The Last House on the Left
Reviews
tmdb17996075
While a lot of people seem to praise this film as a horror gem, I myself consider it more like a drama… a mildly gruesome drama, but certainly not horror. I can enjoy horror films that don't contain some of the expected traits, like: jumps, creepy music, lots of screaming or tons of gore… but there has to be something to remind us that this is, in fact, a horror movie after all. To be honest though, there is a little bit of gore, that's true… but if the atmosphere isn't reminiscent of a horror film, the gore itself ends up being out of place. I was expecting something good, as I consider Wes Craven to be a very talented horror director, but I guess he simply wasn't in his prime back then. On 'Last House on the Left', the story revolves around a group of criminals, three guys and a trashy girl, who have recently escaped from prison. Two girls on her way to a concert, decide to stop by a house, looking for marijuana. The girls are kidnapped by these ex convicts, who torture them, rape them and eventually murder them in a brutal way. After butchering the two friends, the gang seeks refuge with the parents of one of the victims, who are completely unaware of everything. However, when the man of the house finds out about what happened to his daughter and who were responsible for what happened to her, he teams up with his wife to execute a gruesome revenge against his four guests. The idea of two vindictive parents trying to avenge their dead daughter sounded promising and original for a horror film. It gives hopes for something tragic, dramatic and gruesome, but in the end, "Last House on the Left" ends up being more like a drama full of missed opportunities. One would expect a movie like this to reach its high point in the scene where the parents are finally able to avenge their daughter, but to my disappointment, this confrontation takes place only during the very last minutes of the film and it is shown in a very bland way. I can understand that minimalism works in certain films, and I don't expect all movies to offer some kind of gruesome shock value. The problem is that simplicity is not exactly something that one would expect from a film like this, where a certain amount of gruesomeness is almost mandatory. When the father finds out about what happened to his daughter, he looks completely numb. We never really get to see any signs of devastation, which would have added a well-placed share of drama to the story and would have made the last minutes much more powerful and tragic. My main problem with this film, however, is the fact that there are a few moments of pointless slapstick comedy. I mean, how can this be explained. It's supposed to be a horror film, but instead it is a horrible drama… with a few comedy moments? We see a girl getting stabbed and right after that, we see two dumb cops doing funny things for the audience to laugh. Honestly, I don't get it. I also find the banjo music to be inappropriate, as it works as a some kind comedy relief and it really doesn't make any sense in a movie like this. I am aware that sometimes, joyful music in horror movies is a way to create some kind of strong contrasting atmosphere, but in 'Last House on the Left', it simply sounded out of place. Most people seem to be impressed about the 'appalling gore' and impressive scenes, but I was mostly surprised by the lack of them. True, there are a few scenes that looked pretty brutal, but the gore is not striking enough to save the entire movie. I don't really understand what's the deal with the lame tag line that says 'To avoid fainting, keep repeating "It's only a movie...It's only a movie..."'. I didn't find any parts to be that horrifying, to be honest. Even though I don't focus on the gore very much, I must admit that there are certain horror movies that make up for the weak plot, with a nice amount of carnage... unfortunately, this film is not one of those. I give this movie 5 stars because even though I don't agree with the overhype, I still think it's a watchable drama with a few horror and comedy elements scattered around.
Movie Recommendation
The Hills Have Eyes1977-07-22Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.More...
Master of the Flying Guillotine1976-04-24A one-armed martial arts master is being stalked by an Imperial assassin, the master of two fighters killed in the previous film. When the One-Armed Boxer is invited to attend a martial arts tournament, his efforts to lay low are unsuccessful, and the assassin soon tracks him down with the help of his three subordinates: a Thai boxer, a yoga master, and a kobojutsu user.More...
Head of the Family1996-11-29In the midst of a torrid affair, Lance discovers that Nob Hollow's weirdest residents, the Stackpoole family, have been doing hideous human experiments in the bowels of their basement.More...
Stranger in Our House1979-08-16A country family of five take in charming cousin Julie, whose parents recently died in a car crash, though teenaged daughter Rachel grows suspect that she has an alternative agenda; one that possibly includes witchcraft.More...
MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis1994-05-14Hunting artifacts attributed to Zenon (an ancient scientist from Atlantis), MacGyver and his old professor end up searching for the lost city.More...
Red Net2016-08-28A hacker looking for a missing man, what he finds out are videos in which the man is questioned and tortured till he drops by two mysterious women.More...
Tell Me Something1999-11-13Detective Cho, a cop on the edge, is mourning his mother's recent death while under investigation for graft; on top of that he is suddenly put in charge of a seemingly-impenetrable mystery.More...
The Augusta Street Ripper2014-05-01A vampire pretends to be a hooker on Augusta St., in São Paulo, to feed on her victims, until she comes across a monster that attacks at the same address.More...
Crazy Mama1975-06-01Melba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl embark on a crime spree after their California beauty parlor is repossessed. Their destination is Arkansas, where the three generations of women want to reclaim the family farm.More...
Alexithymia2017-11-22What's it like to feel no emotion?More...
Late Night Trains1975-04-09Two young women, Margaret and Lisa, are set to take the overnight train from Munich in Germany to stay with Lisa's parents in Italy for Christmas. Unfortunately a pair of psychotic hoodlums and an equally demented nymphomaniac woman terrorize the pair.More...
