Aniversário Macabro

I first saw Last House on the Left at the age of 18 at the drive in with my best girlfriend. This movie, an early outing by horror maven Wes Craven was so disturbing to me that 26 years later I am still haunted by the images on the screen. The story, of 2 young girls, approximately the same age I was when I saw the film, of being abducted, tortured, raped and then murdered is not for the faint of heart. The brutality and violence was staggering, and the film spoke volumes of the depravity of the human soul. I remember driving home with my girlfriend after watching this, and both of us were dead silent, each contemplating what we had watched and knowing that something like that could happen to us. This movie is one I know without a doubt, that I will never again watch, and now, being the parent of a daughter myself, I could never watch it and then allow her out of the house again. This is not a monster movie, the MONSTERS are human and all too real, especially in today's society filled with Ted Bundy's and The Green River Killer, this movie hits too close to home and leaves the viewer depressed and saddened at what human beings are capable of doing to other innocent people. Watch it if you dare, but be prepared to be left with a very hollow feeling after it is over.

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.

"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.

'The Last House On The Left' is easily Wes Craven's most important movie. It was one of the most notorious movies of the early 70s but seems to be half forgotten now, despite being a groundbreaking horror film that opened up territory that had previously not been seen on screen. Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead' deserves some acknowledgement as being the most realistic horror movie up until that point (the late 60s), but even that had a supernatural element, something 'Last House On The Left' eschews. Craven took the contemporary setting and natural performances of NOTLD and added some graphic violence and a confrontational rape sequence, most likely inspired by Peckinpah's 'Straw Dogs' released the previous year, and made it into something quite unlike anything seen before. This made it the father of all subsequent serial killer dramas. 'Last House...' is still a very nasty and disturbing movie thirty years after it was originally released. Craven was a beginning as a film maker and the budget was minimal, so the movie is rough and crudely made at times, but the best sequences have an almost documentary feel which gives it an appearance of realism that makes it sometimes really difficult to watch. The acting in the movie is variable. Mari's parents and the comic relief cops (who include Martin Kove later to appear in 'Death Race 2000' and countless action movies!) are pretty awful, but the two girls (Sandra Cassel and Lucy Grantham) are both very natural and believable, and Craven REALLY lucked out with Krug and his gang who are all very, very good. Krug is played by David Hess, who also composed and sang the songs on the soundtrack, something which makes him pretty unique! Hess wrote Elvis' 'All Shook Up' and 'I Got Stung' and yet his performance as Krug is totally convincing. Krug is still one of the creepiest and most repellent killers ever seen on screen. Comedian Marc Sheffler gives an interesting performance as Krug's junkie son, Fred J. Lincoln (now a porno director I believe!) is excellent as the aptly named Weasel, and Jeramie Rain is surprisingly good as Sadie, who brings to mind some of Manson's girls. These four actors are outstanding and really help make the movie into an unforgettable experience. Their scenes in the woods with the girls are still as powerful and disturbing as ever. 'Last House On The Left' is hardly the kind of movie you "enjoy" but I think it's a very important movie, and still the best thing Wes Craven has been involved with. It's really quite difficult to believe that Craven made something so uncompromising and nasty as this! I highly recommend 'The Last House On The Left' to anybody interested in the development of horror, screen violence, or disturbing movies of any kind. But be warned, it is NOT easy viewing and may be difficult for many people to take. I think it is worth it as it's still an extraordinary piece of work!

Last House on the Left, The (1972)

*** (out of 4)

Craven's notorious shocker is a remake of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring and deals with two teenage girls going to the city for a concert but being kidnapped by four crazed criminals. The girls and raped, tortured and eventually murdered but the killer's end up spending the night at one of the girl's houses where the tables are turned. I've seen this film countless times in my life and it always disturbed me to the point where I hated the movie with a passion. I always felt the movie was rather poorly made and in the end it was nothing but an exploitation show meant to disturb you. I still feel that way but I've actually doubled my normal star rating because the film actually worked with me this time. My stomach was still being turned and I was disgusted in its vile nature but I reckon that was the whole point. There's still a lot that I don't like about the film including the stupid comedy relief from the two idiot cops. Why Craven decided to throw this slapstick in is beyond me because it really feels out of place especially when it pops up after watching two teens get brutally murdered. Another issue is that the film looks incredibly cheap (it was a low budget) and amateurish but this adds some to its atmosphere and makes the film seem all the more real. The now legendary tagline that "it's only a movie" is something to really keep in mind as the film comes off very realistic as if you're watching a documentary. The performances are all rather mixed but they all suit the film fine and that includes David Hess as the leader of the gang and Marc Sheffler as his heroin addicted son. The dialogue in the film, especially the opening ten minutes, is downright awful but there's still no denying that this is a highly disturbing film that manages to be vile, disgusting and just downright evil.