The Last House on the Left (1972) 

  Wes Craven (1939-2015) was an innovative horror director that left a lasting impression that endures in the world of horror cinema. He gave us one of the most enduring horror icons of the genre, in the form of Freddy Kruger, and gave us numerous horror classics such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and Scream (1996). His pioneering work in the horror genre included a brilliant blend of humor and cliches, oftentimes these films were satirical in nature, as evidenced in the Scream series. I never considered covering his work in one of my reviews, but I eventually decided to celebrate the great horror director by reviewing his directorial debut, and the lasting impact it left in the horror genre, The Last House on the Left (1972). 

  To offer some insight, The Last House on the Left came out at a time when exploitation flicks were all the rage in drive-ins and movie theaters. These movies exploited taboo subjects of the era, along with popular trends of the time, and were generally sleazy in nature, not concerned with being pieces of quality filmmaking, but to show the audience what they wanted, the usual being sex and violence seen in notable exploitation movies. Most of these movies got cult followings from fans and were often viewed with disdain from movie critics, although some movies are viewed as historically significant to the development of cinema, with The Last House on the Left being viewed in a similar light. 

  The film's plot centers around Mari and Phyllis (Sandra Peabody and Lucy Grantham), two friends who try to buy some weed before going to a rock concert. They end up asking the wrong people for pot; three recently escaped thugs named Krug, Fred, and Sadie, along with Junior (David Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, and Marc Sheffler), kidnap the two girls and take them to the woods to torture them, just a few miles away from Mari's home. After the crime, the killers take refuge in the nearby house, where it just so happens to be Mari's home, where parents live (Richard Towers and Cynthia Carr). The story of the film was inspired by the Ingmar Bergmann film The Virgin Spring (1960), which itself was based on the Swedish ballad "Töres döttar I Wägne" (Töre's daughters in Vägne). 

Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham

  The film's budget was just $87,000, roughly $537,225 in 2020, adjusted for inflation. It was produced by Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham, who also produced House (1986), directed by Steve Miner, a minor character in the film, and directed the first two Friday the 13th sequels, along with Lake Placid (1999). Cunningham had previously directed The Art of Marriage (1970), which attracted the attention of the then-unknown Wes Craven, who decided to get into the filmmaking business after he had seen the film. 

Limited edition picture disc soundtrack vinyl by One Way Static Records

  The cast in the film was primarily composed of inexperienced actors, except Richard Towers, Eleanor Shaw, and Sandra Peabody, who had previously starred in soap operas and other film roles. Another interesting fact about this film is that Krug actor David Hess also did the music for the movie, as he was an experienced singer-songwriter before the making of the film. His songs can be heard throughout the film, often playing in several scenes in the film. 

  The film was initially titled Sex Crime of the Century, but it was changed to Krug and Company after Craven became skeptical with the initial title, until it was finally changed to The Last House on the Left. Released on August 30th, 1972, the film made a pretty decent killing at the box office, pulling in $3.1 million ($19.2 million in 2020 dollars) in total, which is seen as a success nowadays, given the extremely minuscule budget these films usually had. One common occurrence of the time was films paired with other films as part of a double feature, a popular attraction to moviegoers at the time. One notable film that was often paired with The Last House on the Left was Mario Bava's Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971), which became an influential film in the slasher film genre. 

  Upon its release, The Last House on the Left caused a firestorm of controversy among critics and audiences alike, alienated by the film's graphic depictions of violence and torture. At the time, it was a new type of film, one that audiences and critics hadn't seen before its release. Back then, audiences weren't used to seeing character deaths in such graphic and gory detail, as most films before this one didn't show much in the way of a death scene, except for the films of Hershel Gordon Lewis (1926-2016).

Hershell Gordon Lewis (1926-2016)

  Gordon Lewis, known as the Godfather of Gore, had released several films in the 60s that featured high levels of gore at the time of their releases. His 1963 directorial effort Blood Feast is the first "splatter" film, which depicted characters meeting grisly deaths on-screen for the first time with the help of cheap special effects. He followed up this success with other shlock classics such as Two Thousand Maniacs (1964), Color Me Blood Red (1965), and The Wizard of Gore (1970). These films were often absurd to the point of hilarity, which is what made them such charming and endearing pieces of cult cinema. 

  The Last House on the Left didn't inspire any laughter from the audiences and critics who saw it. Many critics compared the film to Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece Straw Dogs (1971), which had attracted similar controversy for its graphic depictions of sexual assault and for its perceived celebration of vigilantism. Reviews were hostile towards the film, with many critics viewing it with disdain and utter hatred, save for the great Roger Ebert (1942-2013), who defended the film and awarded it three stars out of four. 

  The lengthy censorship history of this film is the stuff of legend. Film projectionists were so disgusted by the film, they cut out scenes from the movie entirely, resulting in many versions released on VHS and DVD. Most of these scenes ended up being lost, with only descriptions and photo stills providing evidence to confirm their existence. The only scene that survived the purge was the scene where a dying Mari is discovered by her parents, dying from a gunshot inflicted by Krug, but not before telling them who were the bastards who did this to her. This scene was available on the Australian home video release, which was titled Krug and Company, also appearing as a bonus feature in the limited edition steel book release by Arrow Video, which is the release I own on Blu-ray. 

