed material.

3.5/5

Quite good for a remake to a classic Grindhouse film.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***


This does contain some very big spoilers, but nothing you haven't seen in the trailer.

I can still remember when I heard there was going to be a remake to Wes Craven's 1972 debut film. I told anyone who would listen that it was a mistake as there was simply no possible way to duplicate, even remotely, the feel of despair, disgust, shock, horror and hopelessness that the original made you feel. The original is without a doubt the most disturbing film I have ever seen. You can check my review of it out here at IMDb. The original was made with no studio backing, no budget and by two of horrors future icons. These are the same guys that would bring to life Freddy and Jason.

I was not wrong in my preconceived notions. The remake is nothing like the original. And really, how could it be? It is a studio film. It has Hollywood producers and if you wanted a film like the one in 1972, you would get an X-rating. As it stands, we have an R-rated film and it does a very nice job of retelling the story for a new generation of horror fans.

Is this one any good? Definitely. In fact, it is probably the best horror film of the year so far. Just because it cannot compare to the original, doesn't take away from the quality of the remake.

As the story goes, Mary and her parents are vacationing for the summer at their cottage, the last house on the left. Mary is a well to do kid, whose father is a doctor and her mother is some sort of business débutante. In spite of their wealth, they come across as a nice family and nothing like the pretentious and snotty family that they could of been in another horror film. Just before they head to their cottage for the summer, we see the story of Krug, who is being taken to a penitentiary for some crime. He is rescued by his brother and girlfriend. And they decide the best thing to do is kill the two police officers holding Krug. The killings are long and drawn out and they are violent. Krug and his gang are not nice people. This is established from the outset.

Mary decides to go to town to see her friend Paige and soon they are getting some weed from Justin, who happens to be Krug's kid. Krug and his merry band of miscreants come back to the hotel and they kidnap Mary and Paige and make off with them. At this point, nothing terrible has happened to the girls. Paige tried to escape from the hotel and she is beaten up a bit. I didn't really feel fear for Mary and Paige, not yet anyway. That all changes when they get to the forest. In a shocking moment, Paige is killed as both Krug and Francis stick a knife in her back and her stomach. This was the first time in the film that it felt like a semblance of the 1972 film. Then Mary is raped. The rape is done as violently but without any nudity as possible. This does take away from the disgust of the act, but again, an R rating had to be achieved for this film. Soon Mary is running for her life and she is shot and presumed dead.

Up until now the film is good. Where it gets great and showcases Dennis Iliadis' talent is when the killers end up at The Collingwood's doorstep in need of help and shelter for the night. They of course have no idea these are Mary's parents and when the parents, played beautifully by Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn discover the killers, their plan for retribution is carried out with no pity, no fear and no remorse.

The tag line for this film is a perfect appetizer for what you are about to see. "If bad people hurt someone you love, how far would you go to hurt them back?" The problem with so many revenge films, horror or other genres, is that the bad guys wreak havoc on the good guys for 95 minutes. Then in the last 5 minutes of the film, the good guys get their meager revenge and then the bad guys die. There is not a lot to cheer about. I need to see the bad guys get what's coming to them. And in a film where innocence is lost and a young virgin is raped and dehumanized, it is even more tantamount to see the bad guys get theirs. The Last House on the Left takes care of this beautifully. One of the signs that this is an effective film is that people talk about the merits and reality of whether or not a microwave would really blow a man's head up even with the door open, as opposed to whether or not that man deserved to have his head blown off. At this point, you just want to see something terrible happen to the iniquitous, evil bastards on screen. You don't care what it is, but it has to be cruel and maniacal. It won't help you forget the rape, but it will mitigate the act knowing that retribution was served.

The Last House on the Left is a very well made film with wonderful performances from the good guys, the bad guys and everyone in between. It is not for the weak at heart or those easily offended. However, if you want to see a truly disturbing film, watch the original. But be forewarned, it is a disturbing and brutal film. The early 70's was a different time for film making. You would never get away with what you did then in todays movie making political forum. But this remake does a very nice job of trying. Kudos to all involved.

8.5/10

I watched the Unrated version of the LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT remake a little bit ago. It's four minutes longer than the theatrical cut and if you can believe it, one of the extended sequences is the rape scene. As if that wasn't hard enough to take trimmed down. I will definitely let customers renting it know there's an incredibly disturbing rape scene, but that if you can get past it the movie is one of the best thrillers of the year. At least I can help prepare them, though I still don't think they'll be prepared for it.

