You’re not alone if you ask yourself at any point in the film, “What am I watching?”
If you ask a horror fan about their favorite Wes Craven film, you’ll most likely get a response about A Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream. The late director was responsible for the initial films in those two mammoth franchises as well as cult classics like The People Under the Stairs, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and a little gem called The Last House on the Left.
The Last House on the Left was actually his directorial debut and he also wrote the script. But if you’re more familiar with his later films, you’re probably going to be taken aback by its grimy, brutal, and visceral nature. There are no supernatural elements here. No dream warriors. No ghosts. No zombies. The Last House on the Left contains the scariest of all possible plots: One that could absolutely happen at any time.
The movie focuses on two teenage girls — Mari (Sandra Cassell) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) — who are planning to see a concert in New York City. On the way to the show, they stop to ask Junior (Marc Sheffler) if he knows where they can score some weed. They’re blissfully unaware that Junior belongs to a gang of recently escaped convicts that the local media calls “convicted murderers, dope-pushers, and rapists.”
Junior takes Mari and Phyllis up to the ramshackle apartment he shares with his father, Krug (David Hess); the sadistic Sadie (Jeramie Rain) and their mutual friend, Weasel (Fred Lincoln.) After meeting the gang, the girls never make it to the concert. In fact, they’ll never be the same again. In grisly detail, The Last House on the Left depicts the torture and rape of Mari and Phyllis.
As if to offset the horrific actions of the criminals, the film juxtaposes the gore and nudity with the slapstick comedy of two upstate policemen who are searching for the girls. The antics of the cops (Marshall Anker and Martin Kove) feel like they’re from a completely different movie. When coupled with the bizarro soundtrack — featuring upbeat country songs and downbeat acoustic folk rock — The Last House on the Left feels like a deliberate attempt to keep the viewer’s perceptions off-balance. You’re not alone if you ask yourself at any point in the film, “What am I watching?” I did more than once.
When the movie focuses on Krug and his gang, they’re depicted as a humorous — if not exactly likable — bunch. When they turn into murderous creatures that gleefully toy with their victims, that’s when the movie becomes chilling. The unflinching depiction of human cruelty is stomach-wrenching. It’s much easier to believe that someone like Krug exists than it is Freddy Krueger.
Released in the turbulent early 70s, The Last House on the Left has been seen as a commentary on the end of the 1960s’ era of peace and love. To some, it’s seen as a cold splash of reality in the face of a post-Vietnam War audience. Frankly, I think that’s stretching things a bit. To me, this is the work of a still nascent director with an extremely limited budget looking to make a gritty flick that would generate word-of-mouth publicity. That’s not to lessen the impact it had (and continues to have) on more recent horror and exploitation movies. Not at all. I just don’t think the movie was intended to be a serious commentary on then current events. I think it was meant to be unlike anything seen before it because that would make it stand out from other films of the day.
Perhaps the strategy worked too well, as The Last House on the Left was (incorrectly) banned in some countries as a snuff film. In any event, the negative publicity helped the movie gain a cult following that it retains to this day. Not too shabby for a directorial debut. But the movie is admittedly still hard to watch and might be unwatchable for anyone other than horror or exploitation fans. I really think that was Craven’s intent all along.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
