Last House on the Left Movie Review
Don't go in the house!
Let me just tell you that Last House on the Left is one of the most disturbing and realistic thrillers that I have ever seen, TWICE. The original, filmed in 1972, remains a cult favorite, especially for Wes Craven fans. This story is the ultimate vigilante/revenge movie. Wes Craven delivers up yet another gruesome story in his latest remake of Last House on the Left. With updated scenes and the latest special effects, you have not seen this Last House on the Left before.
Violence, violence and more violence! The violence starts within three minutes of the opening scene and doesn’t end until the last moment of the movie. This disturbing tale begins with an escaped convict and his cronies preying on two young teenaged girls. They kidnap and assault these two young girls in such a brutal manner that it sometimes becomes difficult to watch.
Start with a house in the woods six miles from the closest neighbors, add a thunderstorm that knocks out the electric, and lose the keys to your only means of transportation, and you have the primary setting for this intense and unbelievably graphic movie. Imagine being the parents of one of these girls, who simultaneously realize the fate of their daughter and that the monsters who hurt her are in their home. What would you do? Would you kill them or run? If you said, “KILL ‘EM,” then you’ll appreciate this storyline.
But be warned – this movie is extremely violent and extremely disturbing. Once you watch it, you can’t erase the visions from your mind. The special effects are unbelievable and abundant. Imagine all the gore you see when knives, guns, and even garden tools are penetrating the body. This movie doesn’t leave anything to the imagination.
On the lighter side, as with most thrillers these days, you hear some really funny one-liners like the convict calling the parents “crazy people.” The audience where I viewed this movie cheered and laughed quite often. There’s nothing like a little vengeance to get an audience stirred up!
As for the acting, the casting was right on! Garet Dillahunt (Krug) and Aaron Paul (Francis) play the villainous brothers who, with the psychotic girlfriend, Riki Lindhome (Sadie) terrorize the teenage girls. Sara Paxton is amazing. She is a strong teenage girl named Mary, whose will is never broken. Paxton brings the story home for us.
Additionally, Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn play the avenging parents who often reminded me of a wrestling tag team with gruesome, often over-the-top, attack methods. Oh, and you can’t forget the up-and-coming Spencer Treat Clark. Clark plays the son of Krug, who is forced to be a witness and victim to his father’s gruesome attacks. Clark is definitely a young actor to watch. He definitely tied the story together as the pivotal character.
So, if you are all about blood and guts, violence and rage, and over-the-top brutality, then you’ll love Last House on the Left.
