Last House on Dead End Street

I still have a beaten up copy of this flick and am deathly afraid to update because I think this is one of the scariest movies ever made! Even now that I know the whole story behind the scenes I am still convinced these people are really insane and murdered for real.Very frightening stuff!

Every fan of horror cinema enjoys searching the back recesses of their local video store looking for that those obscure little gems that they can call their own. "Last House on Dead End Street" is one of my favorite flicks, a movie so obscure, I've only been able to find it at one video store. (And I bought their copy when they went out of business, so THERE!)

This bargain-basement production has a small-time director of homemade porno films discovering that his distributor no longer wants to buy his movies, claiming that they are boring. Desperate to find something new, he discovers a brutal series of "snuff" films made by an ex-convict and his demented friends. Realizing that actual death on tape could be the next big thing, but unwilling to make a film himself, he steals some the convict's movies and takes the credit for himself. When the true filmmakers discover what happened, they kidnap both the thieving director, the distributor, and their respective wives for an evening of torture and humilation back at their wharehouse hideout, all of it to be captured on tape for another "snuff" film.

Sure this is disgusting with all manner of nasty acts committed by sleazy characters. But what makes this memorable in my book is its suprising sense of humor. This film about snuff directors is actually designed to look like a snuff film itself, with credits that consist entirely of pseudonyms, grainy handheld camera work, and even a movie box that is tailored to look homemade. It's that creepy attitude that, along with the look of the film, is something that just can't be duplicated. Happy hunting!

THE LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET is the "story" of Terry Hawkins (Director Roger Watkins), who is so embittered by having been incarcerated, that he sets out on the ultimate, sadistic, misanthropic plot for revenge.

Securing an abandoned warehouse, Hawkins gathers a team of "actors" and "assistants", made up of low-end prostitutes, and a madman with a lustful penchant for dead livestock (!!), for his sinister project. He's making a movie.

Once Hawkins secures a cameraman named Bill Drexel (Bill Schlageter), we meet Nancy Palmer (Nancy Vrooman), whose self-debasing "performance art" at a particular party is almost as disturbing as Terry's movie idea. Well, not quite. Nancy's "open-minded" husband, Jim (Edward E. Pixley) signs on to direct Hawkins' opus, and another man, named Steve Randall (Steve Sweet) joins in as well.

Surprise! It was, of course, all a ruse designed to gather all of Terry's enemies / victims / scapegoats together, at his mercy. Inside the warehouse, the lights go on, the captives are all securely tied up, and the camera rolls. Thus, begins Terry's nasty, unflinching vengeance caught on film.

From here on, TLHODES is as grueling, mesmerizing, and devoid of any / all hope as it's supposed to be. It's a poorly filmed, half-lit nightmare of mutilation and murder, presented in a garish, oddly otherworldly fashion. If Satan had commissioned his demons to make a movie, it would look like this! The grimy appearance and ultra-cheapness of it all, actually add to the noxious atmosphere of inescapable death and doom. The masks, the rampant megalomania of Terry, and his raving dialogue, combine in an impossibly effective manner. What should be absurd, is absurd, yet is terrifying because of it. The notorious "surgery" sequence is worthy of its reputation.

Considering the era (1972) and lack of budget, this is pretty disturbing stuff. It is highly recommended that the curious viewer read up on the sordid, mysterious history of this film. It's as interesting as the finished product! Knowing that over 90 minutes of the movie are still missing is intriguing, probably for all the wrong reasons...

It is doubtful that any movie could live up to the hype surrounding this movie, but in spite of the reputation that precedes it, it still manages to jar the viewer with it's no-holds-barred approach and the atmosphere of vindictiveness that pervades it.

Director Roger Watkins, a film student at the time, set out to make this movie as "Cuckoo Clocks Of Hell" in 1972, after which the film was all but lost until it was edited and released under it's present title in 1977. Apparently Watkins' original cut of the film was around three hours long, so thank your lucky stars it's this version that is available to viewers today. Even at 77 minutes, it's a little long as the story is undeniably thin and the acting amateurish, although Watkins own portrayal of Terry Hawkins is suitably unhinged.

This film has become legendary due to it's uncertain history and allegations that it was a genuine 'snuff' movie. All of the credits used on this film were pseudonyms; most of the technical duties on this film were handled by Watkins under a variety of different names. It was only in 2001 that Watkins came forward and admitted to making the movie. As for the 'snuff' claims, clearly they were made by people who were unfamiliar with the actual content of the film, as no snuff film in history would come with a background story about a guy getting out of prison, rounding up a cast and crew and finding financial backers to pay for the production of his movie. None of that would be necessary for a snuff film. The conceit of the movie - that the easiest way to make the footage look genuine is to kill people for real - plays like an extremely sick joke.

This has the look of an arty student film, and although the film stock used was fairly poor and some scenes are badly lit, this only enhances the menacing atmosphere of this insidious movie. With a limited budget, Watkins saves the gore for the second half of the film, but when it comes it doesn't disappoint, and a few of these scenes have become legendary. Ultimately though, it's the mean-spirited vibe that stays with you.

So strap yourself in and prepare for one mean mother of a movie that nearly lives up to the hype, and while you're there, try to imagine how someone in his right mind could pad this out to three hours! Any way you look at it, if you are at all interested in gore films, this one is a must-see.

LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET is literally one of the most infamous horror movies ever made. Part of this comes from the legend and mystery surrounding it, and the fact it is so difficult to get hold of. Firstly, all existing prints are EXTREMELY heavily cut... reports indicate that the original movie was around three hours long, but even the longest running version nowadays only clocks in at 77 minutes. This print also has entirely "fake" credits. One "Victor Janos" is accredited with directing LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET, but any research as to who this actually is ends at the credits themselves- as is the case with all the others involved with the film. Although it is now apparent that the across-the-board use of pseudonyms was an attempt by a distributor to "steal" the movie, for a long time it simply was not known who was responsible for this film (in actuality, a director named Roger Watkins wrote, produced, directed and starred in this movie). Trying to find a good, under-fifth generation copy of this movie nowadays is extremely difficult. All of these factors add to the movie's gritty and disturbing reputation- and that's before you've even watched it!

In actuality, it isn't nearly as grueling as many would make out but is still an extremely disturbing experience. It is brash, intelligent and EXTREMELY well made considering budget issues and the experience of the film makers (Watkins went on to work on pornography after this). The scenes of violence are very extreme and graphic, but in my mind these are far less disturbing than other aspects of the film. Although the photography is simplistic in a classically "US low budget underground cinema" way, the atmosphere that the movie creates is quite unique. It manages to conjure up a true feeling of a bad dream. The same feeling has been achieved by directors such as Dario Argento but they tend to use bombardments of imagery and a "surrealist" approach. In this case, everything seems gritty and realistic but at the same time strangely disjointed. This is partly because of the heavy cuts leaving huge and bizarre holes in the narrative; partly because of the strange sound track, lighting and empty sets; partly because of the fact the film was clearly rushed; and partly because of the surreal "story line", if it could be even called that...

This is a genuine cinematic curiosity and I think that any self-respecting horror fan would be missing out by not checking it. It is truly an original, one-off work. Sure, it is ragged around the edges but that is part of what makes it so gritty and atmospheric. The movie has an almost numbing and ethereal quality and really works. Extremely disturbing and definitely recommended.