# Last House on the Left (1972)

### reviewed by
Jerry Saravia

As pure, unmitigated horror, "Last House on the Left" often succeeds, but it is lacking a central aspect in any horror film - sympathy for the victims tormented by the evil. In this case, the victims are two, giggling, marihuana-stoked teenage girls (Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham) who are on their way to New York City to see the band, Blood Lust ("They dismember chickens".) They stop in the city looking to score some pot when they inadvertently hook up with three psychos, the oily Krug (David Hess), the bland Weasel (Fred J. Lincoln), the scared Junior Stillo (Marc Sheffler) and the potty-mouthed Sadie (Jeramie Stillo).

"Last House on the Left" starts off badly for the first hour with horrendous acting and even worse cinematography making it appear as if it were an Afterschool Special. The film improves when the victims are forced to have sexual intercourse, bludgeoned, and then stabbed out in the woods where nobody can hear them. The actual process by which the psychotic group makes these victims suffer is unsettling and reinforces, I think, Wes Craven's initial theme - to make us act with revulsion at the violence taking place from real-life murderers, not bogeymen. There is even a moment when the killers look at themselves with disgust after stabbing one girl who attempted to run away. Unfortunately, Craven hardly makes us care for either of the victims, and so it makes it harder to have any sympathy.

Then the film takes a curious turn and, by sheer coincidence, there is a spin of events involving one girl's parents who happen to live near the woodsy area where the crimes took place. The killers pretend to be religious students whose car broke down. The parents take them in, before realizing who they are. All of this is very loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's fabulously beautiful masterpiece, "The Virgin Spring," which at least developed its characters amidst a powerful theme involving God and why He lets these things happen. Craven's film hardly merits that much scrutiny.

"Last House on the Left" was released back in 1972, and was considered so intense that they almost did not release it. Craven found some leader with an R rating on it and released the film. It is still banned in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Although it has some intense moments, it is not nearly as good as "The Hills Have Eyes" or any of the director's later films. Its revenge plot lacks thrust and significance and is handled all too crudely and quickly (there is a chainsaw fight, an oral sex act that goes horribly wrong, and so on). The songs played on the soundtrack are played at the most inappropriate moments and detract from whatever tension there is. And some silly slapstick involving two bumbling cops does not help matters either (one of them is Martin Kove, later the memorable villain in "Rambo: First Blood II" and "The Karate Kid"). An interesting debut from horrormeister Wes and its supposed intentions and form of inspiration are admirable, but there is precious little to recommend.

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E-mail me with any questions, concerns or complaints at faustus_08520@yahoo.com or at Faust667@aol.com

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