 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Last House on the Left (1972)
- Review Date: February 17, 2009
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 1972
Common Sense Media says
Amateurish bloodbath that became a cult-horror hit.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the savage violence in this film -- conveyed mainly in reaction shots and quick cutaways, but still intense -- includes close-range shooting, knifing/slashing, a castration-by-biting (you read that correctly), and an attack with a chainsaw. There is shower nudity (practically in the opening scene), and two women are terrorized at knifepoint, forced to strip and submit to rape and degrading acts. Drug use, though not really shown, is discussed frequently, and alcohol is enthusiastically consumed. The main drive of the plot is murder (committed by bereaved parents) as an act of revenge; law enforcement is not even discussed as an option, and police are depicted as bumblers anyway. A 2009 big-budget remake of this film drew more attention to the cheapie original.
What's the story?
Although this claims up front to be based on a "true story" (a common exploitation gimmick), many have discerned LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT to be a loose remake of the Swedish art-house classic The Virgin Spring, a stately, medieval tale of a grief-stricken father's revenge on his daughter's murderers. In this update, teenager Mari Collingwood and her somewhat wilder girlfriend celebrate Mari's birthday via an unchaperoned trip to the big city and a rock concert. Lured to an apartment by claims of marijuana for sale, the pair are seized by a trio of escaped convicts and their moll, who toy with the helpless victims at first, but ultimately drive them out to the woods and kill them. Fatefully, the culprits' car breaks down near the Collingwood home, where Mari's straightlaced parents politely let them stay overnight, even as the couple frets over their daughter's absence. Soon Dr. and Mrs. Collingwood realize exactly who their visitors are...
Is it any good?
Done on a shoestring budget with no-name actors (some moonlighting from porno flicks), Last House on the Left became a `grindhouse' hit; a few appreciative critics call it a classic -- others condemned it as vile garbage -- though amidst grubby production values and community-theater acting, there are only brief hints writer-director Wes Craven would later be hero to young, thrill-hungry moviegoers for masterminding the Scream and Freddy Krueger film series.
A comment-worthy touch here: the idea (brought out better in Craven's even grislier The Hills Have Eyes) that "ordinary" people, one of them a doctor, could commit appalling slaughter, just as heinous as the villains here -- so what makes them any better? Still, it takes an effort for modern viewers to look past the outdated hairstyles, muffled dialogue, and primitive visuals that horror-fanciers have found so compelling. Especially painful/jarring are the moments of would-be comedy relief and a wildly uneven grab-bag of soundtrack songs, ranging from spacey hippie ballads to a jug-band and kazoo (!) fanfare.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why this crudely-made shocker became so popular, while some critics thought it the worst thing they'd ever seen. Was it simply a classic ad campaign ("Keep Telling Yourself...`It's Only a Movie. It's Only a Movie...'"). Or is filmmaker Wes Craven's mastery of visceral horror and psychological suspense actually present, under all the fuzzy sound, iffy acting, and low-budget camerawork? You could use this film to get horror-minded kids to watch a foreign-language art-movie classic, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, to compare-contrast. Which one is a stronger portrait of parental grief and vengeance?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
Kid, 12 years old
November 22, 2010
AGE
the remake is better
despite the super low budget, i guess it was OK.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Message
how can you say this movie has bad messages just because it's a revenge movie?? So your saying that if someone did that to your kids you wouldn't go that far to get them back??? I would go worse.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Wes... this is so you!
David Hess is a scary buttocks killer as the role, if you have a little girl she might get scared if she watches this! This film does deal with extremely explicit content, involving rape, molestation, urination, murder, torture, and violence, MIGHT want to watch this movie with your kids
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa scary and im 26
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
seen the first one
I will not see this remake. I am now 43 years old and I still remember the first make of this movie and how it horrified me. It still sticks with me as the most disturbing movie I have ever seen. I have seen a lot of horror flicks from my youth, and nothing bothers me to this day as that movie. It was so realistic,as if someone carried a movie camera around taping live action of murder, rape and all the other horrible things that happen in that movie. If you don't want to be later in your years (older) and still be affected by watching something so sick, don't go! I don't recommend anyone see it. And the people who made it should have their minds evaluated.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Seen worse.
Psh, me and my son have seen worse.
I really rented this for me and a few friends, but they all ditched me. So I watched with my 10 year old son instead so I would not be alone.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
BETTER THAN THE 2009 VERSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS ISNT EVEN BAD AT ALL COMPARED TO I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE(1978 AND 2010 VERSION)!!!!!!!!!AWESOME STORYLINE!!WES CRAVEN IS A GENIUS!THIS IS A CLASSIC THAT DESERVES TO BELONG IN EVERY MOVIE BUFF'S COLLECTION FOR GENERATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
this is a good movie and not a good as the original.
Was this review useful?
|
|
| Studio: | MGM/UA |
| Director: | Wes Craven |
| Cast: | David Hess, Lucy Grantham, Sandra Cassel |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 91 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | August 30, 1972 |
| DVD release date: | February 24, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: |
Review It
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
Already seen it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
