L'ultima casa a sinistra

The Last House on the Left is directed by Dennis Iliadis and adapted to screenplay by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth from the story by Wes Craven (co-producer here). A remake of Craven's 1972 film of the same name (itself influenced by Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring), it stars Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Spencer Treat Clark and Martha MacIsaac. Music is by John Murphy and cinematography by Sharone Meir.

During a family vacation, teenagers Mari (Paxton) and Paige (MacIsaac) are viciously set about by a gang led by recent prison escapee Krug (Dillahunt). When bad weather forces Krug's car to career off the road, the gang, unbeknownst to them, seek refuge in the vacation home of Mari's parents. When the parents realise what their new lodgers have done, they begin to enact bloody retribution.

It's pointless going on about remakes of old horror films, they are here to stay and we continue to watch them in the hope that they will strike a chord with us. With The Last House on the Left, remaking it, to me at least, is understandable given the 72 film is not exactly a great classic itself. True enough to say it has that grainy grunginess that was so befitting the decade's horror movies, marking it out as an unsettling experience without really living up to its "terrifying" reputation. In fact if you put both movies together they still wouldn't have enough class in them to give Bergman's movie a run for its money.

So the remake then, all glossy and big budgeted, with name actors in the principal roles, it is by definition routinely packaged for the modern day audience. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that what unfolds on that screen is challenging us, it really does do its job. The pertinent question exists, are you capable of such violence having had violence inflicted on your loved ones previously? What would you do in the same situation that Mari's parents find themselves in?

We have been privy to what was meted out to poor Mari and Paige, and the impact is most distressing. There is good cause to argue that Iliadis and his production team go too far in grabbing our attention in readiness for the "revenge" factor later on. Certainly I myself was uncomfortable watching it, as I was with the I Spit on Your Grave remake, but it's about getting a prescribed response, however close to the knuckle it is.

It's not a film anyone can feel comfortable about recommending, surely? But I know it put me through a gamut of emotions, even making me feel bad about myself the next day. That is quite often the power of cinema, and clearly the banner that Craven and Iliadis held aloft during the publicity tours for The Last House on the Left. Today I give the film an uneasy 7/10, it's uncompromising and unapologetically violent, but also laced with flaws. On another day I may find myself rating it considerably lower

I'll keep this short and sweet. This was gruesome and twistedly faithful to the original in spirit and effect. I totally expected to be the one tortured when watching, well I should have left my preconceived notions at the door. The acting was sharp, the plot devices made just enough sense that it never broke my disbelief and I admittedly had to briefly look away from some scenes.

The setup was stellar and the ending did not disappoint. I give it a 7 but if it was possible I would have given it a 7.5.

Good for the genre and great by comparison of other remakes.

I would definitely suggest it to anyone that enjoys the genre.

If you've ever read any of my other reviews you know how I feel personally about re-makes. Most horror fans feel the same way I do (yet we still watch these things!) so needless to say I went into this movie expecting to be disappointed. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well this one was. Yes there are the usual cases of character name changes, scene and dialog changes and complete story line changes for no apparent reason but the basic premise that made the original film so creepy was somehow still retained. The major story line change in this one has been discussed in previous reviews and revolves around main character Mari (I won't reveal any major changes for the benefit of those who haven't seen it yet) and yes I was EXTREMELY disappointed with these changes but as I said I went into the film expecting to be let down so this helped to soften the blow. This version of "Last House on the Left" has a considerable amount of added gore sequences as well but they are not overly done or thrown in for no apparent reason other than shock value (as was the case in the unofficial 'Last House on the Left' re-make 'Chaos' directed by David DeFalco). Nowadays there really is no way to re-create the grainy, almost documentary like filming style of the original which is one of the main elements that added to the general feel of the film, but these filmmakers did an exceptional job of making the viewer curl in disgust at the actions of the villains and cheer and applaud the violence that befalls them. If you enjoyed the original you will most likely enjoy this one as well...just make sure you watch it and avoid the aforementioned "Chaos".

I had watched the original with friends before. What attracted it to us was the way the movie was being put across "to avoid fainting keep repeating it's just a movie" etc. We loved horror and anything just generally shocking it was the most fun along with comedy's you could have with friends!. Well it certainly did not let anyone one of us down it was pretty insane?! shall we say. Either way a truly great piece of horror beyond what any of us had seen at the time.

When i heard about This Re-make i was not so much excited but anxious to see how they would handle the story and the scenes that would be necessary to tell it to the best of it's ability.

I was impressed.

