Wes Craven made a number of great horror films in his career, but unfortunately the average of his output barely breaks even. It seems that for every truly unnerving, disturbing film he creates, he turns around and produced a piece of garbage. Hailed at the time as a groundbreaking horror film for its brutality and groundbreaking approach to mental torment as a device, The Last House on the Left, like many horror films, is more about its villains than it is its victims. Even as it touches upon the cultural morays of teenage Americana in its rampant themes of violence and sexuality, this is a horror film whose central premise is the survival of innocence in the face of varying degrees of evil. At any given turn either side can compromise, leading evil to a redemptive act or the innocent to play by more sinister rules, depending on their respective resolves. In that, The Last House on the Left is an exceptional horror classic, but when judged outside of the forgiving lens with which many view the genre, there’s plenty to be criticized.
Mari (Sandra Peabody) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) never made it to their rock concert, because in their search for marijuana they’re led to a house populated by escaped felons who have nothing but sinister intentions in mind. The next day, when the girls never return home, Mari’s parents grow concerned, only to wind up with murderous house guests of their own; except these parents are no chumps and they recognize the signs hinting at their daughter’s fate. What at first seemed like an imminent slaughter of two adults mourning their daughter quickly turns into a bloodbath as the would-be victims set their own plan into motion.
While the humorously condemnatory morality tale about what happens when teenagers go looking for weed is appreciated, the true value of The Last House on the Left is how it turns the film’s expected paradigm on its head. Sadly, this clever twist on the horror model hinges upon one incredibly improbable happenstance: the killers winding up at the home of one of their earlier victims. Had it been intentional, it would have made sense, but it’s just a ridiculous notion that it happens the way it does and even Craven acknowledges it with a line of dialogue. It’s a shame.
In terms of cinematography, The Last House on the Left is no masterpiece considering its mix of truly amateurish shots mixed with a few clever ones. It’s as if Craven couldn’t decide if he wanted to honor the legacy of exploitation films or horror or something in between and consequently just pointed the camera at random spots. This practice shines through especially during the big chainsaw sequence, which has all the visual consistency of a scrambled pay-per-view channel.
The film’s restoration, assuming one was done at all, isn’t spectacular and it’s not entirely clear what the value of transferring The Last House on the Left to high-definition really is. There’s not much detail to be absorbed thanks to how it was filmed and the colors are subdued in the manner typical of watered down 70s flicks. There’s little if anything separating the picture quality here from what you’d get from a normal DVD – without the upscaling.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Whereas most horror classics rarely if ever have any extras to offer fans, The Last House on the Left has an impressive array of featurettes and audio commentaries to help sweeten the package. Of course, all of these were created for a previous DVD release, but the fact that MGM has included instead of just making this a barebones disc is commendable. There are two audio commentaries with Wes Craven and Producer Sean Cunningham or David Hess, Marc Sheffler, and Fred Lincoln. The featurettes include pieces on the legacy of the true story upon which the film is based, the film’s score, deleted scenes, lost and censored footage, outtakes, and a trailer. Also included is an unfinished short film by Wes Craven.
"The Last House on the Left" is on sale September 13, 2011 and is not rated. Horror, Thriller. Written and directed by Wes Craven. Starring Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, Marc Sheffler, David Hess, Jeramie Rain, Fred J Lincoln.