A.

I seen this in June, and I loved. Love the change from the original. It was slick, dark and brutal.
The first death scene in the woods upset me. The acting was top notch. Especially Monica Potter and Garret Dillahunt.

It left me feeling good about revenge

It's definitely not implied.

very false. It's there.
It's not like a porno video, but it's very present and very explicit.

Yeah, there's no way you could miss the rape scene here, even in the "R" version.

If the violence offends you, then it's a really good idea that you turned it off after 30 minutes.

Love this film.

I was really uncomfortable during the rape though, but it adds shock to the film.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

I just finished watching this from a blockbuster rental. While it's fresh in my mind I can say that I was a bit repulsed in the beginning which is normal and then was tense about what might happen in the middle and finally was happy that it was resolved in the end.

I'm touch and go lately when films are dealing with a potential realistic violent encounter as shown when Beth and Mary get abducted and then tortured. I almost started to wonder why I put myself through these types of movies because when it's horror gory fun torture like FD I embrace it with open arms. Anyway, where I hated films like Wolf Crap and Eden Lake I did end up liking this and it's always because of the ending. I just can't take and don't like downer endings.

I did enjoy the story. The murderers were pretty much psychos especially that idiot female. I thought the family would Never get a sink with a disposal ever again. I did like how the psychos met up with the girl's family and then stayed in the guest house then got killed by them, but I wondered wouldn't it be interesting if the people in the house were serial killers too. Is there a movie like that? Let me know...

Good to view once, oh and I thought the Doc was just gonna leave him paralyzed forever and take care of him. That would have been worse than anything. Instead he nukes his head. Will a head really explode even though the microwave is open and isn't it dangerous to run a microwave without the door closed?

Grade - B

Agreed. I was so happy when it ended well. I thought for a while that it was going to end on a bad note.

The EDEN LAKE ending upset me.

Could this be more typical? B-

You utterly missed the point of the film. It is supposed to challenge your sense of morality and force you to confront the disturbing reality that people such as this exist. With the exception of a few coincidences in the film it is all very real, and that's the point. It's not supposed to be entertaining, although it may be a little bit, but rather its supposed to communicate a message.
I could elaborate even more but I know you'll write this off as bullshit and insist your the only one that could possibly be right.

Maybe you shouldn't even bother watching horror movies. Women get tortured in them all of the time. And it's not like you weren't repeatedly warned about the rape scene. Everyone said how disturbing it was. It's your fault you didn't listen. It was a great movie though, and your opinion is invalid since you didn't even see most of it. It's not like any of us had fun watching it. But if you can get past that part it's great and well-made.


And Eden Lake was great. The ending was like a punch in the gut, but why do you need happy endings all of the time? It's the ending that makes that movie so great overall. It wouldn't be nearly as memorable without it.


And what was so bad about it in the beginning? That wasn't disturbing or hard to watch, so I don't know why you found it so TERRIBLE.

I don't even know why you watched it, BKB. We made it perfectly clear that the rape scene was not implied but very much there, and considering that you know you can't handle (?) watching a rape scene, you should have refrained...

Don't you remember his rant about the rape scene in The Hills Have Eyes?

when we explained that it secured the fact that he would see it. That way he could come in here and rant about how it was wrong and gross.

And that was nothing compared to this.

Maybe BKB got a woody watching that scene in Last House and now hates himself for that *shrug*

LOL!

Could be the only reason why he watched it. Who wouldn't want to watch what these guys get coming to them after raping and shooting her?



Didn't you just kind of answer your own question right there? Of course it'd be dangerous. Someone's head might explode.

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It's good. I watched the unrated cut so I'm not sure what's different or how much longer it is compared to the theatrical version, but I liked how in this everything moves kind of slowly. The story takes it's sweet time to unfold and it's really beneficial here unlike in some other horror films (Friday the 13th '09, where the last act seems to go on forever). The rape is brutal, and it's also long. It has to be at least a five minute scene, maybe ten and nothing is shied away from. Though I have to admit, it wasn't quite the punch in the gut that I thought it was going to be. Maybe it's because I've become desensitized to things in modern horror films?

It's also well acted, as many of you have mentioned. The scene I found most disturbing in the in the film is when the parents found her on the porch. Just the look in Goldwyn and Potter's eyes. They completely sold the scene and the film for me.

***

Potter is an underrated actress anyway. I've always liked her, and I thought she was great here. She deserves to get more work.