The Night Stalker1972-01-11Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.More...
Where the Dead Go to Die2012-01-27A troubled group of children living on the same block are haunted by a talking dog named Labby who brings them on surreal hell-rides between different dimensions and time periods.More...
The Butler2018-09-21The love between Mateusz Krol, a Kashubian boy, and Marita von Krauss, a Prussian aristocrat in whose family home he is taken in when his mother dies, grows and matures thorough the years, while Kashubia, the northern Polish region where they live, suffers the consequences of the tragedies that will ravage Europe from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the World War II.More...
South of Heaven2021-10-08Convicted felon Jimmy gets early parole after serving twelve years for armed robbery. Upon his release, he vows to give Annie, his childhood love, now dying from cancer, the best last year of her life – unfortunately it’s not that simple.More...
L.A. Story1991-02-08With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a "wacky weatherman" tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles.More...
Day of the Woman1978-11-02A young, beautiful career woman rents a backwoods cabin to write her first novel. Attacked by a group of local lowlifes and left for dead, she devises a horrific plan to inflict revenge.More...
The Town That Dreaded Sundown1976-12-24When two young lovers are savagely beaten and tortured on a back country road in Texarkana, local police are baffled and must find "the Phantom Killer" before he can kill again.More...
Violation2020-09-14A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.More...
House of Frankenstein1944-12-01Deranged scientist, Gustav Niemann, escapes from prison and overtakes the director of a traveling chamber of horrors, soon reviving the infamous Count Dracula, the frozen Frankenstein Monster, and the Wolf Man.More...
Similar Movies
City of Men
2007-08-31Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.Brothers
2009-12-02When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.The Cook, the Thief, ...
1989-10-13The wife of an abusive criminal finds solace in the arms of a kind regular guest in her husband's restaurant.Alpha Dog
2006-01-27Johnny Truelove likes to see himself as tough. He's the son of an underworld figure and a drug dealer. Johnny also likes to get tough when things don't go his way. When Jake Mazursky fails to pay up for Johnny, things get worse for the Mazursky family, as Johnny and his 'gang' kidnap Jake's 15 year old brother and holds him hostage. Problem now is what to do with 'stolen boy?'Vantage Point
2008-02-01During an historic counter-terrorism summit in Spain, the President of the United States is struck down by an assassin's bullet. Eight strangers have a perfect view of the kill, but what did they really see? As the minutes leading up to the fatal shot are replayed through the eyes of each eyewitness, the reality of the assassination takes shape.Mutants
2002-01-01Thirteen-year-old Paula lives with her mother on a well-kept estate in a small town surrounded by nice neighbours. But Paula's view of normality has been sharpened by her extensive and consistent diet of horror movies.The Harder They Come
1972-09-01Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.Smokin' Aces
2006-12-09When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.Blueprint
2003-12-08The story of the first cloned human being - told in her own words: At the age of thirty the world-famous composer Iris Sellin learns that she has an incurable illness. She - a person who wanted to live for ever - does however not give in. In order to preserve her art and also herself, beyond death, for all posterity, she has herself cloned. Her daughter Siri, whom, in this way, she turns into her virtual twin, learns as a child that she is the world's first cloned human being. In fact a blueprint: a blueprint of her mother. From that moment on nothing is as it was before...The Lovely Bones
2009-12-26After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family -- and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.Martyrs
2008-06-12A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child leads her and her best friend, also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.Jersey Girl
2004-03-25Ollie Trinke is a young, suave music publicist who seems to have it all, with a new wife and a baby on the way. But life deals him a bum hand when he's suddenly faced with single fatherhood, a defunct career and having to move in with his father. To bounce back, it takes a new love and the courage instilled in him by his daughter.The Hitcher
1986-01-17On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.Darkman
1990-08-24Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.The Dentist
1996-06-07Dr. Feinstone has everything, a beautiful wife and a successful career in dentistry; but when he discovers his wife's affair, he realizes that behind every clean, white surface lies the stench of decay.Hard to Kill
1990-02-09Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son meanwhile is growing up thinking his father is dead. When Mason wakes up, everyone is in danger - himself, his son, his best friend, his nurse - but most of all those who arranged for his deathDazed and Confused
1993-09-24The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.Convoy
1978-06-27Trucker Rubber Duck and his buddies Pig Pen, Widow Woman and Spider Mike use their CB radios to warn one another of the presence of cops. But conniving Sheriff Wallace is hip to the truckers' tactics, and begins tricking the drivers through his own CB broadcasts. Facing constant harassment from the law, Rubber Duck and his pals use their radios to coordinate a vast convoy and rule the road.Open Water 2: Adrift
2006-07-10A weekend cruise on a luxurious party yacht goes horribly wrong for a group of old high-school friends when they get stuck in the water many miles from shore and a happy reunion turns into a fight for survival.Double Impact
1991-07-31Jean Claude Van Damme plays a dual role as Alex and Chad, twins separated at the death of their parents. Chad is raised by a family retainer in Paris, Alex becomes a petty crook in Hong Kong. Seeing a picture of Alex, Chad rejoins him and convinces him that his rival in Hong Kong is also the man who killed their parents. Alex is suspicious of Chad, especially when it comes to his girlfriend.