The Last House on Dead End Street

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...

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!

While I applaud Barrel Entertainment's supreme efforts to create the definitive video version of Roger Watkins' The Last House On Dead End Street, I suspect that the greater availability of this title, especially in this package, is unlikely to draw the film any new fans.

Available now in a wonderful 2-disc DVD full of extras, The Last House On Dead End Street has been completely demystified. While for many years this title existed only as a rare find, an urban legend of sorts--more talked about than actually seen, it now exists for everyone to see, warts and all, and sadly, it's unlikely to impress the more jaded viewers who've seen all the more technically accomplished films that have come along in its wake. For its time, this film was like nothing else...uncompromising and unspeakably scary.

As someone who first saw this film (or had it forced upon him) as a Venezuelan bootleg (with Spanish subtitles, no less!), it worked its spell on me like something that was forbidden, evil and not meant to be seen. You see, there was a time when NO ONE knew who made this film, what its purpose was or if it was real--kind of like a real life "Ringu", if you will. The act of viewing it made you feel uneasy, scared and not a little unclean. The fact that the version I saw was a copy of a copy of a dozen others only added a layer of mystery to it. The imagery was dark, the sound dull, making it all seem much more real. For years I've wanted to know more about this movie, and now I do, thanks to Barrel Entertainment. It's nice to know that Roger Watkins is actually a rather pleasant and intelligent filmmaker with a good sense of humor and not the dark gangster type I imagined "Victor Janos" to be. It's also great to know just what went into the making of this film, and I appreciate it as a genuine work of art and labor of love more than ever before. This DVD is a genuine treasure for all those fans of the film who were as affected and haunted by it as I was.

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.