The Last House on the Left (1972)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

To avoid fainting, keep repeating "It's only a movie...It's only a movie..."

Plot:

A pair of teenage girls are headed to a rock concert for one's birthday. While trying to score marijuana in the city, the girls are kidnapped by a gang of psychotic convicts.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Teenage Girl | Refuge | Rock Concert | Concert

Cast

Sandra Peabody	...	Mari Collingwood (as Sandra Cassel)
Lucy Grantham	...	Phyllis Stone
David Hess	...	Krug Stillo (as David A. Hess)
Fred J. Lincoln	...	Fred 'Weasel' Podowski (as Fred Lincoln)
Jeramie Rain	...	Sadie
Marc Sheffler	...	Junior Stillo
Richard Towers	...	Dr. John Collingwood (as Gaylord St. James)
Cynthia Carr	...	Estelle Collingwood
Ada Washington	...	Ada, chicken coop truck driver
Marshall Anker	...	Sheriff
Martin Kove	...	Deputy
Ray Edwards	...	Postman

Also Known As:

Grim Company (USA) (16mm release title)
Krug & Company (USA) (working title)
Krug and Company (Australia) (video title)
Last House on the Left (USA)
Night of Vengeance (USA) (working title)
Sex Crime of the Century (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

84 min | Germany:64 min (heavily cut) | USA:91 min (original cut) | USA:82 min (R-rated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (DVD rating) (2005) (self applied) | UK:18 (re-rating: 2002) (cut) | UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) | UK:R (original rating: 1974) | Australia:R (re-rating: 2004) | New Zealand:R18 (re-rating: 2004) | Australia:Refused Classification (original rating: 1987) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Germany:18 | Sweden:15 (uncut) | West Germany:18 (cut) | UK:18 (re-rating: 2008) (uncut) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Singapore:(Banned) | Canada:R | France:-16 | Iceland:(Banned) | Ireland:18 (cut UK version) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:(Banned) (original rating) | Norway:(Banned) | USA:R (heavily cut) | West Germany:(Banned) | Italy:VM18 | Finland:K-18 | Germany:16 (heavily cut)

Filming Locations:

21 Street and 2nd Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Lobster Enterprises

Trivia:

A mixture of red and blue food coloring mixed with caramel syrup was used for the fake blood, which - contrary to most movie blood - actually looks real.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Near the end of the chainsaw sequence, a crewmember's hand is visible on Krug's back.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Postman: [to dog] Hello, Cassie! Hiya, girl! Hello there! Now, let's see.
[looks through mail]
Postman: Ah, it looks like Mari's getting cards from half the civilized world. Mari Collingwood. Mari Collingwood. Mari Collingwood. You'd think she's the only kid to reach the age of 17. Of course she is probably the prettiest piece I've ever seen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Malevolence (2004/II)

Soundtrack:

Now You're All Alone

The most disturbing film I've ever seen...

For the longest time, I couldn't decide what I actually thought of "Last House on the Left". The film seems to almost be universally despised. I think that this reaction comes from the unpleasantness of the film. The movie gives one a sense of claustrophobia and hopelessness, and it is unsentimental and unapologetic in what it does. It is by far the most severe thing that Wes Craven has done - the legacy of that period in time (early 70's) is serviced by Craven's lack of resolution and by his violent imagination. My feelings are not resolved about this movie. It is low-budget, and there are parts that seem shoddy. But then I think that this all works better than you might at first assume. When the two girls are kidnapped and being tortured, one of the tormentors will do or say something so unexpected that it catches you off guard, and you might wonder what kind of movie is this... And there is happy music throughout, and there are scenes that are funny. But, I think that this ambiguity is perhaps the key to the movie's effectiveness. The gang doesn't follow any pattern of villainy, and they can be attractive and likeable at times, which makes what they do really upsetting - when they get angry or comes to terms with who they are. And because it's so paced so un-rhythmically, you're not cued as to when to expect something to happen. I was consistently having completely new emotions at something that was billed a horror film. And the torture scenes really are sickening, but in a way that's not designed to be commercial or repeatable. The filmmakers weren't interested in giving its audience anything that was familiar to them (until the cathartic, more conventional ending, which was a bit of a let-down in quality). But it was like Craven ignored what you would normally think of in terms of horror or thrills or violence, and instead he looked at what real people are capable of, which, of course, is a whole lot scarier than a knife. "Last House on the Left" is like no other movie, and probably because nothing will ever be as socially and culturally moving as the 1970s, there is no way that a horror film with this purity of emotion will get made.