The Last House On the Left (Rogue Pictures)
Vigilante Justice
The Last House On the Left is a remake of a Wes Craven film of the same name (1972), and Craven reportedly used Ingmar Bermans The Virgin Spring (1960) as his inspiration. This time out director Dennis Iliadis pulls out all the stops and makes this a viscerally absorbing film that highlights the horrors contained therein.
In the film the Collingwood are vacationing at their lake house. It is in a deserted area and is the last house on the left. After the family arrives teenage daughter Mari (Sara Paxton) asks permission to go into town and visit with her friend Paige (Martha MacIsaac). Her mother Emma (Monica Potter) is against the idea but her father John (Tony Goldwyn) takes her side. Emma reluctantly comes around.
In town Mari and Paige make the acquaintance of Justin (Spencer Treat Clark). They go to his motel room to smoke some pot and are surprised by his family and friends returning. Justins father Krug Garrett Dilahunt), and friends Morton (Michael Bowen), Giles (Joshua Cox) and Sadie (Riki Lindhome) are one sick group. They brutalize Paige and rape Mari. They then leave both girls for dead in the woods.
Through a series of incidents they end up seeking shelter at the home of the Collingwoods. And through more incidents the parents determine what they have done to their daughter. The revenge they seek may be classified as vigilante justice but it is sweet.
All of the actors in this movie are good with Potter and Goldwyn being at the top of the list. They bring their characters from normal law-abiding citizens to ferocious attackers and make it totally believable. Also good is Paxton who plays the vulnerable but tenacious Mari.
The violence in the movie is gory and brutal but rarely gratuitous. Perhaps the final scene in the film is a bit over the top but it sure makes for a bang up ending. The movie is rated R for the violence, profanity and nudity.
As films of this type go, this is a good one. It isnt a classic but it does entertain and it does make its point. You might not like the revenge feelings inside you but you can certainly understand why the parents act and react as they do.
The Last House On the Left is absolutely not a movie for children, but for those of us old enough to appreciate it, it hammers its message home. You want to get an adrenaline rush Then go see this film.
I scored The Last House On the Left a located 6 out of 10.
