L'ultima casa a sinistra

"The Last House on the Left" (1972) plays a pivotal role in the history of horror cinema, marking Wes Craven's directorial debut. Although it features somewhat quirky performances and moments of comedy that occasionally break the tension, this is undoubtedly a negative aspect, along with its strange and disconcerting soundtrack.

However, the film manages to maintain an intense atmosphere in its more serious moments, whether through Craven's direction or the image quality that gives it an amateur feel, as if we were witnessing real events on camera. The film's plot may not be particularly innovative, but it makes up for it with its scenes of violence, which at the time were, in a way, considered a novelty.

Although it has aged somewhat problematically in certain respects, "The Last House on the Left" still retains its disturbing power and deserves to be appreciated, especially for its lasting influence on the genre, serving as inspiration for countless other films.

A strong candidate for "The Worst Movie of All Time". With his first film Craven reached heights of ineptitude and tastelessness that even Craven-haters should be surprised by, and the incompetence is far-reaching; in every respect imaginable does this film not fail to fail. This piece of exploitative trash is at the very least the worst killers-on-the-lam film ever made. The acting ranges from one-dimensional to atrocious to ridiculous, and the characters behave in such an inconsistent and illogical manner that I have to suspect that this movie wasn't so much directed as that it's simply a collection of improvised scenes by a couple of bored – and talentless - students who just happened to have had a camera nearby. One of the main things that separates a film like "I Spit On Your Grave" from this junk is that Craven has neither respect nor pity for victims of brutal crimes; this he shows more than obviously by playing utterly inappropriate cheerful music while the two girls are being shoved into the trunk of a car and then driven off. At the end of the film there is yet more upbeat music. This is not some fantasy zombie film where you can expect your audience to laugh with you about the exaggerated and silly events and cartoon violence that take place in the movie. The main events in this "reality-based" horror movie haven't got an iota of a humorous side to them, and the fact that Craven doesn't realize this shows what a sad little degenerate he is. An English professor??? What a joke. In-between scenes of torture, degradation, and murder Craven manages to squeeze in scenes of goofy cops, which we are supposed to find amusing.

Much as I admire it, I can only watch Wes Craven's brilliant debut feature once every few years; as sheer stomach-churning brutality goes, it makes SALO look like Sondheim. Craven has said he made the movie as extreme as it is as his comment on the obscenity of Vietnam. I've heard that number many a time (Ruggero Deodato blames CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST on the Red Brigade!), but in Craven's case, it's so palpable it's believable. LAST HOUSE may be the first (and is certainly the most far-out) case of a horror movie that eschews suspense, tingles, shock, in the wake of sheer, harrowing barbarism.

Based on Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING, it tells the tale of a couple of young girls on their way to a concert who fall prey to a Manson-like family. Their rape-murders are avenged by a suddenly wised-up couple of parents who, in their restitution, find themselves as blood-bespattered and guilty as their prey.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a grindhouse GUERNICA, an outcry over desensitization to violence that leaves you feeling shaken and desolated. It genuinely reupholsters the word "horror." For most, the clarity of Craven's intentions won't be enough to redeem the dire viciousness of what the director puts you through. For me, the ferocity of the movie has a cleansing, Artaudian pureness.

One question: Craven made this film and his masterpiece, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, the ultimate statement on the nuclear family in post-Woodstock, post-Altamont America. He then went on to make a load of occasionally mildly amusing but mostly godawful movies. What's the story?

I found this film to be rather interesting in a number of ways. Yes, I would agree that it has many unpleasantries throughout the film: two women are raped, stabbed, shot, and brutally killed, one man loses his manhood in a rather disconcerting fashion, and another man is chainsawed to bits. Yet, through all this, the film has many highlights when viewed as a product of its time and with regard to its importance to the horror genre. The film creates a disturbing atmosphere which really affects the viewer. The murders are cold-blooded and yet not glorified in any manner. The acting, although for the most part amateurish, is restrained and believable. A must see for any student of the horror genre.

Every horror movie claims for themselves that they kicked off something. Be it the slasher genre, be it the "let's go all in and not censor ourselves", be it the body count, gore, nudity, organs on display or whatever else you can imagine. In this case it is more the idea - although there are some short glimpses of visual and very explicit imagery.

Wes Craven and Sean Cunnigham (who worked together on this and then went ahead to make two of the most iconic horror/movie villains of all time respectively - Freddy Kruger and Jason Vorhees) may feel like they wanted more or rather be more diverse. Do movies in other genres - but I do think they can be happy with their career. And it started with a very controversial and evil little movie like this one.

The villains here are as despicable as they can get and the one moment where Wes claims they have a point of no return - well let's just say they are already past that way before that moment. So this is raw, it lacks sense in many respects and you can see there was not a big budget involved. But through it all you can feel the effect until today the movie had ... because of its success and because it was rough and did not really follow any rules