I knew straight away it would be reasonably mild compared to the first one it had to be , to be watchable in cinemas in order to make money. And for the most part it was. However it still kept that vital shock value the gore (the blood & guts) were handled perfectly it was like the hills have eyes re-make in the sense you saw what was happening the camera never once did one of those annoying wall shots were you see the blood splatter! when a knife went in or a bullet etc. it went in and you saw it. Well with a horror film that's half the battle straight away.

Obviously you probably know this film is centred around a group of convicts who are a perfect example of a human being with no soul or heart. And this even better than the first one in my opinion is displayed amazingly. In this film you really get the feeling that these guys would do anything to any human being in the world and would not feel one bit of remorse for there actions. I would even go as far as to say out of every film i've ever watched these have to be some of the scariest people i've seen on the silver screen. It all adds to the great experience.

The "Rape" scene/scenes are also what this film is pretty famous for and i was interested to see how they would handle this films such scenes. I thought it was handled pretty well. What this film hits straight on the head is the atmosphere the music and every aspect of the film combined just build up to exploding point then it happens. It was like nothing i'd experienced in a cinema before the place was packed out with what was to be honest a perfect testing range for the film there were people of my age (18) all the way to what i would have said was about 70-ish. As the scenes built up and up the piercing sounds of the girls screams , the actions taking place on screen and everything accumulated into one terrifying experience. I looked round the once rowdy room to find everyone silent and i could just feel it someone had to walk out.

And they did.

For the first time in my life a film was that shocking that as many as 10 people walked out and couldn't come back. That is what horror is meant to do!. So at this point Last House had already scored high marks with me it had stayed as true to the original as it could have. (There was also someone crying behind us!).

This film splits the story 50/50.

The first half is horrible it is meant to shock and appaul the audience so that when the second kicks in it satisfies all!. And god does it never before has revenge felt so right. People again were re-acting to the film again in a way i'd never seen people were clapping chants "get in" , "have it" "go on" and cheering. Admitadley by the younger members of the audience but non the less a great re-action. In my eyes this film was just as perfect as this re-make could have been it had it all. And it was one of the first films i'd seen in along time that was almost more than a film it was a genuine experience.

Oh and you'd be surprised to know the acting was actually very well done i wouldn't have changed it at all t be honest again pleasantly surprised.

Only things that this film down was the fact that it's still a pointless story and if not for the shock factor couldn't possibly be even an average film!. so I'm afraid it's a 7 from me which is still good for a horror film non the less.

It's definitely one of the better horror re-makes and one everyone will have a load of fun watching what more can you ask for in this day and age!.

The Hollywood remakes continue unabated with this redo of the notorious Wes Craven shocker from 1972 which involves a couple of teenage girls falling foul of a criminal gang and the violent consequences that ensue. The Wes Craven film remains chilling to this day for its low budget, grainy look and feel which gives it a fuzzy, could-almost-be-a-snuff-movie type vibe. This remake is, inevitably, bigger and slicker, with more explosive action and high-end camera-work. It may not be as downright disturbing as Craven's movie but as remakes go it's one of the better ones out there.

The imposing Garret Dillahunt stars as Krug, the leader of a criminal family, for whom kidnapping, rape, extortion and murder are the order of the day. The scenes in which he captures the two girls and then subjects them to a horrendous ordeal within the woods is still a powerfully shocking moment, although thankfully it doesn't go into as much unpleasant detail as in the Craven movie. The scene then shifts to the titular location, which for me is where the film really gets going: it's all about the suspense inherent in waiting for the parents to find out what happened and then watching what they do about it, the classic home invasion premise.

What ensues both delights and disappoints. There's a violent and lengthy scene in which a character is attacked which really pays off, but aside from that what follows is a little disappointing – not least the tacked-on ending involving a microwave, which takes the mildly realistic events of the previous movie and trashes them with a frankly outrageous and unbelievable gore scene.

The cast is pretty good, which seems to be the norm for these modern-day remakes (aside from the teen slashers, in which the cast remain drivelling). Dillahunt excels in the role which made David Hess's name; he's no Hess, but he gets close at times. Tony Goldwyn, previously a villain in the likes of THE LAST SAMURAI, is particularly good as the father caught up in events spiralling out of control, although Monica Potter as the mother has little to work with. Yes, there are a couple of unwise twists where the plot deviates from the original – and horror fans will be disappointed there's no chainsaw this time around – but for the most part this is a workable suspense thriller with enough viciousness to appease moviegoers looking for their latest violent fix.