X
- 1972
- TV-14
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- 1 h 24 m
- 1972
- TV-14
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- 1 h 24 m
Summary Two teenage girls head to a rock concert for one's birthday. While trying to score marijuana in the city, they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychotic convicts.
Directed By: Wes Craven
Written By: Ulla Isaksson, Wes Craven
- 1972
- TV-14
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- 1 h 24 m
- 1972
- TV-14
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- 1 h 24 m
The Last House on the Left
68
6.0
Where to Watch
Summary Two teenage girls head to a rock concert for one's birthday. While trying to score marijuana in the city, they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychotic convicts.
Directed By: Wes Craven
Written By: Ulla Isaksson, Wes Craven
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
68
75% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
13% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
68
75% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
13% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
A tough, bitter little sleeper of a movie that's about four times as good as you'd expect.
Wes Craven's The Last House On The Left occasionally plays like the longest, grisliest drug-scare film ever made.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 User Ratings
6.0
46% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
38% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
15% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 User Ratings
6.0
46% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
38% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
15% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Gosh, this is depraved. I've seen a few movies from back in the day that received the infamous "video nasty" label such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but this is the first one where I've understood why people got all up in arms over it. Even now almost a full 50 years later it could still be classified as morally offensive cinema to some.
The story is about two teenage girls who in the folly of youth decide to attend a concert on the bad side of town and attempt to score some weed from a shady guy they meet along the way. This leads to them getting abducted by a group of prison escapees who proceed to torture and **** them on their way to the Canadian border. By some strange twist of fate though they end breaking down in front of the house of one of the girl's parents. What follows is some good ol' fashioned bloody revenge.
This is an incredibly bleak experience. I was only able to make it all the way through to the end credits because it never gets too explicit in its depictions of sexual assault, largely cutting away from the act whenever it occurs. Still, I saw more than I wanted to on that front, and there are plenty of other forms of violence being graphically portrayed right before our eyes. As a result this is definitely not for everyone. It requires an iron constitution and a strong stomach.
So what makes this kind of work despite its harshness and bizarre tonal shifts that come from watching two bumbling cops fumble their way through their investigation into the girls' disappearance? Wes Craven. He showed a remarkable ability to do a lot with very limited resources in his directorial debut. The grainy, low-budget visuals give things an appropriately grimy look and feel. You can almost smell the dirt, sweat, tears, and blood. Another individual deserving of praise in all this however is David Hess as the film's big baddie. Not only is he a physically imposing presence, but displays a knack for mental domination as well as we witness him verbally bully someone into shooting themself in the head. It could have been a career-making performance had the movie itself not been so repulsive. Oh, and the soundtrack? Literally perfect.
While I'm sure there are plenty of more severe options out there, this is the sickest, meanest exploitation flick I've seen thus far. I'm not even certain I could really call it "enjoyable" at all. Yet, if you're determined to watch something vile and nasty it may as well have come from one of the most influential horror directors there has been or ever will be. At least that way you can see the similarities it has to his other works, such as the nearly identical in structure The Hills Have Eyes.
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A movie that left an impact and kept me thinking. The characters are acted well, and the direction is fantastic. The tone is a bit schizophrenic, jumping from disturbing to silly, almost as if it's an attempt to cut the intense dread the camerawork and acting instill. While many view this as negative, I think the concept here is a good one. The tone shifts combined with the soundtrack done by David Hess that blends psychedelia, folk, and classic horror ambience to create odd juxtapositions in scenes that lends itself well to the memorability and particular moral haze the philosophy of the film plays in. It's a disturbing, touching, and thought provoking movie. Dark, confused, and violent, but in a way that's almost asking for forgiveness on behalf of every character.
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This sub-$100,000 exploitation movie fused the sleazy intensity of the grindhouse with the piercing intelligence of an art film, and remains a brutal but rewarding experience.
It’s the ultimate Vietnam allegory, except there’s no room for peace here, just war.
Ruthless, poundingly violent horror film, directed by Wes Craven. It isn't artistically adroit, but if success in this genre is counted by squirms, it's a success.
The party who wrote this sickening tripe and also directed the inept actors is Wes Craven.
Teenagers Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head to the city for a concert, then afterward go looking for drugs. Instead, they find a gang of escaped convicts who subject them to a night of torture and ****. The gang then kills the girls in the woods, not realizing they're near Mari's house. When they pose as salesmen and are taken in by Mari's mother (Cynthia Carr) and father (**** St. James), it doesn't take the parents long to figure out their identities and plot revenge. Wes Craven's directing really sells this as an enjoyable Mystery/Slasher film. Final Grade is a B.
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Debut film by director Wes Craven. Raw and disturbing film that represents violence in a very explicit andheartbreaking way, a novelty for the cinema of the time (early seventies). The film is seminal because it is a precursor to the **** and Revenge **** messages that emerge however, revenge, the cruelty inherent in man, even the most unsuspected, the moral laws and those of the State (hererepresented by two absolutely idiotic policemen) completely trampled upon, seem weak justifications for anexplicit blood triumph, designed to disturb and strike the viewer.
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I would write a heady review, but all I’ll say is **** is the equivalent in dramatic/emotionally driven movies to explosions in action/adventure movies. It’s literally just a trope at this point. It’s like the comedian who doesn’t tell jokes but just makes agreeable statements on stage to likeminded people. It’s a sure fire way of garnering the wanted response. It’s the opposite of creative.
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The Last House on the Left is a bizarrely stupid mess. I don't know why this movie was controversial and has cult following. I mean, I Spit on Your Grave (1978) was much much better and showed story properly with good amount of violence.
I don't know what work the editor was doing, used inappropriate comical music throughout the movie taking away the tense tone movie was trying to make. The whole story was executed poorly, thanks to the director and ridiculous actors. After 40 minutes of movie, rest 50 minutes is dragged unnecessarily. Movie fails to engage audience even for 1 second.
Overall, this movie is almost a trash which you can watch if you life is trash and there's nothing left in your brain.
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Production Company
Sean S. Cunningham Films,
The Night Co.,
Lobster Enterprises
Release Date Aug 30, 1972
Duration 1 h 24 m
Rating TV-14
Tagline WARNING: Not Recommended for Persons Over 30!