  The UK censorship history of this movie is legendary, to put it mildly; it was refused a theatrical release by the British Board of Film Censors in 1974, as well as a certification by the British Board of Film Classification. The film did see a VHS release in 1982, but it was eventually banned from circulation, along with other films when the "video nasty" panic took hold. For those who don't know, "video nasties" were films labeled as "obscene" by the BBFC and were banned from circulation entirely, most of these bans lasting over 20 years. 72 films in total banned from circulation in the UK, the most notable examples being Blood Feast (1963), Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971), Faces of Death (1978), and Zombie (1979). The movie remained banned completely for almost 30 years before it was finally given the pass for an uncut release by the BBFC on March 17th, 2009, along with the Video Recording Acts 1984 being repealed and replaced. 

   Over time, the film gained a critical reappraisal, elevating its reception to a more mixed to positive opinion. It holds a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a more appropriate 68/100 on Metacritic and a feasible score of 6.0/10 on IMDb. The critical consensus reads:

"Its visceral brutality is more repulsive than engrossing, but The Last House on the Left nevertheless introduces director Wes Craven as a distinctive voice in horror."

 

 After seeing the insane censorship history of this film and its reputation, I ask myself the question that must be on everyone's minds; does the movie still hold up and live up to its notoriety? Well, the short answer is that it does and it doesn't. I can't be too harsh on the film given its age, but I can at least give it some credit for how innovative it was and for being the debut of the great Wes Craven. 

  The Last House on the Left isn't a perfect film by any means, but as a classic example of an exploitation revenge film, it succeeds. It's a very harsh and brutal movie, as we spend most of the second half of the film seeing the girls get tortured by the criminals, who force the girls to humiliate themselves, perform sexual acts on one another, and suffer a horrific death. Phyllis's disturbing demise is what really made me feel sickened to my stomach, as well as Mari being held down by the criminals as Krug carves his initials on her chest is a visceral display of cruelty. Some strange sound effects were playing over Phyllis's death scene, but I think it adds to the disturbing factor. The entire occurrence of events takes up the entire second act of the movie, but thankfully the film isn't too sickening and depressing, as it picks up with the criminals taking refuge in the nearby house, where Mari's parents soon discover their daughter washed up the lake and decided to exact their vengeance against the criminals. 

 The revenge scenes are where The Last House of the Left succeeds the most, whereas the torture of the two girls is mostly graphic and disturbing. I say mostly because the visceral nature of these scenes is often interrupted by bad attempts at comic relief.  The scenes in question involve two dumb cops (Cobra Kai's Martin Kove and Marshall Anker) trying to find the criminals but end up failing in many allegedly wacky ways. The 1982 UK VHS release removed the scenes involving the dumb cops, as well as the out-of-place sitcom-like credits sequence that rolls by the end of the film. Hess' soundtrack work in the film is actually pretty good, having talent as a singer-songwriter, and I genuinely liked a few songs, specifically "Wait for the Rain" and "Now You're All Alone", which plays over the scenes of torture and death, which, unlike the comic relief scenes, doesn't feel out of place or distracting, and blends nicely with the scene. 

  I love how this film was shot in the 16MM format, giving it a gritty low-budget documentary look that gives it that classic exploitation feel. The acting performances are decent enough to make the sequence of events believable, as well as the dynamic between the criminals, looking like they've been at it for several years; they look like people you'd typically see out in the street. Going back to the revenge aspect of this movie, I loved how Wes Craven gave us the prime example of a smart character in a horror film, which is a rare sight to see in these kinds of films. The father does the classic "trap 'em and kill 'em" where he sets up numerous traps in his house, as well as rigging tripwires and an electric doorknob to trap his targets.

  There was a remake of the same name in 2009, which I remember since I saw the poster various times and also the TV promos.  Wes Craven and Sean S. Cunningham returned as producers, with the story credited to Craven himself, as most of the film retained the same elements from the original. The only key differences of the remake were the elimination of the comic relief cops, going for a more straightforward revenge film, and having Mari survive her torture. Despite having a more consistent tone and better production values than the original, the film received less than stellar reviews from critics, who decried the film's excessive violence and lacking the visceral gut-punch of the original. I never saw the remake, but I prefer the original 1972 film, mainly because of its visceral, gritty look and lasting legacy as an exploitation classic. 

  Although it may look rather quaint, when compared to most films considered the most disturbing ever made, The Last House on the Left remains a fairly graphic film that introduced Wes Craven as a horror tour de force. It helped usher in a new type of horror film and is perhaps the best film out of the revenge porn movies of the 70s. 

No copyright infringement is intended with the use of these images, all images used belong to their respective authors. Information obtained from The Last House on the Left (1972), Box Office Mojo, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and usinflationcalculator.com.