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.
